I recently had a girlfriend come into town and as soon as she booked her flight, we booked tea at The Plaza. Tea at The Plaza is one of those bucket list items that I’ve always had at the very tip top of my NYC list. It just always sounded so fun and fancy and just like a very special experience.
If you’re coming to NYC, I would definitely recommend making a reservation at The Palm Court. It’s a bit pricy (I’ll explain more below), but it definitely falls under the “experience” category!
Reservation
If you know you want to do tea, I would make a reservation a few weeks in advance. That’s not to say a table won’t be available closer to the date (or even the day of), but booking in advance will ensure you get the time slot you want! They do ask for a credit card when you book, so just keep in mind that! They ask that you cancel at least 3 days in advance – if you cancel later then that it could trigger a fee of $50 per person.
Dress Code
The dress code for tea is “smart casual.” Basically, they won’t turn you away if you’re in ripped jeans and a crop top, but they do suggest you dress a tad bit nicer if you can! And, I mean, that’s part of the fun! My friend Brittany and I had an early afternoon reservation, so we spent the morning in Central Park and just brought a change of clothes for our tea time. We both wore dresses, sandals and, accidently, the same headband lol
The Experience
When you arrive at The Plaza, you’ll be seated at The Palm Court and given a menu. Tea is a pre-fix experience that ranges from $95 a person up to $275 a person for their Emperial Tea (pinkies up). The base cost gets you tea and then a three tiered arrangement of baked goods, finger sandwiches and dessert. You have the option to add on champagne and such and that’s where the price change comes in. We did the standard tea package and added a glass of bubbles each, but any of them would be amazing!
Atter Tea
I would suggest planning to spend at least 2 hours at The Plaza. Like I said, tea is more about having an experience and less about snack time, so it’s nice to sit and linger a bit 🙂 We finished our meal in about an hour and a half, but then spent another 30 just relaxing and chatting.
Quick tip: When you’re done, poke around the hotel if you have the time. It’s seriously so dreamy in there and there’s a lot of great spots for a photo opp!
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