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| - 3 star food, 2.8 star service, 4.5 star ambiance. Worth paying for the lovely ambiance, not the tea service or food itself. Gorgeous, sunlit, tall-ceilinged lounge with an indoor fountain and live pianist, making for the perfect setting for high tea. Have definitely had better finger sandwiches and desserts elsewhere, disappointing as one would expect better from the Phoenician, give the elegant setting and especially at these prices. Luckily, the scones were to-die-for as were the coffee gelee cake and mango mousse, melts in your mouth. The smoked salmon tea sandwiches were my favorite. Pianist was an absolute treat at high tea - fantastic repertoire of Broadway classics and film scores.
All afternoon tea refreshments are served from giant trays, instead of traditional tea towers, which I've never seen at high tea in the US or UK...honestly feels commercial and mass-produced. Service was surprisingly spotty and inattentive, rather out of place vs. the elegant setting here. Overall, loved the tea lounge but a bit underwhelmed by food and service at these prices.
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