The Hotel Athenee in Paris is a great place to stay. It's also a great place to spend an afternoon. Inside is the "La Galerie des Gobelins" which is an elegant, refined place to have afternoon tea.
The Galerie continues the high-class décor from the main hotel with the same cream and gold colour scheme, opulent decorations and high ceilings. The room is lined by ceiling height columns tastefully lit by grand chandeliers and mood lighting.
The atmosphere is chic and elegant, reflected in the clientele who use the area. Everyone was well dressed and seemed perfectly at home in these rich surroundings.
The small tables and coffee chairs had a decent amount of space between them to add a modicum of privacy to conversations, but people still talked in hushed tones.
Staff glided silently between tables attending to guests with unhurried grace. We weren’t kept waiting for anything, our waiter appeared whenever we needed him to, and he quickly returned with our orders. Each time greeting us with a smile and perfect grace.
To begin we decided on a glass of Laurent-Perrier, paired with two delicate King Crabe & granny Smith canapés, an interesting taste, and certainly made a nice change from the usual.
"Afternoon tea with a touch of class"
The Salade Caesar du Beverly Hills Hotel was great too. A real plate full, the salad was crisp, the chicken fresh and moist, the egg light. A great salad, from a great restaurant.
The pastries continued the high class tradition. Each being light, sweet and a delightful way to end an afternoon tea. We had a morello cherry success and a strawberry and pistachio French tart.
Both were also fresh, slightly warm and crumbled with every bite. The cherry was sweet with a hint of tartness, and the strawberry and pistachio combination really made an impact.
Our afternoon tea at the Plaza Athenee was great. It is a great venue with a nice atmosphere. The tea, and the food are both superb and we would come here again in a heartbeat.
The Bill: £70 per head
