Afternoon Tea At The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tokyo

              

Afternoon Tea At The Mandarin Oriental Hotel 

Mandarin Oriental Website 

1. Call to make reservations ahead of time -you can request a seat by one of the floor length windows for an amazing view of the skyline
2. The staff are more than happy to take a photo of you and your party. They will even turn the tray set around so that it is facing the front in the picture 
3. There is a coat check at the entrance of the lounge

The Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is located on the 38th floor's in the Oriental Lounge. 

• Hotel Address

  2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi
  Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8328, Japan
  Map & Directions

• Telephone

  +81 (3) 3270 8800

• Email

  motyo-reservations@mohg.com

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tokyo Google Pin

The Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental changes with the season, so you may want to check the menu beforehand to see if the items they are serving sound appetizing to you. When I visited, which was a Wednesday, May 07 2014, I had reservations for 12:00pm and it was fairly empty. More people tended to show towards the end of our tea session which was close to 3:00pm. 

Afternoon Tea At The Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a slice of paradise up in the sky, literally. Your ears will pop as the escalator climbs to the 38th floor. From the lounge, there is a magnificent view of Tokyo. The atmosphere of the lounge is relaxing, as is the music that plays as you enjoy your tea and selection of savory and sweet items. 

The Oriental Lounge offers 3 different afternoon tea sets, not including taxes: 

4200yen - Legendary Afternoon Tea 

6000yen- Luxury Afternoon Tea 

12,200yen - Marriage of Champagne and Legendary Afternoon Tea 

I ordered the Legendary afternoon Tea and my total after taxes was 5,125 yen. 

Menu

When I got off the platform I proceeded to exit 7

Along the way I passed a bakery shop called Gontran Cherrie Paris. I had to step inside because it looked to fancy on the outside to just pass by

There were all sorts of delicious looking breads and pastries

Including this deep black baguette which I find out through a little researched on their website was squid ink...interesting!

As I got closer to the exit, I almost passed right by it. If your on the right side of the tunnel, you may night see the sign, so look for the organic Japanese grocery store, and it will be right across from it. 

You will see the exit A7 and a list of everything right up above, including the Mandarin Oriental which is listed there!

Surprisingly the walk was very short, less than minute. Actually just right around the corner. To enter the hotel you have to walk through here where the valet is.

As soon as you come through the doors they asked me where I was going and prompted me to the elevator. 

With only a couple of buttons available, I pressed 38 and headed straight to the top

When you come out the hotel the first thing you might notice is the general lounge area. 

If you look below the floor your are on you will see a lounge that has water running through it

And even steps stepping stones to get from each of the lounging areas...very nice!

Straight ahead you will find the entrance for the Oriental Lounge, don't expect to see a sign...there wasn't one! The hostess will offer to check your coat for you and give you a tile to keep with you. 

The Oriental Lounge was very elegant with neutral tones and lots of natural lighting. The atmosphere was very relaxing, as were the chairs we sat in which were accompanied with a pillow. 

When we sat down our places were already set including toppings for our scones (orange marmalade, clotted cream, and blueberry jam.) Shortly after we sat down, we were given a warm towel. 

Our view was outstanding, our server was even offered to switch our places so we would have a better view of the rainbow bridge. 

Alas, the menus arrived.  First the tea menu, which was divided into 7 different types of beverages. 

Then we were given the menu with the seasons afternoon tea selection. The Maître d made it a point to tell us that today was the start of their new summer menu,
he was very excited and asked us to let him know how we enjoyed it. 

I started with the ginger lemongrass. From there I tried the White Ambrosia, Roobios Berry, Mandarin Oriental Blend, royal milk tea, and ended with the iced muscat tea. See the comment at the end to find out which one was my favorite!

The White and Brown Sugar Candy Rock Stirrers were a nice touch! 

And then the main attraction arrived, and it was stunning! Our waitress, described each item on each plate one by one.

All of the savory items were on the bottom plate. Fives pieces for each of us. 

and desserts were placed on the middle...

and top tier. 

I first started with the Open bagel with smoked chicken and parmesan cheese. It was delicious, however I could quite figure out what the layer of jelly on top of it was. The bagel was pretty tough, so cutting with a fork and knife was a bit of a challenge.

Next cam the Vegetable Quiche, so much flavor I barely noticed it was only vegetarian. 

I followed the tuna with the Ham and Cheese Finger Sandwich, which while simple was still tasty. You can tell this wasn't your typical cold-cut style ham, 

Last of the savory items was the Smoked Salmon and Cucumbers Blinis. This was I really enjoyed. The bottom tasted like a pancake an also had the texture of one. The smoked salmon was fresh and paired with the dill was perfect. 

Somewhere between finishing our savory items, sipping on tea, and starting on our desserts, out popped our scones, which the waiter replaced with our empty savory dish. One chocolate chip and one plain. They were warm so I began eating them right away. YUM. It really didn't matter which topping you choose because each of them complimented the scone so well!

First up for our petit fours was the Cherry and Pistachio Tart. The flavor was mild and not too sweet, there was nice crunch to it as well. The cherry on top was very juicy!

Next up was  the Jasmine Tea Jelly. The fragrance alone was intoxicating, maybe a bit overwhelming. The raspberries sourness was a good touch to balance the flavors. 

The last petit four on this plate was the Praline Mousse with Milk Chocolate Crunch. The flavor of this was also mild and nutty. The crunch were 3 little chocolate balls  hidden underneath the sheet of decorative chocolate, the rest was smooth and creamy!

First up on the final plate was the Mango Verrine. It had the texture of pudding but creamy like custard.
The mango chunks were so fresh and sweet!

Second to last was the Fruit Cake which was infused with a rich flavor and
dipped in candy coating. Inside there were pieces of different fruits.

Last but certainly not least and certainly one of my favorites was the Mandarin Oriental Tea and Rose Macaron. Aside from its fabulous appearance this decadent macaroon was held upwards by a white chocolate base. Both the tea and rose flavors were apparent in taste.


 I recommend a trip to the bathroom, the view is amazing! You can see Tokyo Tower in the distance. 

PROS: The floor length windows creates an astonishing view anywhere your seated in the lounge. The waitress constantly monitored when my cup was empty and promptly bought my next order of tea within minutes. There are 20 different types of beverages to choose from and you are allowed to order as many you would like. The staff is very courteous and interested in knowing how you are enjoying everything.

CONS: After the savory items, my plate became pretty messy and it would have been nice if they offered to take it away, rather I had to ask, but no big deal! Some drinks were hotter than others, so it would have been nice if they warned you how hot the drink was before take a sip. There wasn't much room at the table for two we sat at. 
FINAL VERDICT: I highly recommend the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Afternoon Tea for both tea connoisseurs and foodies alike. There was not one item that I would remove from the menu because they each had a very different and unique taste. My overall favorite beverage was the Mandarin Oriental Blend. My favorite savory item was the  Open bagel with smoked chicken and parmesan cheese. My favorite petit four was the  Mandarin Oriental Tea and Rose Macaron. Everything was amazing as it looked. There was as much attention to detail and presentation as there was taste. 

Myself (On the left) and my friend Serena (right) who joined me!