Podium Restaurant & Bar

This was a lovely taster of the Podium Resurant. The bread was delishous. Half Brown and half white and both as scrumptious as the other. I had deep fried seabass with coleslaw for start with was so yummy the fish was beautifully cooked and salmon with samphire and squid ink pasta which was very nice and very filling. The evening was enjoyable the music wasn’t too load so you could talk easily. The service was good and everyone was friendly. I think i would recommend this but there was a bit of an air of superiority coming off the other dinners which was a little off putting.

Went along here to have a chocolate afternoon tea at the Podium restaurant in the hotel. The furnishing is ok maybe a little outdated looking. First of all you are served sandwiches along with your chosen tea. There are many different teas to choose from passion fruit, hazelnut, etc. and you can have as many pots of tea you like thoughout. If you don’t like tea you can have coffee instead. The sandwiches are open sandwiches and all ingrediants are set on colourful bread for instance there was a curried yellow bread with egg, a green bread with ham on it etc. After the sandwiches you are served your cake stand with many scones and cakes. There was chocolate chip scones, plain scones, raspberry cupcake, lollipops, white edible plate etc that you get to eat. All very delicious. On the day we went Sunday there was also a singer singing and she was playing a guitar she sang and played beautifully. The only reason I give this place 4 stars though is I was cross that the member of staff that brought our cake stand out did not explain to us what each cake was but she did with everyone else she just slammed ours down and ran off. I felt she was rude so I had to complain about her. We was then sent over someone to explain all the cakes and a apology from the other member of staff. From then of we had someone coming up to us practically every 5 minutes to see if we was alright and can we get you anyting else. I also only give the restaurant 4 stars as I felt the place is a little outdated.

Came here for an evening meal using a Groupon voucher which made it excellent value. Decour and atmosphere could do with a bit of work, but other than that it was a lovely meal.
Food was excellent (scallop starter, duck and lentils for main and apple crème brûlée for dessert)

AMAZING AFTERNOON TEA!!! My absolute favorite in the area. You can’t go wrong… trust me! I have been there half a dozen times and am impressed every time. We also went there for dinner with a groupon that I had. Food was fabulous and fresh and the groupon was so cheap! I like this restaurant… you won’t be disappointed… highly recommend.

As all the pictures for Podium seem to be their Chocaholic’s Delight Afternoon Tea display, I think it’s clear what the star of this restaurant is!
We came here as part of Matt R’s Birthday Surprise Part 2 and it didn’t disappoint one bit.
We were seated and given a box of tea leaves while the waiter talked us through the different blends, and then chose what tea we wanted, which only took minutes to arrive. So far, so good.
Then came a plate with five delicious open sandwiches on it, with fillings like ham, egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber and prawn mayonnaise. YUM. The ham one was a little bland and the egg was a little rich, but with some creative pairing (ham sandwich with the cream cheese to add a little moisture to the ham and a little flavour to the cream cheese), it was a delicious savoury treat that perfectly preceded the chocolate explosion we were about to experience.
I don’t know what we were expecting, to be honest, from the next part. We’d seen pictures. We’d also seen it on other people’s tables, but NOTHING can prepare you for the sheer amount of chocolate you’re about to tackle. As a chocolate-​lover, this is HEAVEN.
At first when they put the tower down on the table, you think to yourself ‘Awwh, I’ll have to try and share this… gutted.’ Then you start eating.
Two scones each with clotted cream, strawberry jam and the most amazing chocolate sauce that blows Nutella out of the water. Four cupcakes to share, all moist with a not-​too-​sweet buttercream on the top (try the pineapple one, it’s INCREDIBLE) and then you reach the top level. And this is where you start to flounder.
Meringue on a stick. A chocolate whoopie pie. A chocolate macaroon. A Picasso shortbread with cream. A lemon cheesecake and loads of little chocolate honeycomb balls. And it’s all on an EDIBLE SOLID DARK CHOCOLATE ART PALATE.
Even the most die-​hard chocolate fans will be defeated by it and have to take a goody bag home. There’s no way around it. They’ve mastered the idea of a Chocaholic’s Delight and created something special here.
Everything tasted incredible. I didn’t eat one thing that I disliked and even the tea was stunning, with a good three cups out of one teapot meaning you’ll have some for every stage of your afternoon feast.
To top it all off, they even brought my boyfriend a little pistachio cupcake with a candle in and Happy Birthday in chocolate on a plate, which made the whole thing really special and something I would recommend to everyone 100%. Delightful. Delicious. And on a Groupon at half price, a steal to boot. DO IT.

