Afternoon Tea at The Mandarin Oriental

In continuing celebration of my birthday, Raku and I went to afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental on Friday.  It was fantastic!  We read a CNN article about the 5 best afternoon teas in Tokyo, and now we want to try all of them.

When John and I were in Hong Kong we went to tea at the Peninsula, which was great, but I think I enjoyed this one more.  The decor at the Mandarin is a little more asian, and the food isn't served on the typical three tiered tray.  Perhaps the best part is that rather than selecting a tea and being served a pot of it, tea comes by the individual cup so you can try as many as you want, and each comes hot or iced!  The idea of iced tea seemed a little sacrilegious to me, but it was so lovely and refreshing.

By the end of the afternoon we had managed to drink six cups each, three iced and three hot.  The Exotic Orchard and Mandarin Oriental House Blend were my two favorites, but there wasn't a single tea I didn't enjoy.

Iced Tea from the 38th Floor

Tea is served in the Oriental Lounge, which is on the 38th floor.  The whole place is gorgeous, but if you want a window seat you should call ahead for a reservation (Raku did).

Once we had out first cup of tea we were each brought a plate of sandwiches.  Clockwise from the top: Ham, Corn and Coleslaw, Open-faced Peach and Proscuitto, Egg and Cucumber, and Salmon and Cucumber on Brioche.  We both enjoyed the salmon and cucumber the best.

So pretty!

We finished the sandwiches quickly, and truth be told they were my least favorite part.  We ordered more tea, and soon we each received a plate of scones (plain, cranberry, and coconut) served with jam, butter, and the most divine mango cream.

Yum!

After the scones were given a pre-dessert.  It was a little cup of yogurt topped with peach and mint jelly.  It looked beautiful, though I was a little skeptical of the concept, but it was delicious.

After our pre-dessert came real dessert, which was undeniably the main event.  It comes out on a beautiful stand, and it's almost too exquisite to eat (almost!).  And just to be clear, this isn't for sharing - we each got one!

Absolutely Divine

I wanted to take a picture of every single little dessert, but I restrained myself (a little).  Here are some of the best.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Chocolate Mousse with Blueberries

Peach Macaron

We slowly made our way through the desserts, accompanied by many more cups of tea.  We were always presented with the menu before we had finished out current cup, and never lacked for tea.  By the end we were completely full and satisfied.

View from the Bathroom

Before leaving we ducked into the bathroom because it also has an incredible view.  The view from the lounge is of skyscrapers and downtown Tokyo, while the view from the bathroom stretches out into the suburbs forever.  You can see both the Sky Tree and the bay.

Clowning around in the elevator - It's hard living a life of leisure

Tokyo Mandarin Oriental Lounge
Afternoon Tea Hours: 12:00-5:30
Phone: 03-3270-8188
Address: 2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Menu

Map

Read about other Afternoon Teas:
The Kahala Resort Honolulu
The Aman Tokyo
The Palace Hotel Tokyo
The Metropole Hanoi
The Ritz Carlton Tokyo
Tokyo Shangri-La
The Peninsula Hotel
The Mandarin Oriental (second time)
The Park Hyatt Shinjuku
The Four Seasons Marunouchi
Hotel Chinzanso