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High Tea?
Has anybody done "High Tea" at the Mount Nelson Hotel?
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yes, awful waste of money.
Good spread, but way over priced. |
Pago,
I have done High Tea at the Mount Nelson, but I much preferred High Tea at the Twelve Apostles hotel in their stylish and contemporary Leopard Room. There is live entertainment and a balcony with the best ocean views. |
Pago,
I have to agree with Mkhonzo that R125 for high tea is an expensive experience HOWEVER high tea at the Nellie in Cape Town is an absolute institution and if you have the time available the event is a must do experience when visiting Cape Town immaterial of the costs. Forget about all the other high tea venues in Cape Town be it the Table Bay, the Apostles, the Grace etc; the event is and belongs to the Mount Nelson and nobody is going to take this away from the hotel after their offereing the service for close onto 100 years. The experience one gains when one has high tea at the Nellie is one which replicates the colonial times of old. As a matter of fact I tell my visitors to Cape Town that if they cant smell the colonial feeling when they arrive for high tea at the Mount Nelson then they must have blocked noses. :) Even though the experence is expensive relative to SA prices the cakes, sandwiches, fruits, cream and all else offered is wonderful, the service is good (unlike other service at the Nellie which I have not found to be good) and the ambiance is totally unbeatable. (Piano player in background etc) If you have the time while in Cape Town, take it from me as a born and bred Capetonian, <b> do not miss high tea at the Nellie </b> Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa |
I did not have tea at the Mt. Nelson, where I stayed, but I did have dinner at their restaurant, which was excellent.
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We went to High Tea at the Mount Nelson. I found it wasn't the best tea I'd experienced food-wise (I prefer the spread here at home in Washington at the Four Seasons, for example) but the settting was really lovely, and it is a very nice way to spend the afternoon. And while it's expensive for Cape Town standards, it is still less expensive, in my opinion, then high teas often are in the US or other parts of the world. Cheers, Carrie
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What on Earth are you all doing wasting your lives away participating in a climate dictated misplaced mealtime here in Africa. Dammit there are things to do out there in the sunshine instead of sharing your time and space with old fossils gathering dust in the artificial gloom of the admittedly adorable Nellie. Shake off your dubious past and indulge in the natural wonders of the Cape. Here the true Colonials found their pleasure. Hummph!
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High tea at the Mount Nelson is an institution...after all it IS HIGHTEA at the Mount NELSON! These other upstarts may have improved on the offer but this IS HIGHTEA at the Mount NELSON! Price is a bit steep but imagine that Cecil John Rhodes probably hallowed these halls and you get the history attached to this tradition at the Nellie. The empire at its height of colonialism is what this represents.
Some may not like it, but it is part of our collective history in Cape Town. |
Please stop calling afternoon tea time high tea. There is no such thing.
Sorry if I sound crabby, but I can't stand everyone in America calling it HIGH TEA! |
didibobi,
Firstly Fodors is not an American travel board, it is an international board. Secondly the concept of high tea DOES exist whether you like it or not. The origination of the term goes back to the second half of the Victorian Period, known as the Industrial Revolution, when working families would return home tired and exhausted. The table would be set with any manner of meats, bread, butter, pickles, cheese and of course tea. None of the dainty finger sandwiches, scones and pastries of afternoon tea would have been on the menu. Because it was eaten at a high, dining table rather than the low tea tables, it was termed "high" tea. Finally in Cape Town the term "high tea" is definitely an existent expression and is used by all Capetonians as well as those who visit us. Thus whether you like it or not the question on this board was posed about high tea in Cape Town and all who responded did so with the correct terminology. Hope this helps you realise that all customs in the world do not originate from America and that other countries deserve the same respect for their ways and means of doing things as you would give to any American custom. Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa |
People in North America (and, I fear, other places) have come to associate the word "high" in High Tea as conveying some sense of "high" class or "high" style. Selwyn's description is correct; and in fact AFAIK in the North of England and Scotland "high" tea almost always includes some hot dish - meat pie, fish sticks, beans on toast etc. - but definitely a working-class rather than "high" class connotation.
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Definitely do it! It was so much fun!!!
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Once I get my re-newed passport with 40 pages of clean/blank/ VISA pages we'll jet down in June.
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