Plaza Athenée Paris: Afternoon Tea Experience Reviewed

I’ve been to afternoon tea in many 5 star Paris hotels – some more than once (all in the name of research of course) but had never even ventured inside the ultra luxe Plaza Athenée Hotel let alone eaten there. On our last trip to Paris Mr Francetravelplanning and I decided it was time, not just to enter, but to book the Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea, and experience a different Paris afternoon tea.

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Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea Woman sitting in La Galerie Plaza Athenée Paris with a glass of Champagne

Booking the Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea

Like its fellow Dorchester Group property, Le Meurice, booking the Plaza Athenée afternoon tea was straightforward, with clear, easy to understand menu options. In this case there were four menu options – all sweet, sweet plus savoury, and the same two teas with Champagne. As always we booked a Champagne Afternoon Tea which included sandwiches, rather than all sweets, and we booked it later in the afternoon, so it would serve as our evening meal (this is one of my tips to help budget for more expensive food experiences like afternoon teas in 5 star hotels). We booked online and received an immediate email confirmation.

Arrival at our Plaza Athenée afternoon tea

La Galerie, where the afternoon tea at the Plaza Athenée Paris is served, was not obvious as we entered the hotel, so we approached the reception desk. Rather than direct us, one of the reception staff escorted us to la Galerie, and having confirmed our booking, handed us over to the waiting staff.

Our coats were quickly whisked away as we were seated and menus provided. The menu we were given was the generic La Galerie menu, so all we needed to do was choose our beverage from the extensive tea and coffee, and decide on Brut or Rosé Champagne. As usual it was darjeeling for me and English breakfast for Mr Francetravelplanning, and a rosé Champagne (Veuve Cliquot).

Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea Menu La Galerie

Unfortunately, things started to get a little weird from here. Our table was set by one of the many waiters but it was set with the cutlery and condiments to dine from the à la carte menu. Once it was realised, the table was relaid, and reorganised, and then reorganised again by every waiter who walked past our table and the one who brought the tea. Then the waitress brought the Champagne and presented it to us with a great flourish – all well and good except it wasn’t the Rosé we ordered. Then we waited ages for our Rosé and for our food to arrive.

Not long after arriving, Mr Francetravelplanning realised he had left something in his jacket pocket so asked if the jacket could brought to him. It took three requests to the same waiter for it to be retrieved. Possibly understandable if it was busy, but it was only a quarter full, and there were waiting staff standing around everywhere……….

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To be fair, once the food arrived, it was an impressive sight to behold. Sandwiches served on a heavy silver tray, along with a fancy Oriental style 3 tier cake stand. The stand was explained to us, and a suggested order to enjoy the food was offered.

Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea 3 tiered cake stand La Galerie Plaza Athenée Paris

The sandwiches were very traditional – smoked salmon, egg and ham, and very, very generously filled. Fancy garnishes were a nice touch. While everything tasted delicious, the bread had a strangely doughy almost gluey feel in the mouth which was not particularly pleasant. A shame, because they were otherwise good, if a little unimaginative in choice of filling.

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In my experience, the scones at a Paris high tea or afternoon tea are never quite right. At the Plaza Athenée afternoon tea rather serve a “not quite right” scone they passed on the scones and gave us a generous, tasty and very moist brioche style pastry. It was very pleasant and a good start to our sweet treats.

Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea Brioche — The rather excellent brioche made a change from traditional scones – which French patissiers struggle with

A strawberry entremet looked like a little red velvet cushion, and tasted absolutely delicious. The chocolate based viennoiseries (which it had been suggested we tackle last) proved to be a bridge too far so we decided to take them back to our hotel. They proved to be just as delectable, and were light as feather and not too sweet.

We asked about having our “leftovers” boxed up to take home with us, and were delighted to receive them in proper solid boxes, in a beautiful shopping bag. Getting our bill, we were even more delighted to discover, that unlike most Paris afternoon teas, there was no surcharge for the Rosé Champagne. Our jackets were brought promptly this time and along with our take home delights (which we enjoyed with an expresso for our supper back at the hotel) we were on our way into the night.

What I thought of the Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea

To be perfectly honest, overall I didn’t think the Plaza Athenée was all that great. But it wasn’t all bad either. What I did like was that we didn’t pay extra for Rosé Champagne which is unusual for a 5 star Paris afternoon tea. The cakes and viennoiseries were genuinely excellent – light, fresh and quite delicious. The take home box, given to us in an ultra impressive shopping bag was done with great care, and was a luxurious touch.

Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea Rose Champagne glasses, silver tea pot and cup of tea

But……

The service was patchy and a bit chaotic – why did everyone who came to the table need to rearrange it before our food arrived? And bringing the wrong Champagne was not at all what a 5 star establishment should offer. While La Galerie was comfortable and pretty, and great for people watching (a particularly favorite activity of ours), it was strangely lacking in atmosphere, and it was, literally, a corridor…….a very well decorated corridor, but a corridor none the less.

Food wise, the sandwiches were tasty and generous, but the choice of filling was a bit uninspired and the bread, while very fresh, had the texture and flavour, dare I say it of raw dough and was not very pleasant to eat.

While there is a dress code, it is not particularly strict – just leave the athletic wear at home. Most of the other people in La Galerie were well dressed, although not overly dressy. A collared shirt, and trousers or smart jeans for men, and pants and jacket or blouse for ladies will see you comfortable in your choices.

You can find out more about the Plaza Athenée afternoon tea options and check current prices here >>

If you truly want the best afternoon tea in Paris, treat yourself to fellow Dorchester hotel, Le Meurice, or for a magical all sweet option head to the Salon Proust at the Ritz Paris. Better options in the eighth arrondissement are definitely Le Crillon or Le Bristol, both of which offer much more polished service, better food and a generally more pleasant experience with a high end atmosphere.

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You can read my reviews of these afternoon teas here >>

Author’s note: we paid for our own Plaza Athenée Paris afternoon tea. All photos author’s own.