They were not going overboard when they christened this café the Flower Power Tea Room. Between the Ivy Blossom tea in your cup and a ceiling of suspended silken Wisteria, this family-run space is a breath of fresh air from the usual. Even though its NRI owner Jayanthi Ravichandran who has been in the flower business back home in London for over 20 years now, admits to us with a sigh, “I much prefer fresh flowers to artificial ones, but we needed sustainable decor of course.” She adds, “The real thing you can shop for at our Kalakshetra Colony flower shop by the same name a few streets from here.”
Flour power
The 18-seater café, however, which is co-run with her 29-year-old son Ashok Ravichandran has become an organic extension of the family business with their love for home bakes and English teas. “My daughter actually opened up our first café based on this concept in Zurich two years ago. That one’s called Flour Power,” she says with a smile. On that note, we pick up our Lilliputian teaspoons, sadly not large enough for a proper dive into the Victoria Sponge cake — and just bask for a moment in the alluring goodness of that centre of strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream.
Telephone to the loo?
Living in London for so many years, British sensibilities seem to extend beyond the recipes, we soon realise. Right from the Royal Albert teacups flown down from England that line the massive storage cabinets to the bathroom door, which is a striking red British-inspired telephone booth!
But back to the menu. The roast chicken sandwiches on offer with sage and onion have already made the most popular list. While for vegetarians, Ashok recommends the Cheddar and Branston pickle sandwich. The pickle brand you might say is a quintessential component of a British pantry, but sweet rather than pungent with bits of pickled carrots, onions and cauliflower. Before we leave, we opt for a parting Matcha Green Tea ice cream, which tastes subtly sweet and wonderfully light.
A pot of tea is priced between Rs 160 and Rs 190. Sandwiches are priced between `160 and Rs 290. For high tea, pre-book a day in advance. Rs 950 for two. Details: 48554999