Afternoon Tea Review // The Shilla Seoul
on Dec 08, 2014, Updated Aug 08, 2022
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Oh, The Shilla Seoul, you had me as soon as I sat down and was given a hand towel on a silver platter.
For this afternoon tea, Robyn and her financee Kåre, joined me since they happened to be in Seoul. The three of us shared an afternoon tea for two between the three of us (plus an extra pot of tea). (Thanks for joining me, guys!)
SETTING: ★★★★☆
Afternoon tea is served in The Library, which I found to be a little too business loungey, and less froufrou that I like, but it’s a lovely space with seating spaced nicely apart so it seems very intimate. The seating is extremely comfortable, to the point I didn’t want to ever get up.
SERVICE: ★★★★★
Excellent service from start (hand towel) to finish (cake!).
TEA & TEA SELECTION: ★★★★★
Excellent! The tea menu lists not only the tea but the name of the company the tea comes from, the first I’ve ever seen noted. With a nicely curated selection from Fauchon to NINA’S Paris, this allows for two Earl Greys, each from a different company.
I went with Birth, a black tea blend from Fauchon, which was delightful.
SAVORIES: ★★★★★
Savories were all tea sandwiches for this course, and they were SO GOOD. Simple, but perfectly executed. I’m going to go far as to say these were the best tea sandwiches I’ve ever had. So full of flavor, and completely fresh with fluffy bread, I loved each and every one.
SCONES: ★★★★☆
Each person gets three scones each, which is really one too many, but I’m going to let that go since they brought these out after we ate the tea sandwiches to ensure that they came out nice and warm.
I am however, going to knock off a star for serving clotted cream and jam from commercial mini jars. I much prefer house-made jams served in tiny containers with matching spoons.
SWEETS: ★★★★★
Where do I start? The sweets course goes on, and on, and on! The three tiered tray held sweets at the very top. The macarons were really, really, good, rivaling Laduree and Pierre Hermes’. Everything was delicate and robust in flavor that I can’t even say which was my favorite since they were all excellent.
Next up, these macaron sized treats made with meringue. Surprisingly light and soft, with a nice exterior crisp.
And just when we thought we were done, a dessert trolley with two cakes was rolled alongside our table. Did someone say tableside? I’m such a huge sucker for anything tableside.
We got a slice of each, one raspberry based, and the other, a not-too-sweet chocolate with citrus layers. We were so stuffed by then we could barely get in more than two bites of these delicious cake slices.
OVERALL: ★★★★★
Come hungry! The Shilla Seoul’s afternoon tea is not one to miss. It was an exceptional experience and one I highly recommend.
INFO: The Shilla Seoul | 249 Dongho-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-856, Korea | +82.2.2233.3131
AFTERNOON TEA HOURS: Daily, 12PM – 6PM
COST: ₩46,000
//Afternoon tea courtesy of The Shilla Seoul, a member of Preferred Hotel Group. All content and opinions expressed here are my own.//
Though it’s been quite a while since you’ve written this review, I’m so thankful I was able to stumble upon your reviews before heading to Seoul this past summer. I read through all of your Korea reviews and decided to have afternoon tea here (since I didn’t have much time on my study abroad) and absolutely loved it. Your last comment of coming hungry was spot on! I had tea at 2:30 yet I became quite full with less than 1/4. Can’t wait to try it again.
Hi Kathlene, I’m glad you saw it too! So happy to hear you loved the afternoon tea there. Your comment is making me to want to go back to Seoul for afternoon tea!
This afternoon tea looks and sounds fantastic. The really like the cut of the sandwiches. I’d love to try the macarons – you rate them very high! And what’s afternoon tea without cake?! Reminds me of London.
Hi Georgia, I’m so curious as to how they get the sandwiches so perfectly uniform in size! The macarons were quite memorable.