Mo
Café, Heddon Street, London W1B 4BH
30/08/2014
She
said: I’d just finished ploughing through an afternoon tea book he bought me and
was keen to try out Mo Café, the informal neighbour to Momo – the trendy, pricier
Moroccan off Regent Street. At £22, the afternoon tea promised ‘the essence of
Morocco’. We decided to sit out on the
plant-enclosed terrace, a world away from the busy, tourist-filled shopping
streets of Piccadilly. The Moroccan mint tea I chose was compulsive but it was
irritating that I had to wave down a waiter each time I wanted a refill (which
was around every three sips from the pretty little glass). An exciting
food-filled cake stand was brought out and I like the fact that there were two
of everything (except the biscuits) so we both were able to try the same
things. The savouries were good but not enough. It included a small but succulent
falafel wrap, some mini toasted breads with juicy spreads, a yummy small cheese
pastry but a disappointing salmon sandwich where I had to hunt for the scrap of
fish. The tea was definitely slanted in favour of the sweets which were deliciously
faultless and included a smooth, tasty brownie, pistachio macaroon and creamy
lemon cake. The scone was as boring as I’ve come to expect but a real discovery
was the Maghreb pastries, which turned out to be the most flavoursome sugar
dusted, almond biscuits in the world. I was annoyed when presented with the
bill and noticed the teas had been charged at an additional £10 but a new bill
was presented quickly when they saw me notice (afternoon tea normally includes
the tea in the price)! One for the tourists or an honest mistake? Still, Mo
Café is a good alternative for some tea and cake when needing a break or change
of scene from the craziness that is London.
He
said: Tea at Momo’s is a really good proposition which, on our visit, was let
down by lacklustre service. The setting is a great contrast to the hustle and
bustle of Regent’s Street, especially on a nice day when you can take your tea
on the terrace. The exotic nibbles are a really nice change from the
traditional offering, and of very good quality, as you’d expect from Momo’s.
Although these aren’t refreshed (as they sometimes are, increasingly rarely, and
mostly out-of-town) but the quantity was fine, even if you cheated and skipped
lunch; but I do wish that there were more of the savouries, especially since
these are standards (falafel, cheesy filo, etc.) prepared in huge batches and
round the clock for the main restaurant. Afternoon tea is obviously a luxury,
and punters tend to justify the indulgence as a special occasion thing,
expecting stellar service and setting. At Momo’s we turned up and no-one seemed
to know about our booking, we had to ask often for refills, for the bill, and
then for a correction to the bill; in short the front of house just didn’t
care. Afternoon tea is as much about the experience as it is about the nosh;
and without attentive service you might as well save money and just order a
sharing plate of meze and a pot of mint tea.
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