Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis Hotel
- Kimi's Travel Thoughts
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
As often as I go to Houston to visit my family and friends, I rarely write about the things I do while I'm there. I've spent the past 10 years living in Austin and now my trips to Houston leave me feeling more like a tourist than someone who actually knows my way around the city and can give recommendations to my coworkers when they ask about what to do and where to eat when they visit H-town. In the past I wrote about visiting the Houston Museum District and earlier this year I visited a wildlife refuge. This time, I'm writing about Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis Hotel in Houston, TX.
Recently, I joined some of my family to celebrate my grandma's 89th birthday by going to Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis Hotel. My grandma (like me) loves an opportunity to enjoy a tea service and she even has a collection of tea sets. For this very special birthday, we got dressed up in colorful clothing and accessorized with cute jewelry and fascinators or big hats to complete each look. This was going to be a much different experience from my champagne-bolstered afternoon tea on Virgin Voyages at the top of the year!
Afternoon Tea at The Tea Lounge in the St. Regis Hotel
My mom ordered an upgraded rideshare to take us to the St. Regis Hotel and we arrived about 15 minutes early. That allowed for plenty of time to take pictures! I began taking some photos outside on a beautiful day and one of the doormen offered to take photos so I could be included. Out of respect for my family's privacy, you won't see any photos where their faces are visible.
After taking some additional photos in the lobby while sipping on water that the hotel concierge offered us, tea time began promptly at 3:00 PM in The Tea Lounge. We were guided to our table next to a window overlooking a small garden and fountain, surrounded by arm chairs and a couch for our group to sit at. There was an elevated nook adjacent to our table where a harpist played some very calming music as the background sound of our afternoon tea. The table was already set with cups, spoons, saucers, jams, honey, milk, and sugar. There was also a chef's amuse to eat as we prepared to be served our first tea of the afternoon.
First Course
Herbed goat cheese stuffed cherry tomato topped with capers, black & white sesame seeds
Apple pie green tea
As we continued to sip on refills of the apple pie tea, our server stopped by our table with our second course which consisted of assorted finger sandwiches. Unlike other afternoon teas that I have been to, the tiered stand was not left at our table for each of us to pick items from. Instead, we were each handed plates all with the same items throughout the tea service. This is different from what I'm used to experiencing, but I did like the fact that it allowed me to enjoy more food with my tea!
Second Course
Cucumber sandwich
Chicken salad sandwich
Pimento cheese sandwich
Smoked salmon and egg sandwich
Turkey and arugula sandwich
Shortly after eating our sandwiches, we were each given a new plate that contained a currant and bergamot scone served with clotted cream piped on the side. We also began to receive servings of our second tea (and final) tea, meant to mirror the flavor of the scone, of the afternoon as part of this third course. Plus, my cousin and aunt Facetimed from California while they were also at a tea house all dressed up for afternoon tea so they could celebrate with us simultaneously!
Third Course
Currant and bergamot scone
Currant and bergamot black tea
We began receiving refills of the black tea and we were finally approaching the final course: dessert. For the fourth course, we actually got to keep the tiered stand of plates at our table and our server dropped off miniature chilled martini glasses filled with English trifle.
Fourth Course
Fruit tart
Pumpkin tart
Chocolate cream puff topped with ganache
Berry trifle topped with white chocolate pearls
BUT WAIT.... THERE'S MORE!
I noticed our server had given some sort of cue to the harpist and it wasn't related to the volume of the music because that didn't change. However, a few moments later I realized what was happening. The harpist began to play the happy birthday song as our server returned to our table (and the table across from us) with a special birthday dessert! The words "Happy Birthday" were written on a white rectangular plate next to a decadent chocolate mousse cake. It was a lovely surprise for my grandma!
And if you thought that's where the afternoon tea ended, it's not quite done yet. The afternoon tea concluded with being provided boxes and bags to pack our leftover desserts and take them home. Along with that, we received a final dessert for the road: truffles. My family and I were each given a small box with two assorted gourmet chocolate truffles. From there, we returned to the hotel entrance to get into an upgraded rideshare once more and return to my grandma's house.
Wrap-Up
Talk about a fun afternoon! I got to get dressed up, take some nice photos, enjoy delicious tea and snacks, and, most importantly, celebrate my grandma's birthday by participating in one of her favorite activities! If you ever go to Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis Hotel, don't expect to be served the same menu that I had. In general, afternoon tea will have seasonal food and tea selections which means you won't necessarily taste the exact same menu even if you go multiple times in a year. Another thing to mention is that my family got dressed up because that was part of the fun of celebrating my grandma's birthday. However, that isn't a requirement. The dress code was listed as business casual on their website.
That being said, if afternoon tea is your excuse to be out and about in your Kentucky Derby best, go for it because you should have fun while experiencing afternoon tea!