Afternoon Tea Review // Camélia at Mandarin Oriental, Paris

Along with the lovely visit to Shangri-La, I spent some time enjoying afternoon tea with a friend at the Mandarin Oriental, Paris (c/o).

SETTING:

Afternoon tea is served at Mandarin Oriental's modern restaurant, Camélia. The space felt a little cold, with the taupe and white minimal decor. I prefer a more plush setting for afternoon tea.

SERVICE:

The Mandarin Oriental in NYC has amazing customer service, and this one in Paris was equally excellent. The staff is welcoming, and are great at what they do.

TEA & TEA SELECTION:

Jing tea is served and I went with a brisk Assam Breakfast. The tea selection is small, with just 15 teas to choose from. I wished I had a few more to choose from, but the tea itself was quite excellent.

Two-bite sized cookies and choux were enjoyed with the tea before the savories arrived at the table. They were so good, especially the choux.

SAVORIES:

Three toasted sandwiches came out on plates, wrapped in paper with their logos. No three-tiered tray, which is always a bummer. I'm not a big fan of toasted sandwiches for afternoon tea since it can easily go from warm and crispy to rock hard in seconds. For these sandwiches, I would have preferred them on regular white bread instead of on toasted.

SCONES: Not served.

SWEETS:

Instead of scones, we got two courses of sweets. The first one were all mini, and served on an interesting multi-tiered tray, which held two of each dessert for the two of us. Loved this -- in taste, variety, and in presentation.

The second round of sweets, we had selected when ordering our teas. I thought it fitting to order the Saint-Honoré since it's also the name of the street the Mandarin Oriental, Paris is on. Puff pastry with pastry cream in neat little stacked layers, the final dessert was very good.

OVERALL:

Centrally located in the middle of a busy shopping street, the Mandarin Oriental is a nice little spot to stop in for a bite to eat.

LOCATION: Camélia at Mandarin Oriental, Paris | 251 rue Saint-Honoré | 75001 Paris, France | 33 (0)1 70 98 74 00
COST: Tea Time in Paris, 45€

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