We have a fun little family tradition of taking Mum out for Afternoon Tea on Mother’s Day. Each year we try somewhere different and so have managed to work our way through quite a few of Melbourne’s top afternoon teas including The Langham, Bursaria at the Abbotsford Convent and Werribee Mansion.
This year I decided to try Hotel Lindrum as the boutique style of the hotel has always appealed to me and the online menu looked the goods. Afternoon tea at Hotel Lindrum is served in the Felt restaurant which forms part of the hotel foyer. There’s lots of space between the handful of tables which are spread out across the polished floorboards.
We’re given glasses of sparkling to start (poured before they get to our table) and then asked whether we want tea or coffee. There’s no offer of a tea menu although according to the Hotel Lindrum website there are 12 T2 teas available. When afternoon tea arrives, all in a flurry of a fully laden tiered cake stand alongside a plate of scones and a plate of savoury, it’s quite different from the menu offered online but what’s served is still pretty good.
On the sandwich tier there are mini lobster rolls, smoked salon sandwiches, egg sandwiches and of course classic cucumber sandwiches. The sandwiches are freshly made and there are no problems with stale bread. There are also hot savoury pastries including some flaky puff pastry that errs on the dry side and a delicious deep fried and crumbed ball of potato.
The cakes include fluffy meringues, perfectly executed macarons including one that tastes exactly like a Jaffa Cake and fruit tartlets. But the true test of an afternoon tea is the scones and Hotel Lindrum’s disappoint. They’re flat and too dense. Big dollops of strawberry jam and clotted cream definitely help things along. The Langham continues to hold the standard for afternoon tea in Melbourne as far as I’m concerned but I did enjoy my afternoon of over eating at Hotel Lindrum in honour of Mother’s Day.
Essentials
Details: Hotel Lindrum, 26 Flinders Street, Melbourne 3000 (Ph 03 9668 1111)
Damage: $70 a head including a glass of sparkling wine
Kids: There are high chairs available.
6/10
