Several months ago, I enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea at Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s Floris Restaurant. Luckily for me, this darling tea room updates its menu quarterly or whenever a new exhibit arrives at the museum, giving visitors a chance to try new dishes throughout the year. I returned to Floris a few weeks ago, when they debuted their spring menu (they have since changed their offerings: their current menu reflects their latest exhibition, India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power and Opulence (more details about this exquisite collection coming soon!) I was excited to try the spring selection before the museum changed to the latest themed menu.
The tea service started with two pots of tea: one for me and one for my daughter. We decided to try the Shenandoah Blue and the White Tapestry tea blends to start. Both teas were bright, flavorful, and refreshing. We were then brought scones and bread, served with jam and a delicious soft butter. A short while later, our tower arrived.
On the bottom layer were the savory items: smoked salmon finger sandwiches, potato and leek pastries, charred broccoli bites, and boursin quiches. The salmon sandwiches were light, and the herbed lemon cream was a nice touch, but I found the flavor of this dish a little underwhelming, though pleasant. The potato and leek pastries were flaky and flavorful, and the salsa verde on top was just enough to keep the bright flavor profile that captured the energy of springtime. The broccoli bites were chilled, and while I think I would have enjoyed them more as a warm dish, the bacon crumbles on top offered a delightful crunch and enhanced the taste of the broccoli tremendously. My favorite was the boursin quiche: warm, cheesy, rich, buttery, and the little garnish on top was cute and tasty.
The middle layer of the tower were two of the sweet treats. On this layer, we found the sweet potato crumble slice and the chocolate and sesame cookie cake. The sweet potato crumble slice was such a fresh interpretation of coffee cake configuration: we’re so often served sweet potato as a pie or as a side vegetable, and seeing it in a crumble cake was lovely. The flavor was tasty, and I love that it was combined with ice cream on the top layer. The chocolate and sesame cookie cake was another unexpected treat: this was one of those rare “not too sweet” desserts. The sesame provided an earthier flavor and more texture than is usually expected from chocolate desserts. I liked it, though I can’t say that it’s something that I’d clamor to recreate in my own kitchen.
Finally, the top layer featured the passionfruit glazed madelines and raspberry macarons. The madelines were, hands down, my favorite dessert of the meal. Sweet, soft, fruity, bright, a little tart, and unmistakably tropical, these delicious spongy cakes with the incredible glaze were so divine, I could have eaten ten of them! The saddest moment of this meal was when I took the last bite of the madelines and knew that there were no more left. Finally, I ate one of the macarons, which were perfectly executed and tasty.
We sipped our tea and enjoyed the time together. The tea room only had a few more guests, so we were able to enjoy a fairly quiet experience at Floris. It was notably busier during my last visit in the late fall, but I appreciate how the restaurant always offers fantastic service regardless of how busy things can get.
This was another fantastic Floris experience! I can’t wait to return and see how the chefs design the menu around the latest exhibition!
Bronze Butterfly 