Quick review of The Whitby Hotel in New York City – (read below for longer review and menu breakdown)
Booking Process ♦♦♦♦◊ – No online system you have to call or email. The Whitby was actually top of my list to try in NYC but I was put off by the fact that you had to call or email with a specific time rather than the ease of booking online that other venues offered. It ended up being pain free so I should have probably emailed earlier(my fault) and they weren’t exactly prompt in their reply but they were able to fit us in with only 24hours notice. Email bar@thewhitbyhotel.com or call +1 646 928 4207.
Ambience/Setting ♦♦♦♦◊ – When you arrive you’re taken through the restaurant and to a quieter room in the back for the tea. The room is soft and tranquil and looks out at a courtyard. It was really lovely and serene and felt so peaceful to be in the room. It was immaculately decorated comfortably and not ostentatiously with gorgeous artworks everywhere including porcelain vases lit by tealights. It also had a gorgeous skylight which as it was raining outside was nice to see the stormy sky. Only thing that could have made this better was a view out over rooftops or at least the street.
Service ♦♦♦♦♦- Our server was absolutely delightful and very helpful. She brought out extras just before we ran out of anything and offered us extras of our favourites had we wished. She chatted to us without feeling imposing. I very much enjoyed her service!
Tea Selection ♦♦♦◊◊ – This was an unusual set up and I wasn’t a huge fan. They have two house teas and then 9 specialty teas which are an extra $3 each and are by Wedgewood and The Rare Tea company. I had one of the house teas and it was really nice but I wasn’t a fan of the surprise fee if you had wanted something other than English Breakfast.
Sandwiches♦♦♦♦◊ -. Delicious! They weren’t your usual flavours but did keep with the idea of the traditional sandwiches. The flavours were amazing and unique. Each was subtle but had complementing flavours and the bread was fresh and soft! I’d definitely have them again.
Scones ♦♦♦♦◊ – The scones were good! Finally!! They weren’t absolutely amazing but they were better than 99% of the scones I’ve had in the USA. They were moist and soft and split open easily. A delicious vessel for the yummy raspberry and apricot preserves that were yum.
Cream ♦♦♦♦◊ – Again Yay finally! Cream that was good! I may be over-rating it as I’ve had a lot of bad creams lately but this was dependable good cream that I would generally have expected at an afternoon tea. So happy to have enjoyed a good scones and cream course!
Desserts ♦♦♦◊◊ – Great presentation and pretty tasty. Not knock your socks of but still enjoyable. They were a bit too big for either of us to eat but our lady was very ready with a box to take them home as nearly everyone apparently can’t get through the final course.
Cost♦♦♦♦♦- It was for us $50 each but would have been $65 with alcohol and of course the extra $3 if you had chosen a specialty tea. The food was great, the service great, and the whole experience very pleasant so for NYC I was pretty happy with the cost.
After a few less than amazing experiences recently for afternoon tea I was finally happy to have some satisfaction with what was provided up against my expectations. This was a solid good experience and they really know what they’re doing. I could imagine that when the weather is warmer and they’re able to open up all the doors it would be a delightful experience.
– Review of The Whitby Hotel in New York City –
Booking Process
So The Whitby was my first choice of teas to go to but I was put off by the fact that I had to call or email someone directly about it. Other afternoon tea venues I could book a table instantly online and that swayed me to go book the other venues first. After I discovered that I had a spare afternoon before I had to leave the city I emailed just to check as I only had one specific time I could have gone. I was emailing only 24 hours before so didn’t expect that they could fit me in or that they would even reply and as I didn’t hear from them by the following morning (same day as I wanted to attend) I had given up but then they came through and emailed a reply a few hours before and managed to fit us in at the exact time I had wanted to go. So the process isn’t that painful it’s just not instantaneous which is totally suitable for almost everyone and in the future I’ll be more patient with my plan making. Email bar@thewhitbyhotel.com or call +1 646 928 4207.
