Eating in England – Part 4 – Dominique Ansel Bakery London, Afternoon tea at The Savoy and more

Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour (London)

We spent about 6 hours at the Warner Bros studio tour of the Harry Potter set outside of London and didn’t see everything in detail (full day recommended if you’re a Harry Potter fan!).

Lunch was had on-site at the studio’s Backlot Cafe. There are a few eateries but this one was basically at the halfway point of the studio tour and it was a good point to stop and eat. The menu is nothing fancy, and the burgers looked the most appealing. We ordered chicken and beef burgers with chips, and shared a small butterbeer. There’s also a butterbeer soft serve available but I couldn’t be bothered going back to the queue.

See previous post on The Potions Room afternoon tea at Cutter & Squidge in Soho.

Dominique Ansel Bakery London

I missed out on the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York (the inventor of the cronut), so I made sure to make a stop at the London store.

There’s a range of pastries like pain au chocolat, and various croissants.

The cronut and chocolate chip cookie shot are proudly displayed as two of the most popular items.

It wouldn’t be a bakery and patisserie without a range of cakes, eclairs and macarons.

It was breakfast time so I wasn’t in the mood for cakes but I would have liked to try a few of them.

Of course we ordered the cronut of the month – coffee and Irish cream ganache with espresso sugar (£5.40 dine-in price). Crunchy exterior and crispy thin layers in this half croissant and half doughnut hybrid.

Dominique’s Kouign Amann (DKA) (£4.90) has a caramelised exterior from all the burnt sugar and soft buttery layers inside.

I can see the sugar pearls in it on closer inspection. Amazing crunch and flakiness.

The Welsh rarebit croissant (£4.80) of Guinness Worcestershire cheddar bechamel with wholegrain mustard and Gruyere. The flavour is actually quite intense but I did enjoy the creaminess with the flaky croissant layers.

I also wanted to try the pistachio and rose bostock (£4.80), a Dominique Ansel speciality exclusive to London. It’s a brioche soaked in rose water syrup, baked with pistachio frangipane, topped with powdered sugar, roasted pistachios and a candied rose leaf on top. I loved this. Soft and spongy in the middle, with crispiness around the edges. Delicate pistachio and rose throughout. I was so full at this stage but I kept taking more bites out of it. Yum!

Afternoon Tea at The Savoy London

While in England, I wanted to treat myself to an English afternoon tea. Research showed me so many options for afternoon/high tea in London. After narrowing down the options, most were already booked out for the dates we were in London. However, there was availability at British institution, The Savoy. Afternoon tea has been a tradition at The Savoy since the 1920s so I was happy to try it and booked it online about a month prior to the date. It’s one of the more expensive afternoon tea experiences at £65 per person.

The Savoy is an impressive looking building with a very nice Rolls Royce parked out the front. Having never been to The Savoy, we ask for directions to the Thames Foyer once inside and make our midday booking with 5 minutes to spare. I find two ladies in business attire standing at a lectern who ask us to wait as the dining area isn’t open yet. The Thames Foyer itself is elegant with a huge chandelier lighting up the middle of the room, a round table in the centre filled with vases of fresh orchids, and polished timber and gold furnishings.

The dining room is beautiful with a gorgeous white gazebo in the middle and a stained glass dome above it letting in natural light.

A few more groups of people arrive. Names are ticked off the list and a waiter/waitress takes everyone to their designated tables. I’m surprised that the two of us are seated at a table for 6 beside the gazebo, but hey, more room for us. There are basically two options – the traditional afternoon tea or the traditional high tea. What is the difference? In terms of cost, only £5 between the two – the high tea offering an additional slow cooked salmon or goat’s curd main.

The Savoy is all about elegance and I love the bone china sets and silverware.

Our waiter for the afternoon introduces himself and asks if we need help with the menu. We both order the traditional afternoon tea (£65 per person) without the champagne and order our teas. Shortly afterwards, our waiter comes back with a refreshing genmaicha tea sampler to start off with.

