Mayflower Restaurant at The Mayfair Hotel - High Tea

Mayflower Restaurant & Bar - 45 King William Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Call me old fashioned, call me fancy... but I (Amanda) enjoy partaking in an afternoon of high tea as a lovely way to spend time with my girlfriends. After visiting Sean's Kitchen for high tea (review here), the Mayflower was next on my list to try. I was even a little more excited than usual as I had previously dined at the Mayflower for their first birthday celebrations (review here) and knew of the quality and elegance I was in for.

Attending on a very cold Winter's Sunday afternoon, myself and 3 friends glide down the curved staircase from the hotel lobby into a whole other time and place. The Mayflower is elegant and modern but timeless in it's surroundings, and the pianist playing beautifully in the adjacent bar can be heard throughout the restaurant full of chatty ladies. Looks like high tea this afternoon is not a popular past time for the males ;)

High Tea Stand $39

To begin we are poured a glass of Petaluma Croser NV, which I find an easy drinking sparkling wine with some fruit on the palate but is not too sweet. Next we are presented with a 3 tier stand filled with a selection of savoury and sweet items to share between two. We start with the savoury, as we are ladies after all and we have some restraint when it comes to sugar!

Savoury Selection

The savoury items provided today include a mini croissant of ham and cheese, quiche, sausage roll, salmon sandwich and a vol-au-vent. The croissant is buttery and moreish thanks to the pastry and melted cheese but overall the pastry is very soft and I would have preferred a little bit of a crispy, flakey outer. The sausage roll has a nice flakey and crispy pastry generously filled with juicy sausage meat but I would have liked a dipping sauce accompaniment to up the flavour profile. The quiche is a little dry and overcooked, the saviour being the caramelised onion inside. Overall, the savoury items are ok but nothing really exciting our palates.

A few more sips of champagne to cleanse the palate and onto the sweets we go. Today we are served a chocolate covered strawberry, a strawberry tart, a mini macaron and half a scone topped with jam and cream. My favourite is the strawberry tart with it's delicate buttery pastry that melts in my mouth, the beautiful sweet creamy thick custard and perfectly sliced sweet strawberries on top.

I'm pretty fussy with my scones as I find them to often be overcooked or over-kneaded and end up dry and tough but these are dense but soft and topped with the whipped fresh cream and berry jam, a real delight to enjoy with my peppermint tea. I just wished we were served a whole scone rather than just a half.

Dessert Trolley

Lemon Tart

Not long after, the impressive dessert trolley makes it's journey to our table. We are informed that for an extra $9 we are able to select an item from the trolley to enjoy. $9 for one item off the trolley sounded a little expensive to me but when in Rome... so I treat myself to a slice of the lemon tart served with fresh cream and strawberries. Today I decide to go without the cream. Luckily I am served 2 thin slices of the tart and after my first bite am happy I obliged. The lemon tart has a lovely balance of sweet and citrus, creamy and buttery and a nice texture from the pastry shell.

Lemon Tart with Strawberries $9

The sparkling wine high tea is $39 per person and an additional $9 if you go down the dessert trolley path. Overall we had a glorious day out nibbling on little quaint morsels of sweets and savouries, sipping on sparkling wine, warming tea and coffees and listening to the live piano tunes. I do think the tiered stands were a little light on and maybe a couple of additional sweet and savoury items could be included in the $39 price tag. 

Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly: Yes and if you call ahead they will ensure they have you covered.
Child Friendly: Best to leave the kids home for this fancy afternoon out!

Ambiance: 4.5/5 - Tranquil and inviting thanks to the wonderful talents of the live pianist and elegant surroundings and lighting.
Service: 3.5/5 - Prompt and attentive but could do without the bright lights at 4:30pm indicating they would like everyone to leave.
Food: 7/10 - Cute, simple sweets and savouries with an impressive dessert trolley of larger cakes.
 
In total OTCB gives the Mayflower Restaurant for High Tea 15/20 chops On The Chopping Board.