Aalto

I went for afternoon tea and have to say it’s not just a tea it’s an experience with amazing ambiance and amazing modern twist on traditional concepts.
The hotel itself is stunning and then the restaurant itself sits pride of place within. The room is modern and had live music while I was there which added to the feeling, without being over powering. I have to say the food and rink themselves were served incredibly looked fantastic and tasted sublime. Definitely going again!

Where do I start?
This was my very first visit to Aalto and I have been waiting a very long time to mark a special occasion there.
The décor is superb, the embience is just right, the pianist play as you sit enjoying your drink in the lounge is relaxing and shere class.
The food — 5*
I will be back!!!

I am a big fan of Hotel LaTour. I have been to Aalto now on a number of occasions and each time I have had a fabulous time with their promise to deliver the classics with a modern twist.
The Afternoon Tea is awesome, the Sunday Lunch menu fantastic and their regular menu full of delights and surprises.
Come here for good value, amazing service and dishes to really enhance your tastebuds.
There are plentiful reasons to recommend Aalto — all I can say is go and try it for yourself!

It was so good that I’m tempted to say it wasn’t and demand that I go again, for a second opinion!
The ambiance of Aalto restaurant is relaxing whilst still buzzing with life and energy. The live music added to the ambiance, providing a soothing and pleasurable background to the meal.
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated, modern, tasteful and welcoming. I loved that we were sat on a large round table — I’m rather a fan of round tables as I feel it creates a better social vibe, and always supports odd numbers without so poor soul sitting opposite Hollow Man (which, lets face it, would put you off your food!)
As for the feast itself. Well, let’s start with the menu. It was the perfect size, with six options in each category, so plenty of choice without it been too baffling. All the same, I did find it hard to choose, as so many of the options were deeply appealing.
For starters, I settled on the Beetroot & Goats Cheese Tart, which was served on a bed of rocket, with walnuts and balsamic vinegar. It was a feast for the taste-​buds, and light enough not to make my main course option of Roast Lamb appear too daunting.
The lamb, as with the starter, was beautifully presented, and there was a lovely selection of vegetables served with it and they were cooked too perfection. The main was delicious, and plentiful. You will not go hungry after a meal at Hotel La Tour, tough you may need a little lie down!
So as not to cheat ourselves from the full experience, we all had dessert too. Again, I was a little torn between a couple of the options, and decided in the end that Spiced Crème Brûlée with Shortbread Biscuits just sounded too good a treat to miss. I was right!
With food that tantalizes the eye, stimulates the taste buds and is delivered with a wonderful side portion of fabulous service, Hotel La Tour provides a fabulous menu at reasonable prices, and is well worth a visit. I shall be going again.

This was extraordinary. The best food ever in UK. Modern relaxed and stylish. But also somewhat traditional things available. And they did proove, that English food can be prepared with really perfect taste. We were 4, shared and tried a lot that way. Everything was so good. Today we go again. the Rib Eye we love.

I recently visited Aalto in Hotel La Tour for afternoon tea. I’ve been searching for a decent afternoon tea spot in Birmingham for a while, so it was great to read such positive reviews from fellow Unilocalers about their High Tea menu.
I went with my husband and brother-​in-​law as a joint birthday treat. We’d dressed up smart and were ready for an afternoon of good old-​fashioned tea supping and sandwich munching.
We were greeted by a friendly and relaxed maître d’ who showed us to our table. We were seated on plush silver velvet sofas and our afternoon tea tranclements were laid out on an elegant coffee table. There was some nice piano music in the background and the atmosphere was very relaxed and luxurious.
We shared a teapot of Hendricks Gin and tonic, infused with chunks of cucumber. I’m a sucker for these «gin in a teacup» gimmicks! We also worked our way through several of the tea selections, though I was surprised that they used teabags rather than leaf tea.
The food was presented on a chrome floor stand, with three tiers of delightful morsels. The sandwiches were good and I especially enjoyed the «rarebit» which consisted of slithers of crispy soda bread served with a dipping pot of warm rarebit sauce (my husband commented that it was «like a posh Dairylea Dunker»).
The scones were delicious, light and fluffy. They came with a generous scoop of clotted cream and a dish of raspberry jam. I was most excited about the petit fours. They were miniature handmade versions of childhood favourites — walnut whips, jaffa cakes, treacle tarts and Eaton Mess. They didn’t disappoint!
Whilst the meal was very dainty and elegant, it was still very filling. We were very grateful when the maître d’ offered us a sample of a «palate cleansing» 1889 cocktail. He bought over a soda siphon and three small martini glasses. The cocktail was a delicious, foamy and sharp concoction of apple juice, gin and ginger. I could have drunk it forever.
The bill was presented with a small box of chocolates — a nice touch. I plan to return for afternoon and to try out the main restaurant menu soon.
Afternoon tea cost £15.95 per person and accompanying cocktails starts at £6.20.

I’m a big fan of Afternoon Tea. In fact I could live every day on just a big brunch and then a satisfying Afternoon Tea. So imagine my delight when I hear of a new place in town now offering one of my favourite meals. I even love that they call it High Tea (although I think traditionally that’s nearer 5pm but it matters not). Aalto Restaurant, located in Hotel la Tour is now offering this delectable reason for living daily between 2−4pm. I booked my place on the very first day and arrived at 2pm to be taken not to a table but the most scrumptious high back chairs set at the private end of the restaurant. So we already know we receive the service that represents the 4 start location, which in my mind is half of the restaurant experience.
For this treat, I take the boyfriend and ironically we are both coffee drinkers, which arrives quickly followed by an offer of Earl Gray Bellini. Even a non-​tea drinker is intrigued by that after which our 3 tier/​3 course High Tea arrived on a floor stand.
The finder traditional finger sandwiches are cut to perfection, the scones, almost round, the clotted cream so rich and then finally the cakes; going with the restaurants mantra ‘a modern twist on classic English food…’ these Jaffa cakes are not like any you have seen but yet taste as they should. This is the fourth city venue I’ve tried and it’s up there with the best. Enjoy!