Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea at the Epicurean - Gluten free?

[Meka3256]

Has anyone who is gluten free (or has another food allergy) paid for Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea at the Epicurean on Ventura?  What happens - do you get the same sort of menu but just without gluten containing ingredients?

 

The non-fee afternoon tea does have gluten free options, but often the choice is limited (although delicious).  So I was wondering what happens when you pay

 

If anyone hasn't eaten in this specific restaurant, but has paid for afternoon tea and has a food allergy I'd be grateful to hear about your experiences as well

[Ali-W]

Would be interesting to know what people think of the dairy free option ( if there’s one ) 

[Presto2]

4 hours ago, Meka3256 said:

Has anyone who is gluten free (or has another food allergy) paid for Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea at the Epicurean on Ventura?  What happens - do you get the same sort of menu but just without gluten containing ingredients?

 

The non-fee afternoon tea does have gluten free options, but often the choice is limited (although delicious).  So I was wondering what happens when you pay

 

If anyone hasn't eaten in this specific restaurant, but has paid for afternoon tea and has a food allergy I'd be grateful to hear about your experiences as well

 

Personally I wouldn't bother to pay for this one. We have no allergies and hubby has a very sweet tooth. It was the first day of our holiday on Britannia (I.e. we had not been eating for days!) but neither of us finished the afternoon tea and both of us found it far too sweet and not 'balanced' (if that makes sense). Save your money and look elsewhere.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Presto2

[AndyMichelle]

5 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Personally I wouldn't bother to pay for this one. We have no allergies and hubby has a very sweet tooth. It was the first day of our holiday on Britannia (we were had not been eating for days!) but neither of us finished the afternoon tea and both of us found it far too sweet and not 'balanced' (if that makes sense). Save your money and look elsewhere.

Couldn't agree more, waste of money.

Duck in a chocolate meringue was too weird for me.

The Epicurean was nice though.

Personally, we enjoy the standard afternoon tea in the mdr, especially on Britannia.

Sorry to go a bit off topic, I can't comment on the dietary options.

Andy

[Presto2]

Liked the Epicurean, it was lovely and a great experience. To be honest, the last time on Ventura we just fell in love with the Glass House ! We were not expecting that but can't wait to return on Azura this week. :-)

[Selbourne]

I wouldn’t be put off by those who say that they didn’t like it. You might love it! It’s true that it’s all very sweet (other than the sandwiches - which you can ask for more of if you wish) but it’s all beautifully presented, very clever and creative and, being in the best restaurant on the ship comes with exemplary service. You also get good quality teas in nice china. The ‘free’ P&O afternoon tea that used to be lovely years ago is now very low rent and highly avoidable. By contrast, the Eric Lanlard affair is very upmarket. It’s also a nice way to while away a few hours on a sea day (the only time it’s offered) if, like us, the usual ‘entertainment’ rarely appeals. It often sells out so book soon after boarding if you haven’t booked in advance of the cruise. You’d only want to do it once per cruise but I give everything a try at least once rather than be too influenced by others. We all have different likes and dislikes. 

[AndyMichelle]

13 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I wouldn’t be put off by those who say that they didn’t like it. You might love it! It’s true that it’s all very sweet (other than the sandwiches - which you can ask for more of if you wish) but it’s all beautifully presented, very clever and creative and, being in the best restaurant on the ship comes with exemplary service. You also get good quality teas in nice china. The ‘free’ P&O afternoon tea that used to be lovely years ago is now very low rent and highly avoidable. By contrast, the Eric Lanlard affair is very upmarket. It’s also a nice way to while away a few hours on a sea day (the only time it’s offered) if, like us, the usual ‘entertainment’ rarely appeals. It often sells out so book soon after boarding if you haven’t booked in advance of the cruise. You’d only want to do it once per cruise but I give everything a try at least once rather than be too influenced by others. We all have different likes and dislikes. 

I was not trying to put anybody off, just giving my opinion, like you are.

You are right, we all like different things, what you see as creative, I see as a hideous mish mash.

My palette is obviously not as refined as yours.

We found the sandwiches to be not very nice either and really enjoyed very little apart from the setting and service of course.

Andy

[Presto2]

10 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I was not trying to put anybody off, just giving my opinion, like you are.

