A Tale of Two High Teas

Like many good tales, it begins with a celebration, a significant birthday. Lingering traces of colonial ways in Nairobi enticed us to indulge in that ultimate tradition - high tea.

Hemingways, the bastion of serene plantation-style elegance in Karen was the venue and their reservations staff primed and prepped for our celebration.

The best planning and preparation in the world, however, can fall through the cracks and unfortunately, our reservation appeared to have done just that. Politely blank faces greeted our arrival and, obviously put on the spot, the kitchen took almost an hour to present the gorgeous spread while we sat forlornly on the couch waiting.

Ok, I made the forlorn bit up, we had excellent people-watching time - peak safari season brings out the tourists in their best Abercrombie and Fitch or LL Bean bush gear, accessorised with mobile phones glued to their hands, eyes devouring the screens. One of the most beautiful settings in Nairobi ignored for the pull of global connection. Hmm. And it was amusing to watch the exquisitely tailored guest relations manager sprint past on his way to corral the muddy group of youngsters tracking considerable amounts of the Maasai Mara (more likely the elephant orphanage) onto the pristine tiles. Deftly, he suggested they pause a while and allow the staff to clean their shoes before going to their rooms. This was so gracefully done, the brats were oblivious to the damage and alarming disarray they'd caused!

The high tea, when it arrived, was magnificent, a feast we took our time over, delicately devouring every crumb. Yum!

Still, perhaps because the hotel was heaving with guests, the service was neglectful and didn't improve at all. So disappointing, in fact, that encouraged by Him Outdoors, I later wrote to the Food and Beverage Manager and politely reminded him that this was a birthday tea and we'd been let down.

Full marks to dear Wilberforce, he got right onto it and within a few hours we were invited back for a complimentary 'do-over' at our earliest convenience. Pretty awesome, we thought.

High Tea Take Two - incredible! Same delicious food divinely presented but the service was on a totally different level. Greeted and ushered to a table set for two in a private spot, we were treated like royalty for the next 3 hours. They even brought a hat stand along to hang our handbags on "I don't want your bags on the floor getting dirty!" Eric explained. Wilberforce called past a couple of times, Prosecco was added to the table and we had a whale of a time, being outrageously spoilt. This is more like it and Hemingways exceeded the highest expectations. We left floating on air, indulged beyond anything we could have dreamed of.

Having appointed ourselves professional High Tea ladies, we've decided that a comprehensive review of all the high teas on offer in Nairobi is our next challenge and the list has been drawn up. There are a surprising number of places offering high tea but our standards are high and we've discounted the ones held on rooftops and inside coffee shops - high tea should be served in the garden surrounded by gracious trees and greenery, birds and butterflies. That caveat saw Sankara, Rosa Kempinski, The New Stanley and Urban Eatery struck off. Giraffe Manor caused a little excitement until we saw the price - $50 each! Scratch that one then. The ancient and venerable Muthaiga Club lived up to expectations when succinctly replying to our enquiry - "High Tea is served to Club members only." Considering that access beyond the gates is strictly members only, no real surprise there. 

We have enough (6) to get cracking on with and anyway, let's face it, stuffing our gills with delicate eats has consequences for our bottom lines. Once we've announced our overall Best High Tea in Nairobi, we'll have to return regularly to ensure the standard is maintained. The things we do to keep people informed!