Podium is the hotel restaurant at the Hilton Park Lane. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. I went there for both lunch and dinner. As far as the food goes, it is all very basic stuff, but they do a good job with the execution part. The breakfast was the typical big hotel buffet spread and the service was very attentive. When I went for lunch, the service was also very good. I had a chicken club sandwich with a side of chips. Nothing special, but the sandwich was very good. The prices here are on the high side, however. My lunch for a sandwich, soda and water was over £23, £17 for the sandwich.
The one downer on this place aside from the prices is the décor. It is straight out of generic hotel restaurant central casting, very sterile and not much atmosphere. However, the food and service was very good and I guess they are well known for their afternoon tea service. It is always a good thing to have a solid restaurant in your hotel.

Absolutely flawless service, I felt like royalty.
The treats were exceptionally delicious, the choice of teas exquisite and I was particularly impressed by the strawberry jam (jam doesn’t feel like the right word, is there a superlative special word for this strawberry paste of the Gods?) and the chocolate spread (makes nutella looks like Sainsbury’s Basics brown goo).

For photos see Greedy Diva @

When the alarm goes off on Monday morning, it will be Chocolate Week.
Yes, Chocolate Week. This week was British Egg Week, and that was fun (who doesn’t like a nutritious omelette)? But in the end, Egg Week is the sensible Birkenstock of Weeks compared to the frivolous, fancy and blatantly indulgent Manolo of Weeks that is Chocolate Week. Chocolate Week has got to be one of the best excuses to make like Augustus Gloop that was ever invented.
My trusty «if-​it-​involves-​chocolate-​and-​champagne-​you-​know-​my-​number» friend, the inimitable Ms P, was surprisingly quick to put up her hand to help me mark the occasion. We were invited down to Podium Restaurant at the London Hilton on the Park for a preview of 2 special afternoon tea packages: The White Chocolate Afternoon Tea (available during Chocolate Week, from 11 – 17 October 2010) and the Halloween Afternoon Tea (available from 18 – 31 October 2010). We also cast our eye over the regular Confessions of a Chocoholic Afternoon Tea.
The décor at the Podium Restaurant is not as glamourous and swanky as you might experience (and pay for) at The Ritz or Claridges. And the melodious live piano tunes that accompany your meal are actually emanating from an organ rather than the grand piano that your ear anticipates. But the setting is relaxed and contemporary, the quality and service are excellent. And, as you nibble daintily on your chocolate chips scones with Devonshire clotted cream, it’s easy to visualise a grand piano at all times.
Savoury starters include open sandwiches — egg and cress, Foreman’s smoked salmon with horseradish, honey roast ham and Pommery mustard, prawn mayonnaise and baby gem lettuce and cucumber with cream cheese and chives. Each is lovely, but not earth shattering, and perhaps the ham sandwich is a bit of a plain Jane. But we are not here for ham.
Our triple decker tiered stands of pure, chocolately indulgence then arrive. Normally, it’s one between two, but we’re not taking any chances and we road test two between us.
The White Chocolate arrangement is stunning — so much so, that another table comes over to take a photo. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the gorgeous white chocolate tea pot on the top deck. It is surrounded by lychee, raspberry, rosewater mousse and sugared diamonds, white chocolate millefeuille with griottine cherries, a cone of marshmallow and white chocolate ganache, pineapple crumble with white chocolate jelly and a vanilla and white chocolate macaroon. It’s all girly, dainty and delicious.
That’s just the top shelf.
Underneath, we have 4 cupcakes — chocolate and banana, and milk chocolate and raspberry. And finally, a selection of scones — plain, fruit and chocolate chip, served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and praline chocolate. (The upcoming menu also advertises a white chocolate and raspberry scone.)
The Halloween Afternoon Tea has more of a childish appearance, but loses nothing in taste. The cupcakes are dark chocolate and orange, and gooey toffee — the flavours are quite mild and hard to detect, other than in the icing, which is probably a good thing to avoid the experience becoming too sickly sweet. The top shelf fancies are «miniature toffee apples» (which are actually glaced cherries), an almond paste pumpkin, a dark chocolate witch hat, a white chocolate and raspberry dome and a blood orange chocolate bat.
All the chocolatey bits are made in-​house with Valrhona chocolate (70% cocoa), and — this is possibly the best bit — the top shelf of each stand is presented on a large, edible chocolate plate. If you can’t get through it all (we couldn’t and we’re seasoned veterans), you are even presented with quite a glamourous «doggy bag» to take home the leftovers.
Oh, yes the tea. All teas are from the Harney & Sons — we tried the Hilton Afternoon Tea blend which is designed to accompany the chocolate afternoon teas (full flavoured and smokey) and, my favourite, the elegant Imperial Earl Grey. I loved the timers which also allowed us to known when to pour for mild, medium or strong tea.
The Podium Restaurant’s Chocolate Week Afternoon Tea (available 11 – 17 October 2010) and Halloween Afternoon Tea (available 18 – 31 October 2010) cost £25 — great value for a gorgeously indulgent way to while away a wintery afternoon. The restaurant also offers its standard «Confessions of a Chocaholic» afternoon tea at all times for £22.50 (or £29.50 with a glass of champagne). All afternoon teas are available daily from 2pm-​6pm.