You are right, we all like different things, what you see as creative, I see as a hideous mish mash.

My palette is obviously not as refined as yours.

We found the sandwiches to be not very nice either and really enjoyed very little apart from the setting and service of course.

Andy

 

Same here - just wish we had had the advice re the afternoon tea before we did it. It was pretty new then and was a real disappointment. Would rather than say what we think that to let someone think that it is all wonderful. At the end of the day, on CC we all read the advice given for and against and make up our own minds.

[Meka3256]

On 4/18/2019 at 7:01 PM, Ali-W said:

Would be interesting to know what people think of the dairy free option ( if there’s one ) 

 

I emailed customer services and asked if they did dietary requirements.  I also specifically asked if the menu was similar.  This is the response I got:

 

We do indeed cater for gluten free in Eric Lanlard's Afternoon tea in the Epicurean. The gluten free options will be similar to what is offered on the standard option. 

Unfortunately, I do not have any examples as menu's change. Hopefully my personal experience can give a little insight. I recently have taken my family onboard for Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea and my mum is allergic to shellfish, so instead of the crab tart that was on the standard menu, they gave a salmon tart instead. I know this isn't the same thing but they do try to make it as similar as possible. If they are unable to do this, there may be one or two things that are slightly different. 

They do explain the menu when you are onboard and you can request to see these before you actually book once onboard. 

I hope this information has helped to answer your enquiry and we look forward to welcoming you on board soon.

 

[Ali-W]

We will interesting to see if they can do a dairy/lacto free version as butter/cream is usually a key ingredient In an afternoon tea.  

 

Everywhere seems to differ to how they manage gluten and lacto free. An example is we had planned to go to Betty’s last time we visited York.  But Betty’s view butter as an estenial ingredient to all their cakes and the only option would have been fruit salad

[Meka3256]

On 4/22/2019 at 9:13 PM, Ali-W said:

We will interesting to see if they can do a dairy/lacto free version as butter/cream is usually a key ingredient In an afternoon tea.  

 

Everywhere seems to differ to how they manage gluten and lacto free. An example is we had planned to go to Betty’s last time we visited York.  But Betty’s view butter as an essential ingredient to all their cakes and the only option would have been fruit salad

 

That's really frustrating about Betty's - given the rise in Veganism I'm surprised dairy free is still lagging so far behind gluten free 

[Winnie Witch]

We had the EL tea on Brittania ,,it was way too sweet for us,,The chocolate macaroon with duck was just yuck but i enjoyed the mini quiche.

By contrast my friend has just come back from a cruise on Arcadia where she had the afternoon tea, The menu looked much more to my taste. See what you think..I have (hopefully) attached the menu.

 

My one afternoon tea passion is the toasted tea cakes in the MDR...

 

el afternoon tea.pdf

[swaddy]

Re Betty's, it's a traditional tea shop using traditional recipes. Dairy free would rely on mar garine which may alter the ta ste. 

[NSWP]

I am a Coeliac and been on a few P&O UK ships.   The odd time I have been to normal arvo tea in the MDR, I just ask for a GF sambo and GF cake, it is forthcoming.

[HEB2019]

I have gluten and dairy allergies. On previous cruises I have prebooked EL afternoon tea and then when on board visited Epicurean to advise of requirements if possible at least 48 hrs prior to day of booking.

Staff have always been helpful and organised a separate cake stand to suit needs. Scones are a little flat but generally same or similar items to menu but without gluten and dairy.

[NSWP]

7 hours ago, HEB2019 said:

I have gluten and dairy allergies. On previous cruises I have prebooked EL afternoon tea and then when on board visited Epicurean to advise of requirements if possible at least 48 hrs prior to day of booking.

Staff have always been helpful and organised a separate cake stand to suit needs. Scones are a little flat but generally same or similar items to menu but without gluten and dairy.

1st post I see, welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by NSWP

[Zebbedee]

Hi, my wife and I had a cruise on Britannia last year and we ate at the Epicurean restaurant several times and also had the Eric Lanlard afternoon tea as well. My wife is gluten intolerant and they catered for without any issue (we did inform them that she would require a gluten free meal when we booked a table). Nothing was to much trouble for them and the food was incredible.