Our silver tea pots arrive on a silver tray with a larger pot in the middle filled with hot water. We each receive a plate of finger sandwiches, an asparagus and parmesan quiche, and a smoked salmon and cream cheese brioche.

Our waiter pours our respective teas through the tea strainer and into our cups, wipes the spout with a linen napkin, and places it back on the tray.

The finger sandwiches consist of coronation chicken with mustard cress on black olive bread, egg with English mustard, tarragon on white bread, cucumber with feta cheese spread on tomato bread, and a herb-roasted prime sirloin with wholegrain mustard cream on brown bread. The sirloin and chicken are my favourites. Soft bread, delicious creamy filling, and lots of flavour. When our waiter came back to check on us and top up our teas, we praised both the sirloin and chicken sandwiches. He asked if we would like any more? Sure! And he brings out a tray of more sandwiches as well as the quiche and smoked salmon brioche! I only take one more (the chicken) as I know there is more food to come.

A three-tiered stand arrives next and this is our dessert course.

From the top, there is a salted peanut butter cube with chocolate ganache with caramel mousse and a chocolate cookie base, an apricot compote filled choux with jasmine tea mousse and white chocolate, a yoghurt raspberry and blueberry chocolate tart, and a mango sponge with mango jelly and jam. The middle tier has an orange and poppy seed cake, and a buttery madeleine.

We actually start with the bottom tier, filled with plain and raisin scones that come served with Cornish clotted cream, house made lemon curd and strawberry jam.

Which way do you do your scones? Cream or jam first? In Australia, it’s common to do jam first and then the soft whipped cream on top as it makes no sense to do it the other way around. The cream is lighter and so makes a perfect topping with the jam underneath. But the Brits use clotted cream which is thick and a lot more dense, so it makes sense to put this on first, and then the jam. I ask the waiter what he does and his response surprised us both. He puts cream on one half and jam on the other half, then joins them together. I haven’t heard of that before. The lemon curd cream is actually really nice and not too sour, but I prefer the traditional jam and cream.

Throughout our experience, a piano player plays jazz and some classics on the piano in the gazebo. It’s a fabulous elegant yet relaxed setting, there’s amazing food and selection of teas, wonderful ambiance and we both loved this experience. We stayed for about 2 hours all up and didn’t really want to leave.

Harrods Food Hall

During our last night in London, we made it to Harrods half an hour before the store was closing. This meant a quick trip to see the food hall and I’m glad we got to visit. There’s a luxurious feel to the food hall.

The bakery section sells Harrods various sourdoughs, breads and pastries.

The cheese section has so many cheeses on display in so many glass cabinets.

So much choice in the chocolate and confectionery section.

Then there’s a massive dining hall in another wing of the food hall. It was close to closing so we only peeked inside. I wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time shopping around the food hall. It’s huge!

Courtfield (Earl’s Court)

After Harrod’s, we caught the tube back to Earl’s Court where we were staying. One last English pub dinner sounded like a good way to end our stay, so we went into the Courtfield pub. I ordered the traditional steak and ale pie (£12.49) in a shortcrust pastry served with chips and roasted vegetables, with a jug of gravy. Again, the Brits sure know how to make a decent pie. No complaints!

Mr FPJ ordered the Old Epping sausage and mash (£9.99) that comes with three pork sausages with peas, gravy and onion. Nothing mind blowing, but a nice pub meal.

We only really had one full day to eat around London but I’d love to go back and stay a little longer to explore. There are so many gems around the place.

Next, we fly to Budapest in Hungary to continue our European adventure.

Eateries visited

• Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studios – Studio Tour Dr, Watford WD25 7LR, United Kingdom
• Dominique Ansel Bakery – 17-21 Elizabeth St, Belgravia, London SW1W 9RP, United Kingdom
• The Savoy London – The Savoy Hotel, Strand, London WC2R 0EZ, United Kingdom
• Harrods Food Hall – 87-135 Brompton Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL, United Kingdom
• Courtfield – 187 Earls Ct Rd, Kensington, London SW5 9AN, United Kingdom

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