Bond

The British sometimes have good ideas: lining well-cut trench coats with a trendy plaid pattern and then charging obscene prices for clothing and accessories that people in my homeland in turn make knock-offs of (for about $2 a piece)... that's one. Harry Potter is a second. But in my opinion the smartest thing the British have come up with is afternoon tea.  I know those 5-hour Energy commercials say that 5-hour Energy is the key to getting through the usual mid-day slump, but they're wrong. Nothing beats chocolate, cream, and dessert teas when it comes to getting you past the 3pm blues.

For a while now my friend Ameeka and I have wanted to stop by the Taj for afternoon tea, and last Saturday we had overlapping free time. Unfortunately here in America, afternoon tea is generally only offered on weekends, and the Taj is extremely popular, so reservations are a must - which we didn't realize until too late. As an alternative, we decided to do tea at Bond - located in the Langham hotel instead.

Unlike at most places - which serve the snacks accompanying afternoon tea in 3-tiered trays, Bond served everything plated.

First course was the finger "sandwiches":

English cucumber with farmer's cream and dill: like most cucumber sandwiches, this was light and refreshing, but the bread was a bit dry

Smoked ham roulade with cape cranberry relish: my least favorite - I don't generally like ham, and again the bread was dry

Foraged mushroom and creme fraiche tart: overall just plain bland

Meadow Brook egg "mimosa": this tasted like a regular deviled egg - nothing spectacular

The second course was the scone course:

served with Devonshire cream: (i.e "clotted cream" - my favorite scone condiment)

lemon custard:

and strawberry jam:

The third course was the desserts

Chocolate dipped strawberry:

Raspberry French macaroon:

Fresh berry trifle: this was my favorite dessert of the four - the cream layer was delicious, and the berries were definitely fresh and yummy

Lemon Madeline: this particular cookie was a bit thicker than I'm used to - even for Madelines, and had a slightly rubbery texture

As for the tea, Ameeka went with the white ginger pear iced tea which was served in an interesting contraption:

While I opted for the orchid vanilla dessert tea.

The food was not stellar, but the environment was calm and relaxing. We ended up spending almost 3 hours over tea, which is obviously an appreciated change from our normally faster-paced days. I'm interested to see whether the Taj has to offer in comparison...



Overall rating: 6/10


Bond Restaurant and Lounge
250 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110