London Food | The Disney Café by Harrods

We were in London last weekend and took the opportunity to visit the Disney Café in Harrods.  Naturally, I was filled with so much excitement to be experiencing a bit of Disney in Harrods, and being Harrods, I had extremely high expectations. 

The Disney Café is situated on the fourth floor, just off the children's wear section and a stone's throw from the afternoon tea court.  The café is suitably decked out in Disney memorabilia - from Mickey Mouse outlines on the back of the chair to Tinkerbell over Big Ben, beneath a starry night sky.  We visited on Sunday afternoon at around 3pm with the hope to have a cream tea and when we arrived, the café was quite quite so we were able to choose where we were seated.

Once we sat down, we discovered that afternoon tea didn't start until 4pm but thought since it was quite quiet and we were all used to exemplary Disney service, we thought we would ask if we could have afternoon tea.  The waiter asked the chef if this would be possible and we were told no as it was too busy.  I was quite disappointed but I was equally tempted by some of the desserts, so in the end, we went for a dessert and a drink.

The adults menu was reasonably priced for London (around £10 a main) and offered a fairly extensive and tempting menu.  The drinks, on the other hand, were very expensive (£5 for a coke!) but I suppose that's an easy way to increase their spend per head. 

I had heard the dessert menu offered Mickey waffles but I fancied the chocolate brownie so went for that.  Dena and Kerrie went for the waffles and we all waited with anticipation for our delicious Disney fare.  I was a little perplexed when I saw a waiter bring my chocolate brownie in through the restaurant entrance, but tried to remain open minded.

When our desserts arrived, they were beautifully presented.  Mickey waffles and my portion of brownie had been transformed into Mickeys!  Hurrah!  The Disney food I was expecting!  

However, upon tasting, honestly, we were all very disappointed.  My brownies were okay. They weren't gooey and chocolatey like I like them, they were quite dry and the chocolate taste wasn't as a decadent as normal brownies.  The ice cream was creamy and delicious but I was unsure about the fruit puree served with it.  The much-coveted Mickey waffles didn't fare much better: they were served with a berry compote which  turned out to be half a dozen berries on their own and they weren't sweet waffles, they were pretty tasteless and bland.  I understand waffles not having to be loaded with sugar but if you are ordering dessert, it's usually to satisfy a sweet tooth so in my humble opinion, the waffles needed some kind of sauce, whether it be fruit puree, maple syrup or chocolate sauce. 

I think the problem was we were expecting quality food since it was not only Disney but Disney by Harrods. Of course, I can't speak for the mains but the desserts were distinctly mediocre. Whether they think they can get away with okay food because people come for the experience or it was a bad day, I don't think the experience was really good enough.  It's a real shame.  

All in all, it seemed like it was all style and no substance; beautifully presented but really lacking in taste.

Have you ever visited the Disney Café?  Did you enjoy it more than I did?