The British are the true villains of the world. The original ones. There are very few countries in the world today that has not been under the English rule. The British were one of the main powers during both the World wars. They brought Industrial civilization to the world, not to mention a whole lot of other weird things and customs. Not only did they follow those customs they inspired their poor colonies to follow them.
And one of the good ones was the custom of drinking tea. No no no.. Not the made in ten seconds in a half clean glass with loads of sugar tea.... That's "Chai". We take pride in creating that. That's Ours! I'm talking about the tea leaves, brewed in hot water in a kettle and timed to determine the strength one. Just the way the poms love it. And incidentally, the most healthy way to have the oldest beverage known to mankind! The English didn't stop with tea, they made a cake to go with it and named it..? Right! Tea cake!
Now Chennai, being one of the oldest and the modern cities in the country, and one that was once "The" most important city in Southern India during the English rule, people normally expect the city to have a major English influence. Yes, we do have places, streets and roads and major government buildings named after English Lords. But for us, tea meant nair kadai chai. Even though there were few boutiques that had a cafeteria in it and served various kinds of tea, it was not until Lloyd's tea house that there was a place that served tea the "English" style and looked like an actual English tea house!
That the owners went the extra mile to bring in decorators from France(not London!) to decorate the walls with typical English looking wall papers says a lot about how genuine they wanted the place to look. However small the place is, it can accommodate 20-25 people at a time. All the furniture,the drapes, the spoons, the forks, the plates and even the menu card are so "Pomish". So full marks to the designers and the owners for creating a very nice English ambiance. But that's just the start!
It would take a person multiple visits to the place to actually taste every single flavor of tea given in the menu. I've been here quite a few times already and i've two favorite flavors. One is the mildly flavored and aromatic Zen Garden and the other is the sweet and fruity flavored Gourmet Apple. The service is good and the waiter advises on the time required for the perfect brew. Although, the temperature at which the tea was served could have been a little lower.
And now to the best part(to me at least!) of the tea house - the food! They had a good selection of pastas, sandwiches and salads. Not to mention a good selection of starters. Here again the temperature was quite not right. I mean, seriously! I burnt my tongue trying to take a bite of the cheese toast. But the best part of the best part of the tea house(i know.. i know..) was the range of desserts and cakes. The Pound cake is wonderful, soft and light. The Tiramisu is third best in the city. The raspberry cheesecake is great. And the chocolate truffle is pretty good. But one thing's for certain and that is where The Lloyd's tea house nails it. They have THE MOST prettiest cake in the city!! THE RAINBOW CAKE!!!! Even though it tastes pretty normal it can give your eyes a visual treat. Loved it!
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| Have a slice of rainbow cake - Check! |
Overall, The Lloyd's Tea House is correctly priced and a great place to hang out with friends, have some good food, drink some brilliantly flavored teas and enjoying the deserts. All the while getting soaked in the English ambiance!
Go and get some tea at The Lloyd's Tea House, Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Gopalapuram.
