Hilton: High Tea - Innovative Cuisine - Compromised Service

I have just returned from High Tea at the Reykjavik Hilton with my mother and thought I would report the experience here. Although the quality of the food itself was extremely high (of which more shortly), the overall experience was let down by incredibly slow service and a poor pricing decision on drinks.

We pre-booked for 14:15 and arrived slightly early. Our order was taken promptly and we then waited for half an hour for our food to arrive. This strikes me as an exceptionally long wait - even for a starter at a restaurant - but for high tea in a lounge it is absurdly long. This was made worse by the fact that a couple who arrived and ordered at 14:30 (15 minutes after us) received their food at the same time. I asked once when our food would be ready and was told it was due any minute - but it did not arrive for another 10 minutes. My impression was that our order was held as it was being prepared alongside the second order. No apology was offered or any recognition showed that this was an unacceptably long wait.

This delay was made more significant because of the drinks pricing policy. In the UK, High Tea includes (filter) coffee or (regular) tea (though speciality coffees and teas often have to be paid for); at the Hilton, no drinks are included. We ordered a coffee when we arrived and finished it long before our food arrived. We could easily have had two more cups before the food arrived. We had two more cups with our food. This is no small additional surcharge on the almost kr 2000 of the High Tea itself. The longer the food is delayed the more money can be made from drinks orders. This was not an attractive equation!

First impressions matter and so it was unfortunate that the delay and the drinks charges made such a negative impression as the food itself was excellent (and the waiter´s presentation of the food courteous and helpful). As I had hoped, this Icelandic High Tea was inspired by the British model but quite different in content, showing an imaginative translation into modern Icelandic cuisine. The sandwiches were rich and unusual from a British perspective - salmon with gravlax sauce (maybe with horseradish?) and caviar, red pesto and prosciutto, egg and salami. Fresh fruit kebabs were also included on this tier. The sandwiches were high quality and original but the real masterwork was the dessert tier. A zesty lemon tartlet and a luscious chocoate brulee. An Icelandic take on the British scone, delightfully conceived - the jam sharp and satisfying, the scone very different in texture to the British version but with exactly the right flavour and a whipped cream and sour cream confection in place of clotted cream that worked precisely and satisfyingly with the other elements. Three minisponges with savoury flavours I would have preferred on the sandwich tier but were beautifully done. The only ordinary element was a Danish kransakaka which was entirely unobjectionable. My mother chose the "healthy" High Tea which included muesli biscuits (delicious) and a walnut and ?date sponge which was startling.

Overall, the food was a triumph but its late delivery and the apparently money-grubbing attitude to the drinks compromised this achievement. I couldn´t recommend that someone not try this but I would echo the reaction of another friend who had a similar experience - caveat emptor (buyer beware)!

[High Tea at the Hilton]