All About Chicago Afternoon Tea Spots

 By Lu

That's my Silver Needle Jasmine!

Afternoon tea (also known as high tea only in America) is one of my favorite things to do. It is my time to be girly and to imagine that I'm Kate Middleton, sitting in my nice veranda, sipping tea and munching on scones, patiently waiting for my darling William to pick me up for our afternoon horseback ride in the country. *Sigh...*

When I'm back to reality, the actual reason I like it is because it is simply enjoyable. If you follow our blog, I'm sure you know my love for tea. I'm not kidding about that. It is the perfect thing to do with friends to catch up or just to shoot the breeze. It's a great alternative to the usual lunches and brunches. It is a nice idea to do for showers. It's just so much fun! In the US, people seem to think afternoon tea is intended only for the ladies. However, this is really not just for girls. Guys, you should try it too! There are millions of men in Europe that enjoy sipping a cup of tea and eating pastries in the afternoon. It is really a faux-pas that afternoon tea is intended for the females only. So, I'm daring you (American) men who are secured enough with your masculinity to  go try high tea! You'll be pleasantly surprised that it can be really enjoyable to do on a Sunday afternoon after a hangover from the bar hop the night before.

What you can expect when having afternoon tea: first, you have to select what tea you want to drink. It will be served in an individual pot, complete with a strainer for the leaves. Then, you will get a three tiered serving apparatus, for the three offerings: finger sandwiches; sweet breads, scones, and cookies; and lastly little pastries and finger desserts. Most afternoon tea places also offer selections of Champagne, Mimosa or Bellini. The condiments served usually consist of Lemon Curd, Marmalade or Berry Preserve, and Devonshire (Clotted) Cream.

Due to my deep fondness of afternoon tea, I have tried all the spots in my city, my beloved Chicago. There are some that I frequent and some I would not go again. Here is my list:

The Lobby - Peninsula Hotel

Beautiful Tiered Offerings at The Peninsula

Hands down, the best spot in town for afternoon tea. Peninsula Hotel itself is known for their reputation to be one of the highest echelon of hotels along with The Four Seasons and St. Regis. It is not a surprise that it is one of the best spots for tea in town. It wasn't always my favorite at the beginning, as usually I am always about the taste of the food first. Coming from Indonesia, service and atmosphere aren't always my priorities. I can be happy eating tasty pork dumplings in a makeshift restaurant of someone's garage and having to deal with not so bright waitress. Things like that do not faze me at all if the food is superb. However, after several visits later and having been able to compare it to other places, I am so comfortable to put The Lobby at Peninsula Hotel on the top of my list.

It is definitely the most expensive of all the tea places, and that is for a reason. When you compare these high-end hotels, you have to compare it as if you are looking at a diamond with a magnifying glass. In the surface, they're all comparable. However, why would you pay the extra? Like diamonds, when you look at it at a glance, they're all pretty and expensive. Yet, there's a reason why they have color, cut, and clarity to determine price points. With Peninsula Hotel, you are paying for that quality.

Ri, enjoying afternoon tea in Chicago

The hotel is obviously beautiful. The Lobby itself is gorgeous, decorated with fresh cut flowers at the entrance. It is a big room with huge windows that give you an abundance of natural light. The seats are at regular height for dining, not love seats. I found it to be much more comfortable for eating. Love seats and couches could look cool and hoytie toytie, but I found it awkward for eating. The food and the tea selection are great. Another place beat them only in one category - the scones. However, through my many visits, their sandwiches have been consistently tasty, gorgeous, and creative. The pastries have always looked and tasted top notched. The scones and breads have been proven above average as well. Another cool thing to mention - each time I was there, they always added a bonus course. They surprised me several of times with various kinds of Souffles. One other time, they gave Ri and me a cake with a plastic syringe-like applicator filled with rum. We had to inject it to the cake and boy was that good!

My tea posse - Tina, Sandrine, Marilou, and Rebecca all loved the Peninsula tea and its service. The service has always been pleasant and not snooty.

One more thing - they usually also have violinists playing in the balcony for the patrons' enjoyment.

The Lobby at Peninsula Hotel is definitely top shelf for afternoon tea for me.

The Seasons Lounge at The Four Seasons
It used to be my number one place; however, I do like the overall feel and value of The Peninsula's tea service. I've been here over five times, and they didn't really change up the food a lot. I remembered getting the same sandwiches each time. The only thing I'm glad they didn't change is their scones. They're delicious beyond delicious. Their cherry or cranberry scones are always so moist and biscuit-like. They are just so yummy.

