Take a look at my delightful afternoon tea experience at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, right at Columbus Circle.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel NYC

No other afternoon tea spot beats the Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s MO Lounge when it comes to stunning views of Central Park. Afternoon tea is served on the 35th floor lobby lounge for afternoon tea and the view alone is worth a visit.

Mandarin Oriental is at Columbus Circle with the entrance on the right side of the Shops at Columbus Circle. Walk through the Mandarin Oriental entry, through the sliding glass doors, and take the elevator to the 35th floor.

RELATED: 21 Afternoon Tea Etiquette Rules

MO Lounge Reservations

Reservations are recommended but they do take walk-ins.

Dress Code

There isn’t a dress code but it’s a luxury hotel lounge so go with smart casual or dress up. You can go in jeans and sneakers if you like.

Afternoon Tea Hours

Afternoon tea is served daily from 12PM – 5PM at the MO Lounge.

Gluten-Free?

The Mandarin Oriental offers a vegan and gluten-free afternoon tea.

How Afternoon Tea Works at Mandarin Oriental

Decide whether you want afternoon tea with or without Champagne, and then select the tea. You get all the food listed on the menu so there’s nothing to select.

The tea will arrive first, then the 3 tiered tray with the courses. You can drink the tea before the food arrives.

The proper order to eat afternoon tea is tea sandwiches on the bottom row first, then the scones on the top tray, then the sweets in the middle.

Mandarin Oriental Afternoon Tea Menu

Afternoon Tea
$130 per person
Comes with 1 pot of tea, 4 savories, 2 scones w/ Devonshire cream and lemon curd and jam, and 5 sweets.

Note: Selection of gluten-free bread available.

Afternoon Tea with Champagne
$160 per person
Same as afternoon tea above but with Champagne.

Vegan and Gluten Free Afternoon Tea
$125 per person / $155 with Champagne
Comes with 1 pot of tea, 4 savories on gluten-free bread, scones with vegan cream cheese and jams, and 5 sweets.

Afternoon Tea for Little Fans
$85 per child (12 years old or under)
Comes with hot chocolate or pink lemonade, 4 savories like peanut butter and jam, scones w/ Devonshire cream and jams, and 5 sweets that include cupcakes, brownie, cookies.

The menu and prices may change at any time.

An 18% tip is included in the bill automatically so be aware of that.

Setting: ★★★★★

The Lobby Lounge is spacious with tables spaced far enough apart that it feels comfortable and not crowded. It doesn’t feel stuffy and strikes a balance between casual and luxury with its comfortable seats and lack of tablecloths, although I do prefer tablecloths.

Everyone wants the tables by the windows and it’s never guaranteed you’ll get them, but ask for it when making a reservation since you may luck out.

I would give the space itself 4 stars but the view from the windows kicks it up to 5 stars. The view is stunning.

Service: ★★★★☆

The service is hit or miss. I’ve had amazing service and just ok service where you have to track down the server. But mostly, it’s very good. I would even say the service on a not-so-busy weekday is excellent but just ok on a busy weekend.

Tea & Tea Selection: ★★★★★

There is a small but excellent selection of teas. I had a bit of a hard time trying to choose one since they all looked tempting.

Tea is served loose in a white tea pot and you can use the metal strainer to filter out any tea leaves.

Savories: ★★★★★

Each person gets 4 savories and they were all fantastic. The bread was super soft and not cold.

Scones: ★★★★★

This is rare, but I ate both freshly baked scones since they were delicious and perfectly sized (not too big). I can usually just eat one since scones can be so filling, but these were so tasty.

Each person gets 1 plain scone and 1 ginger scone and they’re served with Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and a rose petal jam that I LOVED. I don’t usually like floral flavors, but the jam was SO GOOD.

One interesting thing about their tea service is that they encourage you to eat the scones first since they’re warm, which breaks away from how afternoon tea is usually eaten.

RELATED: Afternoon Tea Course Order

Sweets: ★★★★☆

There are 5 sweets per person on the middle tray and they were good, but not anything I would want to rush back to the Mandarin Oriental for.

Overall: ★★★★★

Go! It’s a fun afternoon tea experience in that it feels so posh and luxurious with sweeping views of Central Park that’s hard to beat.

LOCATION: 
MO Lounge, Mandarin Oriental New York
80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street
New York, NY 10023 | 212.805.8800

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Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental in 2015

The afternoon tea service at Mandarin Oriental was number four on my list of afternoon teas in NYC back in 2015 and with its view and tasty savories and scones, it remains on the top of the list.

Afternoon tea then was $48 per person.

This was the view when I went during the summer that year.

Tea and tea selection was small but good.

When I went back in 2015, they served each course separately. They served the scones first, then the tea sandwiches. I thought it was odd and inquired and was told that’s how they have always done it.

The scones are excellent back then too. Warm and in perfect portion size. Devonshire cream and homemade jams are on the table to be shared but I didn’t mind the sharing since they had enough on the table for three people.

After the scones plates were taken away, the savories arrived. On each plate were four mini savories. Each one was better than the next. Fresh and delicious.

For the sweets course, it was brought out on a circular shaped 3 tiered tray. Gorgeous. Some of the mini sweets were excellent, but a some were just eh in terms of flavor and by being overly sweet. I loved the variety though.

Back in 2015, I gave it a 4 star rating.

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Afternoon Tea at The Mandarin Oriental NYC in 2012

Mandarin Oriental NYC has always been one of my favorite afternoon tea spots. I tend to favor settings that are used exclusively for tea service, but an impressive view overlooking Central Park makes up for it.

The tea service back then was just $38 per person.

In 2012, this is how I rated their tea service:

SERVICE: ★★★★★
AMAZING. Really, amazing. Any request made is taken care of immediately and with ultimate care. They make your problem, their problem and you really sense that they care, perhaps even more than you do.

TEA & TEA SELECTION: ★★★★☆
Tea is from Tealeaves and they have a small selection of each type of tea. I wished there was a bit more of a selection with about 3-4 choices per type. Loose leaf teas are served in tea filters in a pretty white teapot.

SAVORIES: ★★★★★

SCONES: ★★★★☆

SWEETS: ★★★★☆
They were still making scones when they brought out the three-tiered tray, so the top tier had a fluffy cake for us to enjoy while we waited for the scones. Below that were two trays of savories. Delicate and tasty, I enjoyed it all.

I had two of the cakes, which reminded me of madeleine cookies, which I love, so they were a hit with me. A little after, the scones were served with housemade marmalade and whipped cream (instead of clotted or Devonshire cream). Scones were a good, manageable size and they were great, since they came straight from the oven. I did miss the cream though.

A variety of sweets arrived on a plate and replaced the empty plate of eaten savories. It was nice to have a big selection, but I would have liked it a bit more if they had given two of each piece so it would be easier to share. I would have been fine with a smaller selection in this case.

OVERALL: ★★★★☆
Very good with the high-level service and the panoramic view drawing me back for repeat visits.