Where: Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia Style: Elegant holiday Tea Selection: 6 loose leaf teas Teatimes: Saturday to Sunday, 1 to 3:30; Additional Holiday Dates, November to December Reservations: 24-hour notice (note holiday teas sell out well in advance) Contact: 404-563-7799 Cost: $82 Tea with Santa; $65 Caroline Astor Afternoon Tea; $40 Children’s Tea Destination Tea Tips: Bring cash to tip the valet and remember to get your ticket validated. You’ll walk up the left winding staircase to check in for afternoon tea. Allow plenty of time to relish every part of this holiday tea: beautiful decorations for holiday photos, a visit from Santa, Victorian carolers and a life-size gingerbread house gift shop.
Destination Tea Notes: The staff at The St. Regis Atlanta gets it: every aspect of a luxury holiday tea should feel like a dream. While upscale hotel teas are Atlanta’s most expensive afternoon tea option, The St. Regis Atlanta sets itself apart by producing a delicious start-to-finish menu in a beautifully decorated, refined setting, with special touches everywhere you turn. If you missed visiting this holiday season, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to this holiday tradition, the hotel changes its tea selection and afternoon tea menus seasonally throughout the year.
A two-story Christmas tree and baubled garland add Christmas cheer to the lobby and second-floor Astor Court, where tea is served.
After we order our teas (choosing several of their winter selection), we take a couple quick photos.
For a surcharge, the adults may begin with a glass of Prosecco, Rosé, perfectly unsweet Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne (so glad I chose it!) or a Mimosa.
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Domed butter dishes are cute igloo-like condiment holders…
…that reveal ample lemon curd and clotted cream for some of the best scones (orange-cranberry flavor) we’ve ever tasted, with a light crumb, golden outside and lovely buttery, slightly-sweet warmth.
Santa visits our table, telling our teenagers he forgives their recent transgressions, having just removed them from the naughty list, and going forward, they should listen to their moms. Excellent work, Santa.
Plated unconventionally, every tier has a split of sweet and savory offerings, all scrumptious (excepting a bland carrot cake). Savories include baked ham with cheese on sweet roll, cucumber with caviar, turkey on pistachio bread, smoked salmon with crème fraîche on choux, and egg salad on croissant.
I’m smiling in anticipation of this fabulous menu. The top middle dessert is my favorite, a soft buttery pound cake topped with fresh raspberry and mousse drops. Delightful! A thin slice of the rich dark chocolate cake is enough to satisfy that chocolate craving, and a cream puff topped with blueberries is a creamy finish.
This scene brings to mind Christmases of old, as two young ladies peer down at the Victorian carolers who appear as teatime is ending, regaling us with a cappella Christmas music. As their harmonies carry up to serenade us in the Astor Court, it is the perfect finish to our holiday teatime. We leave with jolly spirits and another lovely Christmas memory.
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