The High Tea Date at The St. Regis in NYC:
Our high tea at the St. Regis
We went to high tea at the St. Regis in Manhattan this Sunday. It was a present from my mom to celebrate our anniversary. It was a beautiful elegant setting and I felt like I was in a time of gilded elegance. There was a harpist right beside us playing angelic music. The chandeliers and murals were gorgeous and the service was excellent.
Afternoon tea consisted of four basic things: assorted tea sandwiches, scones, assorted desserts and of course, your choice of tea. You get all of this plus the lovely ambiance for $48 a person. For us it was a special treat because we probably would not have taken ourselves and I had wanted to go.
My husband never tried a scone before and I was trying to describe how it was a cross between a croissant and a buttermilk biscuit so I was relieved when he finally tasted one and could describe it himself. Anyway, he liked it.
Neither of us loved the tea sandwiches but we did love the scones, dessert and tea.
I think this would definitely be a very romantic elegant impressive date spot if you can afford it. Reportedly Salvador Dali and Marlene Dietrich used to love drinking tea there as well.
Also, tea drinking has been associated with positive health and psychological benefits. I won’t get into that research here but I have posted a few links on this below. It might make for some interesting date conversation to discuss which teas have what properties and how they have been used for various ailments and moods.
Afternoon tea is popular in England. Reportedly it was originated by Anna, 7th Dutchess of Bedford in the 1800’s. She thought of having tea around 4 or 5Pm to ward off hunger between lunch and dinner. It caught on and people often continue the practice today. Personally, I love the idea for at least once a week but it can be very caloric to do this whole spread daily! Also, I have not researched whether there is a good traditional afternoon tea service in Manhattan for $15-$20 a person which would be more reasonable on a regular basis.
Anyway, you can make reservations for the St. Regis tea by ahead by calling the Astor Court. Afternoon tea is offered there Monday through Sunday between 3PM and 5PM.
On our way out of the hotel we inquired about the price for a room, just out of curiosity. We were told that the nightly room rate was between $600-$800! I heard that every floor has free butler service. So if you can’t afford to stay there, why not at least have some tea in style?
You can check out my slideshow of pictures at: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2473-NY-Love-Examiner~y2010m2d21-The-High-Tea-Date
If you do go, let me know what you think!
My Best in Love,
Paulette
www.mydatingschool.com
Author of ‘Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart’ published by Atria Books.
CONTACT INFO:
St. Regis-Two E. 55th St (at 5th Ave), NY, NY 10022, (212)753-4500
Related Links:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/dining/attraction_detail.html?propertyID=81&attractionId=27613
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-st-regis-new-york-new-york
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/338124
http://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/columns/testdrive/n_9532/
http://elmwoodinn.com/books/NewYorktopten.html
http://www.travelchannel.com/Places_Trips/Destinations/North_America/United_States/New_York/New_York/Restaurants/Astor_Court
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-types-of-tea-for-6-different-moods.html
http://blog.theteatable.com/popular-tea-and-health-questions
http://blog.theteatable.com/drinking-green-tea-linked-to-less-psychological-distress
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm
Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis in NYC
