When you think of high tea in Cape Town, places like the Belmont Mount Nelson, the Cape Grace, or the Twelve Apostles come to mind. The image is of fine china and plush settings, plump buttery scones with cream and jam, crustless sandwiches, often of the cucumber variety, and a selection of macarons and other sweet treats.
Let me paint a different picture: High Tea at Truth Coffee in all its glorious steam-punk wonder! Take the template that you have come to expect from high tea, put it aside, and get ready to be dazzled by the innovative and absolutely delicious creations from their resident French Patisier, Kamai Hamzaoui.
Given that we were in the best coffee shop in the world, we kicked our experience off with a stunning flat white. Four tiered stands, laden with delicious bite-sized treats, were then brought out all at the same time, affording us the opportunity to eat what we wanted, when we wanted to. I have to add here that I don’t eat gluten and the entire selection was made gluten free for me. The first plate we tucked into was the savoury selection with not a single sandwich in sight. Instead we enjoyed risotto balls, a selection of crostini topped with salmon roll, pickled beetroot and avocado and teriyaki venison. A crustless bacon and cheese mini egg-bite ended things off nicely.
However, it seemed we were just getting started as the next plate was a selection of cold meats, fruit and local cheeses. My favourite was the fennel and pinotage salami and the soft tangy camembert.
There were two sweet plates, the first of which was stacked with a variety of bite-sized decadent and skilfully made delights. It included a black forest mousse globe (absolutely stunningly delicious), raspberry and chocolate ice-creams on a stick (which were in fact not ice creams at all) as well as lemon, grapefruit, mango and chocolate flavoured mousse-bites. The grand finale was a white chocolate and strawberry dome, which was covered in edible gold-leaf, filled with the lightest cream and fresh strawberries. All of this was complimented beautifully with a glass of Pol Roger Champagne.
Truth has a decent selection of tea alongside the coffee and I had a fruity decaf herbal tea afterwards to counteract the sweetness. If you love high tea like I do – having been to even Harrods to indulge my love of it, then you have to give this a go.
Prices: Pol Roger Champagne High Tea: R480pp
Pol Roger Winston Churchill Champagne High Tea: R990pp
Classic High Tea: R360pp (non-alcoholic)
Few people know this but Truth is now also open at night (6pm till midnight) from Tuesday to Saturday, and they call it – Truth, After Dark. They have a dinner menu, an alcohol licence as well as a selection of desserts. The next time you fancy a late-night dessert with a hint of the theatrical, look no further.
