The Ritz-Carlton New York in Nomad serves a $130 afternoon tea. This is my review of the tea service from start to finish.

The Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad

There are two Ritz-Carltons in New York City, the one overlooking Central Park and this newer location in Nomad. Only the Nomad Ritz-Carlton serves afternoon tea.

Once you enter the double doors of the luxury hotel, walk to the counter labeled Nubeluz and someone will walk you to the elevator. Nubeluz is a rooftop restaurant with 270-degree views of downtown Manhattan.

Ritz-Carlton Nomad Reservations

They don’t state reservations are mandatory, but I recommend making them, especially for parties bigger than 4 since they were pretty full when I went.

When making the reservation, let them know if you want gluten-free or vegetarian substitutions. They can’t do vegan or dairy-free substitutions though.

Dress Code

There is no set dress code for Nubeluz but go with smart casual at a minimum. Smart casual is dressing a little more refined than casual wear. Look neat and put together. I did see a lot of women in flowy dresses so you won’t look out of place if you dress up.

Afternoon Tea Hours

Afternoon tea is only on Saturdays and Sundays from 11AM – 3PM. The last reservation is at 2:30PM.

How Afternoon Tea Works at Ritz-Carlton Nomad

Afternoon tea is a set menu of tea and 3 courses of small bites. You don’t choose any of the food items listed because you get them all, the same as everyone else. Everyone at the table orders their own afternoon tea.

You can to choose up to 2 teas per person. They’ll bring out a teapot with your first tea then you can request another tea in a different teapot. They have a list of teas on the menu.

When the server arrives, let them know you’re there for afternoon tea and the names of the 2 teas you have selected. If you have any food allergies, make sure to let the server know, even if you mentioned it when making your reservation.

After the order is taken, the tea will arrive first to the table, then followed by a tiered tray holding all 3 courses.

RELATED: Afternoon Tea Course Order

Ritz-Carlton Afternoon Tea Menu

High Tea
$130 per adult and $60 per child
Two pots of tea, 6 savories, 2 scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and 5 mini sweets.

You can add on caviar and Champagne for additional cost. The menu and prices may change at any time.

Setting: ★★★★☆

Nubeluz has plush, comfortable seating with banquettes along the wall. But the first thing you’ll see when you walk in is the stunning view of downtown Manhattan from the floor to ceiling windows.

I’m not a fan of hotels serving afternoon tea in their restaurants instead of lounges and I really don’t like it when there is a bar since it doesn’t feel like a tea room. For that reason, I knocked down a star.

Service: ★★★★☆

The servers were lovely, but there were a couple of minor things. When the clotted cream and jam were brought out, only the clotted cream had a butter knife in it. The strawberry jam should have had their own butter knife and they were quick to bring one out when requested.

Getting the second tea took quite a while, even after asking twice. The restaurant did fill up so the servers were busier with more tables to attend to.

Tea & Tea Selection: ★★★★☆

I like the idea of getting 2 different teas but I wish it was better executed. I wish they had recommended we have the second tea with the scones and sweets courses and checked in on us to see if we were ready for the second tea.

We realized they never brought out one of the second teas while eating sweets and it took at least 20 minutes for the second teapot to come out.

They put 3 tea sachets into each teapot, which was good. I didn’t mind that they were tea sachets instead of loose tea since tea sachets contain better quality tea than tea bags. But I did mind how they put the entire tea sachet into the teapot so that the tea tags were steeping in the water.

They had an oolong tea marked incorrectly as caffeine-free on the menu when there is in fact caffeine in oolong tea. After inquiring, they did check and gave me a complimentary oolong tea sachet to take home.

Savories: ★★★★☆

I really wanted to like the savories since it’s my favorite course and with the hefty $130 price, I was expecting it all to be delicious. But, they weren’t. Even worse, two of the savories had really stale, dried out bread. They looked amazing but they all didn’t taste amazing.

Scones: ★★★☆☆

The scones were a miss. Each person got two, a chocolate chip and a sour cherry. I ate some of the sour cherry but I couldn’t eat more than 2 bites of the chocolate chip since it was way too sweet.

I can understand having chocolate chip for afternoon tea for kids but not for adults, especially at a Ritz-Carlton. It really made the afternoon tea feel less elegant.

Accompanying the scones were pots of clotted cream and strawberry jam. I thought it was weird how they put a butter knife right into the clotted cream when they brought it to the table. And as mentioned above, the strawberry jam didn’t come with its own knife or spoon.

Sweets: ★★★★☆

The sweets were fine although I really liked the mango pavlova.

Overall: ★★★★☆

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars but for the $130 price tag, it’s not really worth it. Instead, go and sit at the bar for a drink to enjoy the setting and the views. (A drink at the bar costs around $30, but it’s still less than the afternoon tea.)

LOCATION:
Nubeluz, The Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad
25 West 28th Street
New York, NY, 10001

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Afternoon Tea at Ritz-Carlton, Central Park in 2015

The Ritz-Carlton, Central Park used to serve afternoon tea in the Star Lounge, which is the lobby lounge area near the front desk.

They had 2 kinds of afternoon tea. A seasonal one at $65 per person that came with a pot of tea, assortment of tea sandwiches, homemade scones, and sweets. The other was called Enhanced Afternoon Tea and it was $89 per person and it was exactly the same as the seasonal afternoon tea, but with a glass of Champagne.

Tea was served on the handful of dining tables in the lounge. With its low lighting and plush seating, the Star Lounge feels like a fancy, cozy urban escape, albeit a slightly stuffy one.

Back then, all teas were blends created for Ritz-Carlton New York. One thing I loved about having afternoon tea here is that they pour the tea for you every single time. Teapots are placed at a nearby table and the server always seemed to know when it needed to be topped off.

The savories were excellent. Every single bite was delicious. The above picture of the savories is for two people, with five savories per person, which is the perfect amount.

Scones were served separately after the savories and arrive warm in a basket. The scones were too big for my liking, but they were tasty. Scones came with berry preserve, lemon curd, and Devonshire cream.

A three-tiered tray of sweets came out next. Six sweets per person, which is generous. They were good, the eclair with a matcha cream filling being my favorite. I loved the presentation with all sweets perfectly sized.

Overall, I gave The Ritz-Carlton Central Park 4 stars. The savories were a highlight, along with never having to pour the tea yourself. 

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Afternoon Tea at Ritz-Carlton, Central Park in 2012

The afternoon tea in the Star Lounge has evolved a bit through the years. Back in 2012, the afternoon tea was $55, one of the more expensive tea services in the city.

Teaware then.

Savories course on a three-tiered tray. They were delicious but it looks a lot more put together now.

Check out the GIANT scone. It’s spilling over the plate.

Here is the sweets course, which I wished were a bit more dainty and cute back then.