Tea Time at Romain C.

About a year ago, we received an email from a reader imploring us to help her find a proper tea time in Lausanne. We racked our brains for ideas, but finally conceded that apart from 5-star hotels, Lausanne hadn’t caught on to the British tradition of a special afternoon tea accompanied by cakes and pastries.

Fast-forward to a few weeks ago, a little birdy (okay, actually it was Romina from Blaastyle) tipped us off that Romain C., Lausanne’s most elegant tea room, would be launching a tea time service, à la française. Everything this young and exceedingly talented pastry chef touches turns to gold, so we quickly set a date to give tea time a try.

And oh.my.word. it was glorious.

Romain C. remains unrivaled in Lausanne for the sheer elegance and sophistication of its pastries, and its teatime is a parade of moist cakes and rose-flavored marshmallows that melt in your mouth and delicate pastries topped with little gold flakes. Swoon, it was all almost too pretty to touch.

Almost being the operative word here…

The chef specializes in creating his dreamy desserts with as little added sugar as possible, so after an afternoon of total indulgence, we felt surprisingly light and satisfied. It’s here that his real mastery is evident: in the same way that after a gastronomic meal, you feel full but not uncomfortable, Romain C.’s tea time is, simply-put, sheer perfection.