the loft, Lime St, Sydney

the loft, Lime St, Sydney

Sunday 29 July, 2007

In our quest to find the best High Tea offering in Sydney we stumbled across the loft High Tea Lounge. Located at King St Wharf, the loft has recently added High Tea to their list of attractions. It seems that everyone is jumping on the High Tea bandwagon of late and the more the merrier I say! It's a great afternoon activity to share with a group of friends.

We arrived for our 1pm reservation a little early and were welcomed in as the staff we still setting up. The loft decor is all brown & orange with funky orange dividers separating light brown lounges with orange pillows. Each section seats between 4 - 8 people and is reminiscent of a relaxed lounge bar. There is also a large outdoor area covered by blinds and an amazing wood work ceiling. The theme is mildly Balinese with wonderful large wooden Buddhas on display in each bathroom.

There are 2 options for High Tea - Traditional high tea for $35 pp or High Tea with a twist for $45pp. The difference between the two is that the High Tea with a twist also offers a choice of either a teapot cocktail or a glass of sparkling. We opted for the twist and then had to face the extensive list of teapot cocktails to pick from.

The teapot cocktails are unique and the idea is to select one between two. Two of us chose the Importance of Being Ernest - Pimms No. 1 stirred gently with a selection of seasonal fruit, finished with dry ginger ale and lemonade and our High Tea buddies opted for the Turkish Delight - Plymouth gin and a touch of Tuaca shaken with home made rhubarb puree, pear cheek, fresh lemon and chilled T2 Turkish Apple tea.

Our teapot cocktails arrived first and the presentation was wonderful. Each came in a different shaped teapot and clear glasses filled with ice and fresh cucumber. Our Importance of Being Ernest was fresh, tangy and perfect to sip. Next to arrive was our three tiered trays packed full of goodies:

- Smoked salmon wrap

- Mini quiche

- Chicken & avocado sandwich

- Vegetable pissaldiere

- Savoury scroll

- Shortbread

- Lemon mini tart

- Scones with jam & fresh cream

- Dried & fresh fruit with warm chocolate dipping sauce

It was hard to know where to start with this spread. Do you go for the warm food first or follow the golden rule - savoury then sweet? We opted to start at the bottom and work our way up which was fine except by the time we had reached the warm chocolate dipping sauce it was cold. It could have been served on a warmer or tea light.

My favourite was the lemon mini tart - I'm not usually a fan of lemon anything but this was just lovely - the tart pastry was buttery and the filling was mildly sweet. The downside? There was only one each!

I was surprised that there were only a handful of people enjoying High Tea today - it's such a relaxing was to spend the afternoon and there is also a pianist on site to entertain you with such favourites as 'Moon River'. If I was to return for high tea again I'd ask for a lounge as far away from the pianist as possible. It's just that little bit too loud.

the loft - 3 Lime St, King Street Wharf, Sydney - (02) 9299 4770

http://www.theloftsydney.com.au/home.html