Do you love tea, cakes, sandwiches, scones, and everything that’s English? Then it’s quite possible you’ll love a high tea at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Barbecoa, in London. Take a look and read on to see what such an experience entails.
Our kitchen is filled with Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks. We’ve never been able to resist his personality, his fight for quality, organic, and fresh ingredients. So, of course, we had to enjoy our English high tea at one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants when we visited London in January.
For this trip’s high tea, we chose the restaurant ‘Barbecoa’, located near Piccadilly Station – right in the heart of London. We arrived late in the afternoon after having walked all over London since early morning. We were quite hungry and excited to try a real ‘Jamie’ for the first time.
We knew in advance that they served high tea, and we were quick to order. However, we were advised to order just one high tea for two people (we were two adults and an 8-year-old) as they believed it would be more than enough.
We are quite fond of cakes… so we hesitated a bit. How could they know there would be enough for us? But the waiter convinced us. So we ordered and patiently waited for our afternoon treat.
The Restaurant
The restaurant is located right on Piccadilly’s noisy street, but as soon as the large, heavy doors close behind you, you’re transported into a warmly lit world that makes you forget all about the hectic London, bustling footsteps, and double-decker buses zooming around you.
The restaurant has two levels, with the upper floor serving as a bar and café. The lower floor seems to be for dinner and warm dishes.
We enjoyed our high tea at street level.
The atmosphere was lively, and it was easy to sense that great care had been taken with the décor.
Jamie’s High Tea – What Does It Consist Of?
The first thing we received was coffee for us and hot chocolate for the boy. The coffee wasn’t part of the set menu, but we needed it. Later, we were served tea—jasmine tea—by our own choice. After all, tea is a must for high tea.
Then the spread arrived. It consisted of:
- 6 scones with jam and clotted cream (milk fat from cream, almost like a rich cream)
- 1 sandwich to share
- 7 cakes + 1 crème brûlée
We also had the option to choose a variant with meat.
How Did the Food Taste?
The scones with jam and clotted cream were fantastic. They were freshly baked and had a nice flavor and balance, especially with the tea. The sandwich was okay, but the bread was a bit tasteless compared to the delicious bread we can get in Denmark. The cakes were very beautiful and decorative, but we found them a bit old-fashioned and somewhat bland in taste.
The coffee was fine. The jasmine tea tasted lovely and came in a nice teapot for pouring. The hot chocolate was thin.
Was There Enough for All Three of Us? There was enough. However, the portions weren’t entirely well thought out. It felt strange to share the sandwich and cakes among three of us just so we could all taste the different types.
Will We Come Again?
If it weren’t for the fact that Jamie Oliver has many more restaurants we’d like to try—then yes, we would come again. The restaurant was cozy. However, we would probably choose a warm dish instead of a high tea if we were to return.
Was It a Culinary Adventure?
Yes. Absolutely. A very English culinary adventure.
Links
-> Jamie Oliver Restaurants in London
