I Had Afternoon Tea at the Baccarat Hotel in New York City
Updated Nov 02, 2024
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The Baccarat Hotel is offering one of the best afternoon teas in NYC. The hotel offers a fresh and luxe afternoon tea service.
Baccarat Hotel New York
The Baccarat Hotel New York is right across the street from the MoMA museum in Midtown. A luxury hotel from the well-known French crystal company, it’s not surprising that the entire Grand Salon is floor to ceiling crystals.
To get to the Grand Salon for tea, take the elevator from the dark, moody ground floor entrance to the second floor.
Note from Jee
Baccarat’s afternoon tea is the most expensive in NYC, so it’s a splurge for sure. I go to Baccarat for afternoon tea at least once a year and it has been consistently in my top 3 afternoon teas in NYC.
Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the post to see photos from the first time I went to the Baccarat for afternoon tea in 2018. Back then, the afternoon tea was just $90! (A bargain compared to what it is now.)
Baccarat Reservations
Advance reservations are required. They don’t take walk-ins.
Dress Code
There isn’t a dress code, so you can wear whatever you like, although it would be best to dress business casual at a minimum.
Afternoon Tea Hours
Afternoon tea in served in their Grand Salon every day from 12PM – 5PM.
RELATED: Places in New York City for Afternoon Tea
What is Afternoon Tea?
Afternoon tea is a set menu which comes with tea and food. You don’t choose the individual food items but you do choose your tea. Everyone at the table orders their own afternoon tea so the pricing is per person.
The three courses consist of tea sandwiches followed by scones with clotted cream and jam, and finally, the sweets. When eating from a three-tiered tray, start with the savories, then the scones, and finally, the sweets. That’s the proper afternoon tea course order.
Afternoon tea usually lasts two hours. It’s a leisurely affair and shouldn’t be rushed.
RELATED: 21 Afternoon Tea Etiquette Rules
Baccarat Hotel Afternoon Tea Menu
There are 4 afternoon tea options on the menu.
Prince of Wales
$140 per person
This is what I ordered and it’s the classic afternoon tea on a 3-tiered tray. There are savories, scones, and sweets.
Le Petit Prince
$85 per person
An afternoon tea for kids, it consists of savories, sweets, and 1 butter scone. The food is slightly different than the Price of Wales tea service, with food geared to littles ones.
Princess of Monaco – Grace Kelly
$125 per person
This is an all-sweets afternoon tea. No savories or scones.
King Louis XV Caviar Tea
$325 or $435 per person, depending on the caviar
An extravagant caviar tea.
The menu and prices may change at any time so please contact the hotel for latest info.
To order afternoon tea, first, select one of the 4 afternoon tea options. Next, select a tea. That’s it. The tea will come out first, then the food. Feel free to start drinking the tea before the food arrives.
Grand Salon Setting: ★★★★★
Opulent. That’s the word I would use to describe the Grand Salon. The space is brightly lit and decadent with plush seating and crystals EVERYWHERE your eye lands.
Best seating at the Grand Salon are the tables for two by the windows with high-backed chairs.
RELATED: Turkish Afternoon Tea at the Baccarat Hotel
Service: ★★★★☆
The servers were attentive for most of the tea service, but disappeared towards the end when I wanted to get the check.
Tea & Tea Selection: ★★★★★
Baccarat initially had an exclusive partnership with Mariage Fréres and you could only find their tea blends on the menu. But I’ve noticed that has changed with whole leaf tea selections from other tea companies on the menu.
The selection is great with a mix of different types of tea. It’s a small tea menu, which I don’t mind since it’s not overwhelming. I love the teapots they use.
RELATED: Moroccan Mint Tea (Baccarat’s recipe!)
Savories: ★★★★★
Out of all three courses, the savories are my favorite and the Baccarat does it right. Each bite was better than the next and it’s all beautifully presented. Everything tasted fresh and delicious.
Each person gets 6 savories. Everything can be eaten with your fingers.
