So I love doing a high tea when I go on vacation – especially if there is a fancy one in a fancy hotel that is KNOWN for tea. (I also love a high tea here in Chicago as there are a ton of amazing places for it!) Tea is also a great thing to do on the first day when you arrive in Europe or somewhere else where you may be feeling pretty tired or jet laggy. The 2 or 3pm tea time is a great time period to get some food in your belly and a high dose of caffeine to get you through the rest of your first day.

The Shelbourne Hotel, where we stayed for our weekend in Dublin, has a very famous high tea service. They actually offer seatings at noon and 5pm along with the 2:30 time if you want to eat and drink during a more traditional lunch or dinner time. We ate at 2:30pm after our arrival in Dublin. This is actually a very historic tea service. During The Rising, when there was fighting going on in St. Stephen’s Green right across the street, the women insisted on sitting in the very front of the hotel for their tea. Well, they did sit there, until one lady was grazed by a bullet; only then did they move their tea back toward the interior of the hotel. These ladies were going to have their tea come hell or high-water! The tea continues to be served in the very same room, called the Lord Mayor’s Lounge. Check out their website and make a booking here!

The tea room is a traditional salon with a very high society vibe with piano music playing in the background. White tablecloths and actual silver silverware and porcelain teacups adorn each table. We sat down and were given the menu with the option to have Champagne or not. We opted for not this time, and ordered our first teas. They explained that we could order as many different teas and coffees as we wanted. They actually didn’t leave a teapot on your table with your preferred tea, which I thought was a bit unusual, but they were busy always pouring our tea when our cups were empty and grabbing new pots with fresh and different teas whenever we wanted.

The scones, sandwiches and desserts were all extremely good and extremely filling. If you have never been to a tea, it never seems like it is going to be enough food, but you always end up stuffed in the end! There were plain scones and scones with raisins served with the traditional jams and clotted cream. The tea sandwiches were: whipped feta cheese with tomato on pumpkin bread (my favorite), chicken salad and chives on a poppy seed roll, egg salad on white bread (no crusts!), and a whiskey cured salmon sandwich on Guinness bread. The servers made sure to tell us that we could have as many sandwiches as we wanted and Brian ordered a few extra of the chicken salad and salmon sandwiches.

The desserts were extravagant, but the best were probably the chocolate eclair and the bright pink Victoria cakes. By this time I was completely stuffed! We both ordered coffees once we got to the dessert portion.

All in all, the tea was elegant, fun and filling. If you are into tea, tiny sandwiches, and super sweet indulgent desserts, I would highly recommend making a reservation at the Lord Mayor’s Lounge at the Shelbourne Hotel next time you’re in Dublin!