Hotel Cafe Royal

There are not enough ‘awesome’s and exclamation points in the world to properly describe the dessert restaurant at London’s The Café at Hotel Café Royal. This is definitely on my #YouGottaEatHere recommendation list, and I’ve already been raving to friends and work colleagues about this amazing experience.

Firstly, the cafe is in the Hotel Café Royal, which is super stunning and gold-gilded, right on Regent Street - the street views are spectacular! Looking into the cafe from the street, you’ll see the gorgeous displays of the fabulous treats that await inside.

Kudos to Executive Pastry Chef, Sarah Barber, for her amazing dessert restaurant concept and exquisite tasting experiences at The Café. The team there, especially the lovely Ziyana, really make the experience so wonderful and memorable! Ziyana - as well as the other servers I could see - really took the time to explain the tasting menu beforehand, and upon serving each glorious dish!

I was lucky enough to indulge in the ‘Sarah in Wonderland’ (Imagination*Fantasy*Frabjous) tasting experience, which includes five courses Travel - Taste - Try paired with wines. My menu included:

- MILKY WAY: goat’s cheese, wild honey, beetroot snow

- CHICKEN FOIE: with quince & toasted brioche

- QUEEN OF HEARTS: raspberries, Champagne, roses

- MAD HATTER - BFG, kirsch, cherries

- EAT ME, DRINK ME: Snickers, chocolate malt shake

Each of the wines that accompanied these spectacular courses were very well considered, and worked to enhance the robust flavours of both the savoury and sweet dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed each course, each so beautifully presented - total edible art, and just so flavourful. My absolute favourite was the EAT ME, DRINK ME course... You know, peanut butter, chocolate, malt shake - OMG, I died! And if you know me, you know I am not a lover of the chocolate/orange combo, but I swear, the Jaffa Cake here may have just converted me. (And yes, those totally cute mushrooms are edible - made of white chocolate!!!)

My date tried the ‘Pick N Mix’ (Candies*Magical*Enchantment), which allows you to create your own four courses, with wine pairings, from a selection of savoury and sweet courses. She loved it and couldn’t stop raving about it. There is also the ‘Memories of a Child’ (Nostalgia*Dreams*Childhood) experience, which offers your choice of three courses; perfect perhaps for those with a smaller appetite. Whichever tasting experience you opt for, you will not be disappointed. (And don’t you just love the whimsical titles?!)

The Café at Hotel Café Royal offers these extraordinary dessert tasting experiences from 6:00-10:30pm daily, and with prices starting from £26.00, it is an experience worth having, worth sharing, worth a do-over! (And totally worth the excessive number of photographs I snapped during my visit, because how gorgeous is each and every single dish?! Total #foodporn!)