This is not the first time we went for afternoon tea at The Plaza Hotel. We wanted to go during the Holidays, but it was impossible to get a reservation. So we went 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday at 11am. As we arrived, they asked if we had any dietary restrictions and gave Jodi a vegetarian menu that was not on their website. On my side, the only choice I had was the Holiday Signature Tea that they probably continue to serve in January. If you never had Afternoon Tea, it is composed of scones, small sandwiches and pastries, accompanied by some tea (I am sure that if you do not like tea, they can accommodate coffee). They bring everything at the same time, on a beautiful and classy stand, so you can decide what to eat first: if you want to start with dessert, you can! Here is what we had:
Vegetarian Afternoon Tea:
Vegetarian afternoon tea at The Palm Court in The Plaza Hotel in NYC
The Vegetarian Afternoon Tea was composed of the following:
Sandwiches:
Avocado sandwich with pico de Gallo and tomato bread,
English cucumber sandwich with mint labneh, lemon zest, tarragon, pickled mustard seeds on a white bread,
Tomato Sesame basket with basil ricotta and sun-dried tomatoes,
Stuffed mini bell peppers with mixed roasted vegetables,
Hummus pita toast with chickpeas and red pepper sauce.
Holiday Signature Afternoon Tea:
Holiday Signature afternoon tea at The Palm Court in The Plaza Hotel
The Holiday Signature Afternoon Tea was composed of:
Sandwiches:
Applewood smoked pearl salmon with dill creme fraiche, pickled shallot, trout caviar on a brioche.
English cucumber sandwich with mint labneh, lemon zest, tarragon, pickled mustard seeds on a white bread,
Fire roasted BBQ chicken with scallion cream cheese and spinach on a tomato bread,
Roast beef sandwich with wasabi dijonnaise, crispy shallot on white bread,
Foie gras macaronwith truffle kewpie mayo and caviar.
Scones:
We both got the same scones: one sweet (cranberry spiced scone) and one savory (truffle scone) that were served with Devonshire cream, Kalamansi curd and house made cranberry and orange preserves. I should mention that if you want more scones, they would bring some more to you.
Pastries:
Similar to the scones, we got the same selection of pastries that were:
Dual sesame choux with black sesame diplomate cream and sesame praline,
Oolong Tea cheesecake with a oolong graham cracker,
Mont Blanc cassis with a Swiss vanilla meringue, blackcurrant confit and chestnut cream,
Pecan pie with almond streusel and vanilla creme fraiche,
Mango coconut tart with mango confit, coconut streusel, mascarpone coconut Chantilly, passion fruit gel and lime zest.
Tea:
They have a nice selection of teas. I went for the Sencha Superior, a green tea “made from the predominant Yabukita cultivar of Shizuoka, Japan and offers the classic, bitter sweet and balanced umami flavor that represents the original Japanese Sencha taste profile” as they describe it, while Jodi got the Big Ben, an English Breakfast blend of black tea from Yunnan, China and Assam, India.
Sencha Superior tea at The Palm Court in The Plaza Hotel
This was great experience, even if I did not like everything. The desserts were a bit too out there for me, especially the black sesame choux and pecan pie that were a bit disappointing, but I loved the rest, even some of the few bites from the vegetarian menu that I tried. It does not seem a lot of food, but, as you drink tea at the same time, you get full ultimately. Again, this is about the experience, from the place itself that is definitely meant for it, the service that is on point, to the ambiance that is not stuffy at all, with many tables celebrating birthdays (the only difference is that the staff will not sing there, but you would get a little birthday crown). It is a bit pricey ($155 for the Holiday Signature and $110 for the vegetarian menu), but it is worth it.
Enjoy (I did)!
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The Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel - 768 5th Ave, New York, NY 10019
