Tea in the City: The Rotunda, San Francisco
Located in the Nieman Marcus in the heart of San Francisco, is The Rotunda, a beautiful restaurant serving lunch and afternoon tea. With its beautiful iconic stained glass ceiling, it is a stunning setting to enjoy an afternoon tea after a day of shopping. Afternoon tea is offered Thursday to Sunday from 3PM.
With their ever popular popovers served with strawberry butter and chicken broth starter, this is an afternoon tea not to be missed!
First Impressions
As you step into the restaurant, you know you're about to enjoy an elegant afternoon, from the wonderful service to the beautiful ambience, this is the perfect setting to enjoy tea in the city. As soon as you are seated you are given their famous chicken broth cup and a popover (or yorkshire pudding for british folks) with strawberry butter. This is my absolute favourite and I'm always excited to go back just for the popovers!
The Tea
You are given the tea menu to choose your tea and offered the option of champagne. We chose the Earl Grey tea which was superb and by Dammann Freres. Although not an extensive tea menu, it has enough to satisfy most tea lovers.
The Food
After you have finished your popover and chicken broth, the rest of the food is served and presented so beautifully, you wonder what to start with first. The savouries were delicious with classic flavours like salmon and cream cheese, cucumber and dill, beef sliders and curry chicken croissants. With every tasty bite, we couldn't wait to try the next item. Everything tasted fresh with perfectly balanced flavours. My favourite were the curry chicken croissants!
Next up we tried the soft and crumbly scones with cream and lemon curd. I also tried them with some of my leftover strawberry butter, which is a must try!
By the time we got to the top tier of desserts, we were getting full but we muscled our way through. My favourites were the chocolate cream puffs and raspberry tart. There was a great selections of desserts and more than enough to try and take some home with you.
Overall Experience
This is a a really nice place to have afternoon tea in the city, especially after browsing the shops or perusing one of the nearby museums.
Price: 8/10: Priced at around $54 it's good quality for money and cheaper than some of the nearby hotels offering afternoon tea.
Service: 8/10: The service is great and on par with what you'd expect from an afternoon tea service.
Food Rating: 9/10: The food is delicious, fresh and beautifully presented. You definitely come away full to the brim and with leftovers to take home. Their popovers are a huge hit.
Atmosphere: 10/10: With its beautiful stained glass dome, it makes for a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy a relaxed afternoon tea.
Put this on your list for a wonderful afternoon in San Francisco. You won't be disappointed.
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