Why I did not like the Afternoon Tea at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

Afternoon Tea at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

I was really looking forward to our afternoon tea at The Mandarin Oriental. We arrived a bit early there as, because of the heavy rain, we took the subway, and we had to wait 10 minutes for a table. I am not sure why as the place was really not that crowded. Anyway, they sat us at a table close to the window and we could admire the incredible view of Columbus Circle and Central Park.

The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

At The Mandarin Oriental, the afternoon tea is $135, whether you are vegetarian or non-vegetarian (I admit that I am always surprised about that, especially when you’ll see what was on the non-vegetarian menu that could explain a price difference). They started off by asking us what tea we wanted. I chose peppermint, while Jodi went for the Vanilla Rooibos. They brought us the tea probably 10 minutes before the food that came in these three tier holders so typical of afternoon teas. Everything looked beautiful, colorful and appetizing, with, in the bottom, the sandwiches that were the only difference between the vegetarian and non-vegetarian version, scones in the center (butter and ginger), and small pastries on top.

Peppermint tea at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

Scones at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

The non-vegetarian sandwiches were:

Non-vegetarian sandwiches at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

• Coronation Chicken: a classic British sandwich made of boneless chicken, mixed with curry-spiced mayonnaise, raisins and pickled onion with a curry gel on top.

• Wild mushrooms and truffle: roasted wild mushrooms with a vegan coconut cream with truffles.

• Lobster roll: poached Maine lobster with gochujang mayonnaise, apple and pickled cucumber, topped with caviar. I was really looking forward to this, but it did not deliver: the mayonnaise was overpowering, not letting the lobster shine and the bread tasted stale.

• Roast beef and caramelized fennel: medium-well roasted beef with Gruyère, and pickled caramelized fennel. This was my favorite from all the sandwiches, the meat melting in my mouth.

For the vegetarian tea, they served the following:

Vegetarian sandwiches at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

• Wild mushrooms and truffle: roasted wild mushrooms with a vegan coconut cream with truffles.

• Kale with golden beets.

• Smoky eggplant.

• Cucumber and cream cheese.

The sweets for both were:

Macaron and chou at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

Hibiscus mousse cake at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

Elderflower Huckleberry tart at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

Lavender Chocolate Savarin at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC

• Elderflower and huckleberry tart: an elderflower-infused buttermilk custard nestled in a pastry shell, topped with a huckleberry jam.

• Hibiscus mousse cake: a hibiscus mousse cake layered with hibiscus gel.

• Rose, lychee and raspberry macaron: fresh raspberries layered with a lychee cream and a hint of rose.

• Chamomile chou: a small cream puff filled with chamomile cream.

• Lavender chocolate savarin: a 70% chocolate mousse savarin infused with lavender cream.

The desserts were good and looked beautiful, but I admit that they were a bit out there, far from classics. Still, I admired the creativity of the chef and really liked the last three.

The food looked amazing overall, but we unfortunately did not feel well after leaving, having a headache and feeling nauseous, probably from food poisoning. Even without that, I am not sure I would put this place on top of my list for afternoon tea, preferring Fauchon or Lady Mendl, that I realized I never posted about. For a similar price, The Plaza remains my all time favorite.

Enjoy (…)!

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The Mandarin Oriental - 80 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023