Destination Tea: The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta

Where:  Atlanta, Georgia
Style:  Downtown luxury
Tea Selection:  6 loose leaf teas from Palais des Thés
Teatimes:  Special Tea Events
Reservations:  Required
Contact: 404-221-6550
Cost:  $60 Royal Tea; $45 Seasonal Tea; $30 Child (ages 3 to 12)
Destination Tea Tips:  Bring cash to tip the valet. This Ritz-Carlton typically serves a multi-weekend Holiday and Spring Tea, so check in September/October and February/March to snag a reservation.

Prices and teatimes are subject to change. Please see our Georgia afternoon tea directory for the latest details.

exterior afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta

Destination Tea Notes: Having had a fabulously scrumptious spring teatime at The Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta, we’d love to see the hotel introduce a year-round afternoon tea service. It would be very welcome as the sole hotel tea in this area of the ATL. Though the ambiance here is not as glamorous as at Buckhead hotel teas — the darkly lit ground floor is in part below street level — this afternoon tea is priced more modestly, the beautifully presented menu is near flawless with surprise courses, the teas are delicious and the service is exceptional. We typically prefer to pour out our own tea so that we do not have to wait for servers to notice our empty teacups, but this was a non-issue at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, where servers efficiently whisked from table to table, keeping our cups full. There’s a bonus in this method – you can taste many more teas, enjoying a single cup of each if that suits your mood. For this tea’s spring theme, the hotel decorated a private meeting room, complete with a garden bench photo booth and the most unique tea trays we’ve seen yet. We think serving afternoon tea in the hotel’s Lumen bar lounge instead would allow guests to enjoy its natural lighting and stylish upholstered chairs and banquettes. Wherever it is set, we look forward to seeing how The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta will delight us with their creativity at their holiday tea this winter – we don’t plan to miss it!

walking into afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Dark espresso tones welcome you to The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta.
lobby at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
At the far side of the lobby is the Lumen bar, which would be a stylish setting for afternoon tea.
Spring Tea afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Green accent lighting at the springtime tea in this wood-paneled private room
interior afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Framed landscapes, trellis pattern and paned-window trim, bringing the outdoors in
friends at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Tables are set with lemon, scone condiments, milk, sugar and small flower centerpiece.

Tea Service

teapots at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Beautiful Royal Albert teapots keep decanted teas to temperature on warmers. Servers present the Palais des Thés tea box to help us select our teas.
tea pouring at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Gorgeous china pattern, the perfect motif for this Spring Tea
beautiful china at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Our server guides our tea selection with her honest opinion. We appreciate the descriptions of each tea on the printed menu and try almost every tea, especially loving the Blue of London flowery Earl Grey and Jasmine Green Tea.

Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sandwiches

cherry tree at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Afternoon tea is art at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta Spring Tea, celebrating cherry blossom season.
tea sandwiches at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
These savory combinations delight us! Crispy Prosciutto and Asparagus Pâte à Choux is a stunning standout, then there’s Southern Egg Salad with Corn Nuts on Cornbread, Lemony Cucumber Sandwich with Crème Fraîche on Brioche and House Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream and Caviar.
scones at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Vanilla and Georgia Peach scones come out warm with soft insides, though we find the peach scones to be underdone.
dessert course at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Desserts are mini triumphs, making us feel especially spoiled by the hotel’s pastry chef: Blood Orange Creamsicle Panna Cotta, Strawberry Macadamia Tart with mini Meringues, Chocolate Kahlua Fudge Bite and our favorite, Pistachio Cheesecake Lemongrass Profiterole.
macarons in a nest at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
A surprise dessert in this blown-glass nest: edible eggs, macaron-style
strawberries chantilly at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Another surprise dessert that appears later in the meal: strawberries chantilly, so wonderful
Angela Renals at afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Creating a memento of the occasion at the faux garden bench photo station
DestinationTea
Tea Voyageuse, discovering the world of afternoon tea, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

2 Comments

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We love comments! Destination Tea's comment policy shares a guiding principle with afternoon tea etiquette: please be gracious. We welcome honest comments that are not rude or scathing.