Alice W.
Google
I was reading this Huffington Post article about the cherry blossom festival and it mentioned afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge at the Ritz Carlton. I thought, "Perfect! I love afternoon tea. And what can be better than a cherry blossom themed afternoon tea special?"
Reading that article made me want to go immediately, so we went last night and decided that even though we may not be able to do afternoon tea, we could at least get the unique Sakura tea offered in the Lobby Lounge as it mentions on their website.
There were a few logistical problems with getting the Sakura tea. We wanted to check with Ritz Carlton to ensure that they still offered the Sakura tea before we drove over. Unfortunately, the first call led to them hanging up on us (hopefully accidentally). The second call led us to believe that they were only serving the tea special at the Westend Bistro, not the Lobby Lounge. We headed over to the Westend Bistro, where we asked a server who promptly led us to the Lobby Lounge instead, stating that the Lounge was where they offer the tea. So we chose some comfy seats and asked the server in the Lounge, who said they weren't serving the tea. We were a little annoyed at this point of being mistakenly led back and forth, and we almost left. However, our server went to get his manager, who came over and said that she was pretty sure she had the right ingredients to brew the tea and that it would take just a few minutes.
So we opted to stay and ordered a few appetizers and entrees. My boyfriend ordered the Mediterranean Mezze for us to share and the French onion soup and cobb salad for himself. I ordered the salmon sliders.
+Mediterranean Mezze ($14, consisted of hummus, eggplant dip, olives, and toasted pita)
+French onion soup ($11)
+Cobb salad ($16 small salad, $23 large)
+Salmon sliders ($16 for two, comes with a side of fries, sweet potato fries, or side salad)
The manager came out personally with Sakura tea and said that it was on the house and apologized for the inconvenience. The Sakura tea is a custom blend especially brewed by Ritz Carlton for the cherry blossom season. It's served in a traditional Japanese tetsubin, or cast iron, teapot and cups. The tea had notes of bergamot, black currant, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, vanilla, white musk, and of course, cherry blossom flowers. It was floral but its floral presence is not overwhelming. Very refreshing.
Service was wonderful. Our server chatted with us briefly after we finished and again, apologized for the tea situation and comped it for us. He said that we were the third couple that day who requested the tea and this time, he didn't want to disappoint so he went to get his supervisor to obtain the ingredients and make the tea. We were very appreciative. Fantastic service. He also mentioned that they will be closing the Lounge for a couple of months starting in June to renovate. I think the Lounge is beautiful as it is - love the deep wood, comfy and spaced out seats and tables, and the overall luxurious atmosphere. Hopefully, the new renovations will keep some of that ambiance.
Lobby Lounge hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Friday & Saturday: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