RELATED: Afternoon Tea 101: Course Order
Scones: ★★★☆☆
Two scones per person are served warm with Devonshire cream and preserves. Tasted great but I hate the huge saucer-sized portions. Wish they were as cute and small as the savories.
They brought out only one set of Devonshire cream and preserves for the table which is not enough for two people, and for the size of the scones. After we asked, they brought out another set.
The scones come out on a separate plate. In terms of etiquette, place a scone on your plate, using your hands. Next, spoon a bit of the cream and preserves, using the shared spoons onto your plate.
RELATED: How to Eat a Scone Properly
Sweets: ★★★★★
The sweets were adorable and tasted pretty great. They were all perfectly sized so that each one can be eaten in two bites.
Overall: ★★★★★
Serving one of the best afternoon teas in NYC. If you want to splurge, you should definitely go. From the lavish Grand Salon to the food, they do make an effort to make you feel like it’s worth the money.
LOCATION:
Grand Salon, Baccarat Hotel New York
28 West 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019
AFTERNOON TEA HOURS:
Daily, 12PM – 5PM
Reserve at least 24 hours in advance.
COST:
The Prince of Wales, $140 per person (as of 2024)
RESERVATIONS:
Call 212.790.8867 or book online.
Afternoon Tea at Baccarat in 2018
A look at my previous visit.
When I first went for afternoon tea at the Baccarat Hotel in New York in 2018, I was blown away. The decor, the service, and the food were all superior to any other afternoon tea service in NY at the time. It was also the most expensive at $90.
The Grand Salon looks exactly the same now as it did when they first opened. Same colors, same look.
The had 4 different afternoon tea options at the time, starting with a $65 King Louis XV, which was a pared down afternoon tea with just 2 savories, a scone, and 2 sweets.
I always get the classic offering, which is their Prince of Wales tea service and that was $90. The
I’ve also had their Sultan Abdulazis tea service, which was $300 for two people. It’s their Turkish Tea for Two.
The most expensive was the Tsar Nicholas II, which ranged in price between $400 – $2900 (!!!) per person depending on the champagne. It included caviar.
The savories were excellent and I loved it all. Everything tasted super fresh and delicious.
The scones look different and they seem to be about double the size now. I thought the scones were big then, but they’re even bigger now, which is a negative since it’s TOO big.
The sweets were good but I didn’t love them as much as the savories. Some sweets were a little too messy to eat with my fingers.
My rating back in 2018 for the Baccarat afternoon tea was a solid 5 stars.
Don’t go. The worst tea experience. I treated a friend for her birthday and after spending 300.00 dollars for the champagne tea I was so disappointed. Never again
I went to the Baccarat hotel with my mother and sister for tea and we were very disappointed with the service and will not be returning. We had a reservation for 1:30…(we were told it would be $90 per person, gave a cc card to reserve and were told it would be $50 cancellation per person if less than 24 hours). We had to wait til 2:00 to be seated, we were seated first in a couch area where it was difficult to eat, then squished at a table for two, with another couple right next to us…we complained as we felt that at $90 a person we deserved to feel comfortable and enjoy the experience. We were finally seated at a proper table around 2:20. It took a long time for our food to arrive…they sent out two portions of oysters to mollify us…they did not bring us a second serving of creme which we asked for. In terms of food, the savories are good, the scones are good, but I don’t think that the food combined with the service justifies the price. A tea experience really deserves to be pleasant and relaxed and this was not. I far prefer the Pembroke Room at the Lowell, which remains my favorite place for tea in NY.
Hi Mimi, so glad you shared your experience at Baccarat. Ugh, sorry to hear you had such a bad time and agree that at $90/pp it should come with the best service. I’ll have to go again to see how it compares to the first time I went.
Thank you for this review! I have been to the salon at the Baccarat prior to them serving tea and made my own little menu with eclairs and such, however I am delighted they’ve now introduced an afternoon tea menu.
Hi Su, enjoy your afternoon tea there!