Ambience/Setting
The hotel lobby is nice and the restaurant is bright and colourful. I had initially thought that’s where the tea was in amongst the bar and restaurant patrons but they walk you through and out the back to a conservatory of sorts with a large skylight above and a small courtyard at one end. The decoration and design is stunning and the room while colourful seems very serene and comforting. There was a storm outside and it was raining on the skylight but it just added to the feeling of being cocooned in the space. The design is by the owner, from my understanding, who obviously has amazing taste as the room is full of eclectic pieces and conflicting patterns but somehow it all works together. I’m totally jealous of their taste, can you tell as I absolutely loved the space. There were beautiful tea lights in boxes in the wall that had New York buildings in pin holes in the porcelain and then lit up by candles that added to the gentleness of the ambience. I would have loved to have taken them home.
The table settings were so sweet too covered in nautical themed motifs and the table was a good size for the two of us. The silverware and general table design added to the “traditional” tea vibe and everything felt considered and high quality. I loved it and the photos don’t do it justice.
Service
The lady that looked after us (I wish I could remember her name) was just lovely. She looked after us as though we were somebody very special and chatted to us as comfortably as if we were old friends. She was the only one to come to the table and did so without interrupting us but found appropriate moments to ask us if we needed anything. She topped our hot waters up and brought us more of anything that got low in stock on the table without being asked. She chatted to us about what we were doing in New York and then made lots of recommendations of great places to go and eat. Very much regretting not meeting her at the beginning of the trip rather than two hours before we had to go to the airport. She seemed like she loved what she did and enjoyed being a part of a traditional service of afternoon tea.
Tea
So here’s where it’s a little odd. They only have two flavours of house made teas that come with your $50 tea menu, there is another 9 on the menu but they’re an additional $3 in charge. I’m not quite sure why they do this and for me it was fine as I prefer to try their house blends anyway but I’m not sure that this would be popular with other people.
House Teas | Bespoke English Breakfast Blend | Rare Earl Grey|
By Wedgewood | Mythical Creatures Tea
By The Rare Tea Company | Second Flush Muscatel Darjeeling | Wild Rooibos | Whole Leaf Green Tea | English Peppermint | Lemon Verbena | Jasmine Silver Tip | Hibiscus Flowers | Whole Chamomile FlowersThe house English Breakfast was delicious and delicately flavoured and I very much enjoyed it as it complemented all the courses perfectly. Would have loved to have tried the Mythical Creatures Tea next time as it just sounds so exciting!
Tea Sandwiches/Savories/First course
We loved these sandwiches! They had a mix of traditional flavours and a couple that were totally new and different to me. I would never have chosen a carrot sandwich but it was my favourite. Even the traditional ones had a twist that made them new and unexpected. They were delicious! I really liked that they had traditional sandwiches but with whole new flavours. The choices were really different to each other but also really complimentary. We really enjoyed this course and talked about the flavours for ages afterwards.
Curried egg salad | Smoked salmon and cucumber, sweet butter | Prosciutto and spinach, orange ricotta | Roasted carrot and goat’s cheese |
Scones
FINALLY some edible and tasty scones! They look like what scones should look like and they tasted pretty good. They’re not the best in the world but they’re certainly the best I’ve found in the US for a little while. The only ones I’ve had better in the US were at the Waldorf Astoria in Las Vegas. They were moist and fluffy and the only thing that I would say that didn’t make them perfect is that they were a little crumbly especially on the outside, but you know if you read my posts that I’m very VERY fussy about scones so perhaps someone else would say these were perfect. I would happily have these again and particularly liked that they were still warm at the time that we got to eat them.
Cream
Yay yay yaaaaay! Real delicious yummy creamy cream. It was delicious! As clotted cream should be it was a perfect addition to either the raspberry or apricot preserves and delightfully a small amount went a long way. These scones with the cream were definitely a starting place for redeeming the USA’s attempts at the British tradition for me.
Desserts
So these were the least exciting of the courses. Still nice but not really knock your socks off amazing. They were all to big (in US tradition) and too sweet for us to eat. I had the obligatory bite of each of them but my brother opted to take his with him so he could eat them later on his flight. The carrot cake was the favourite for both of us followed I think by the strawberry tart. Neither of us were much taken with the other two desserts.
Strawberry tart | Carrot cake roll, cream cheese frosting | Chocolate and caramel mille-teuille | Lemon and poppy seed chiffon cake |
Overall we really enjoyed our experience at The Whitby Hotel in New York City. The service was amazing and the food was went from amazing to good so all in all a really great experience. The ambience was really nice and I would love to take people back there and try the menu again in a different season. Looking forwards to a return experience in the summer.
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