A Sunday well spent brings a week of content they say and I truly believe in that motto and so one morning Aftab and I decided to seize our Sunday and start it with an early breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental at Hyde Park, after taking a lovely stroll through Hyde Park. It was so peaceful on a Sunday morning and it was refreshing too.
I have accidentally stayed at The Mandarin Oriental about 10 years ago, as we were supposed to stay at another hotel that messed up our booking and put us up at The Mandarin Oriental instead. Sadly it was well before my blog started and so hopefully one day I shall get a chance to stay there again.
I have had cocktails at Bar Boulud at The Mandarin Oriental however, which I really recommend, as well as the food, by renowned restauranteur Daniel Boulud, who I was very lucky to meet.
The breakfast takes place in a gorgeous room overlooking Hyde Park, and we were very happy to be seated by the window, which proved to be the perfect spot to people watch from. The dining room is really bright and spacious with natural light, huge glass windows and has a lovely buzz.
The waiter brought over some freshly pressed blackberry juice for a healthy boost, which was a really lovely touch, whilst we made our choices from the menu, which was rather extensive! There was even a separate Chinese and Japanese menu, which both also looked incredible. The Executive Chef Ivan Alvarez has clearly devised a menu perfect for all the hotel’s vast variety of international guests.
We both believe in living life to the fullest and so we decided to add a little sparkle to our Sunday with a glass of champagne each, which was served in chilled champagne flutes. Nothing short of what I would expect from the Mandarin Oriental!
Caffeine is very necessary too and so we decided to fuel up with coffees. I went for a Cappuccino which was presented with beautiful and perfect coffee art, while Aftab opted for a Latte.
For my breakfast choice, I went for Buttermilk pancakes with fresh berries, Wiltshire cure streaky bacon and maple syrup, which the waiter told me was pure and authentic maple syrup from Canada and it did taste superb! The streaky bacon was just delicious and perfectly cooked.
Aftab opted for an Omelette without ham and mushrooms, and with a side of toast. His fillings were herbs, cheese, tomato and peppers. Omelette is always a treat when cooked perfectly, as his was.
The helpings for both our breakfast dishes were very generous and we both thoroughly enjoyed our choices, which were from The Stove section of the menu.
As an extra treat at the end, the waiter gave us a strawberry and banana smoothie each as he thought we might have been celebrating a special occasion due to our guzzling of Champagne. It was a lovely sweet and healthy end to a fantastic breakfast and also testament to the fantastic service by Mandarin Oriental, to go over and above for all their guests. I really felt that the service was really special as well as warm and welcoming, which made our experience superb.
Although the breakfast is a little on the pricier side it was so fabulous and the service was excellent and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lovely place to have breakfast for a treat or special occasion.
For more information, visit their website here.
Louise says
Oh Binny, I always become so hungry when I go to your site 😀 As always the food looks super delicious – and those pancakes with fresh berries…. Even now almost midnight this is JUST what I could eat! Love your pics!
X Louise
http://www.louiseloveslondon.com
Maggie says
1am was not a good time to read this post lol as I’m going to bed dreaming of these deliciously looking buttermilk pancakes!! Extravagant breakfasts are the best 😉 xx