The atmosphere will remind you more of the classic English living room, with the love seats and the fireplace. It is definitely cozy and classic with that touch of the English elegance. When I was there,  I didn't mind it a bit. Again, I never really paid that close attention to how the staff can get snobby or stuffy. My friend Tina, definitely noticed it and she will only go back there for special occasion, like my birthday, where she would feel bad to say no to.

Yet, it is still up there for me. I would crave that scones and this was where I discovered my beloved Silver Needle Jasmine. I would go back here with or without my friends for the scones.

The Ritz-Carlton

The tea posse at The Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton goodies

I also enjoyed myself immensely at The Ritz-Carlton. I thought the tea service was great. The Ritz-Carlton Chicago is also a Four Seasons hotel, so service and food should be pretty similar in standards. However, at The Ritz-Carlton, the room is huge and bright, and not dark like The Seasons Lounge. I love the windows that seemingly looked like skylights. It would be so pretty being there in a nice afternoon or in a snowy day. The tea posse and I were there last summer and had a great time. The food were picture perfect and I actually liked the service better there compared to The Four Seasons. The wait staff were friendlier and more at ease. Sandrine went back several weeks later with her mom and friend because she liked it last time. I would definitely go back here again.

Palm Court at The Drake Hotel
It's the perfect place for a tea beginner (as Tina puts it). It captures all elements of what afternoon tea should be, and it will get you to like it, and then, loving it. However, once you're a tea veteran, you will want more. The Drake Hotel is one of the most famous Chicago Hotels. Mark and I got engaged there and it will always have that special spot for me as being an endearing landmark of Chicago. I had my first tea experience there as well. I went there with Michelle, Ri's sister-in-law, who is also like a sister to me. I had so much fun that day at tea though Michelle missed her flight that night.  However, that is when my long love affair with tea started.

The Palm Court is dark and classic in atmosphere, complete with a powder room for the ladies. There's also a Harpist plucking away classical melodies for the background music. It adds the wow factor for newbies. I was definitely impressed by the Harpist back then. First couple of times going there, I had no complaints. Yet, then I got spoiled and learned better. On my visits, the food was nothing to complain about and their Devonshire cream looked like whipped cream - or maybe it was whipped cream. After awhile however, it's pale in comparison in the overall service to the above hotels. However, they're also cheaper compared to those above.

The Hilton Palmer House

at Palmer House

We were just here last Saturday. Rebecca, Marilou, Sandrine, and Tina took me there for my annual birthday tea. It was so nice of them and we had an absolute fun time! We talked, laughed, took pictures, ate and drank tea and Mimosa. Sandrine even befriended one of the nicer waiter, Jordan. However, overall - it wasn't our best tea experience.

When you walked in to the hotel, it oozed Chicago classic of Capone time. It was classic and elegant. Then, when the hostess took us to our table,  she took us upstairs and to the hallway that looked like balconies of an opera house overlooking the lobby. However, the area we passed to get to our table upstairs wasn't pretty. It felt like they were taking us to the back of the house of the hotel. The table was huge and felt like a banquet table. It definitely didn't fit my perfect idea of what the atmosphere should be for afternoon tea.

The food was below average. The finger sandwiches were a little boring and the breads got a little dry. Maybe they didn't cover it with damp towel to keep them from drying out. The scones and desserts were just okay. The worst part was they did not give us a consistent amount for each item. Usually, from my knowledge of my past visits to other tea spots, they would give you one piece of each item. The Palmer House gave us four maple scones and one blueberry scones for five people. We had to cut and divide. When Sandrine asked the not-so-nice waiter about the odd scone count, he looked a little miffed and of course I had to call him back to ask for more hot water just as soon as he was walking away. When he stopped at mid step due to my bidding, I caught a glimpse of his facial expression and it was ugly. Disappointing! Further, they gave us eight servings of Panna Cotta and again, there were only five of us. They served the Panna Cotta in mini Martini glasses; thus, we couldn't even bring the leftovers home.

Russian Tea Time
Don't go here if you are looking for an impeccable tea experience. If you are looking just to try it, and not want to spend a lot of money, then yes - that is a big MAYBE. We took Marilou here last year for her birthday in February  and it was bad. No valet parking available at the time, and parking on the street was hard. We had to park at a garage that was quite pricey.

