High Tea at The Bailey Café

 16 July 2022

 

The Bailey Café (a slight return)

91 Bree Street, Cape Town

 

After my glowing reports on the Bailey Café and after studying its website, the wife informed me that they offered afternoon tea:  a “cream tea”  (with scones, preserves, and clotted cream) and two versions of High Tea: the standard version for R400,00 a head, or  R480,00 a head, with a glass of bubbly.  

 

I booked the teetotal tea for two.  

 

Initially we sat at the downstairs banquette, with the issues regarding the deepness of the seat I’ve mentioned previously, which made it extremely awkward for the wife, and then we moved upstairs.  Maybe it’s just us, but I really think they need to stack some fluffy pillows on the banquette seat.

 

For R400,00 you get one pot each of a modest selection of loose-leaf teas and two stands, with three tiers each, of respectively savoury and sweet. I find it astonishing, to say the least, that the high tea restricts one to one pot of tea. We could have the pot topped up with hot water, which isn’t a great idea, as it diffuses the strength of the previously loved tea leaves, or we could pay an additional (unspecified) charge for a fresh pot of tea. For me, at the price, this is just unacceptable.

 

We drank the Lady Grey, as neither of us are fans of exotic or herbal teas. The leaves are prettily served in a glass infuser that goes into a clear teapot of hot water and it’s a lovely, uplifting tea.  At least, there was no stinting on the hot milk.

 

The food was excellent and obviously freshly made with care. All pastry elements were light and crisp where required and I can’t really highlight one above the other. The only slight niggle we had was that the shredded chicken in the delightful mini pie crust was sweet and not savoury at all. 

 

The offering of cakes and tortes were equally sublime, delicate, just sweet enough and delectable. I finished with the lemon tart and the zesty tartness was the perfect conclusion and a wonderful palate cleanser after the sweetness.

 

We ate well and luxuriated in the mixture of ornate and modern luxury the Baily Café offers.

 

The wife, who has attended more High Teas than I, commented, quality aside, that, for example, the High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel  is far greater value for money, at R450,00 a head because it includes a glass of bubbly, there’s a buffet of savoury and sweet and the tea is bottomless.

 

Having said that, if you don’t mind being rationed on your tea and feel flush, this High Tea is well worthwhile for the quality of the food and the elegance of the surroundings. Until your teapot is empty before you’ve had the last mouthful, you do  have a sense of enormous well-being and luxurious indulgence.