Russian Tea Time is actually a restaurant serving Russian food. They just also chose to serve afternoon tea. It definitely has just a regular restaurant ambiance. We were seated at a booth. Not long after, the waitress spilled a whole glass of iced water on my lap - in the middle of February, mind you. The food was not good in my opinion. The sandwiches felt cheap and deli like, the scones and breads were forgettable. The desserts were appalling. They looked like store bought and some were cookies from the can. Considering they're cheaper, I could have a little tolerance. However, the more I think of it, it was still above $20. I would expect something more of a quality and also more authentic. I didn't even remember the tea selections. They didn't offer any type of consolation for giving me an ice bath either. When I saw other tables eating some Stroganoff, it looked good and smelled good. If I ever come back, I would come back for the Borscht and the Beef Stroganoff, not the tea.

Seasons of Long Grove
This is a humble tea place in an artsy area of Long Grove. The price is cheaper, below $20 and you can expect whatever you can expect for what you pay for. However, it is a great alternative for tea in the suburbs. You can make it a great day for afternoon tea followed by strolling around Long Grove and shop for some chatzky stuff.

If you have not tried afternoon tea, do go! I can assure you it would be a plesant experience (if you go to the right place). Yes, it can get pricey for some finger foods and tea; however, it is a great time. I could go every week, but my check book says hell no. Most of the tea places above offer a discounted/validated valet parking and it made it quite reasonable.

I hope someday I can write more lists of where to go for tea in other cities. It is definitely in my bucket list of things to do!

** UPDATE ON THE DRAKE - APRIL 16, 2011
I went there today on Saturday, April 16, 2011 to celebrate my friend, Holly's birthday and we were in for a surprise. It has been a couple years since I had an Afternoon Tea at The Drake, and since then, they have renovated the Palm Court. The decor has been updated with nice white satin draperies, taupe colored velvet love seats and white leather chairs. It looked more modern and yet still classic. The service was also so much better. Our server had a big smile on his face the whole time, and everyone was very attentive and sweet. They also updated their price. They're no longer cheaper compared to their peers. The food was still average in my opinion, but they did improve their clotted cream. You can never find a "tea crowd"  in Chicago anywhere other than The Drake. We saw baby showers, bridal showers, girls in big hats and gloves, little  girls in pink running around, women in evening gowns! Wow! Also, I saw a lot of men there! Holly had a great time! Rebecca and Marilou had never been to The Drake for tea before, and they also thought it didn't disappoint! So, people... We like The Drake!

**UPDATE ON RITZ-CARLTON DECCA RESTAURANT - June 11, 2011
I had fun at afternoon tea at the Ritz-Carlton last summer, but my experience this time was very different. Ri was in town and she slowly is trying all these afternoon tea places in Chicago, and it was time for the Ritz. I took my friend, Evi as well this time. They have moved the tea area from the nice "verranda" like space with the massive skylight, to the dark back space of the restaurant. We were seated at a booth. It definitely changed the whole tea experience of being able to sit and lounge on a sofa or a nice chair. Instead, we were sitting upright like we were about to have dinner. We said something to the waitress about the whole arrangement, and she said something about after the renovation, the hotel lost table spaces and wanted to use that nice well lit area for the bar where they can make more money from alcohol. I think it's a bad call for tea though, because I probably wouldn't come back here again for it. Next, after it's over, I walked by the fountain, and there was a puddle of water and I slipped and fell. Great ending! My knee was black and blue, and surprisingly, the Ritz-Carlton did very little to appease me. Actually they did absolutely nothing except asking me if I were okay and if I needed ice. They gave me a business card of the assistant manager of the restaurant - whoohoo. It wasn't fun experience. I won't be coming back anytime soon, Ritz-Carlton.

**UPDATE ON FOUR SEASONS - March 24, 2012
One of our readers just informed that the Four Seasons is no longer serving afternoon tea. How sad as they did have the best scones in town. 

**ONE DOWN, ONE MORE UP - March 24, 2012
The Sofitel is also serving afternoon tea now and it is quite delightful. It is not traditional afternoon like the other big names mentioned here, but it's not bad at all. You still get to pick the tea you want, and they will bring you a tray of sandwiches, desserts, etc all at once. There's just no scones, which was weird. Yet, it's still fun and the foods looked gorgeous.

Well by July 2012, I found out that Sofitel is no longer serving afternoon tea. It was just a trial when they were serving it in the spring. That's too bad because it was quite nice.