If you can serve me a pot of tea with a view at 9pm on a weekday night, you're pretty much guaranteed to get 4 stars. As I sat there sipping my herbal tea (which was unsexily named the 'Cold & Flu' tea!), I had visions of tea service usurping bottle service in my dreamland where there are dance clubs with no smoking, no pretense and pots of tea...that play hip-hop.
I know this is not likely, so I had to settle for a jazz combo on the 23rd floor of the Mandarin Oriental.
We didn't go for high tea. We simply went to enjoy pots of tea, which are $12. The tea selection is not huge or particularly rare and impressive. The pots were marked with Teavana logos, which made me wonder if the lounge is a partnership with them. Regardless, I was still happy, and my tea was delicious and soothing. Plus, the hostess was top notch, and she brought over a piece of scrumptious cheesecake for my birthday.
I will say I was a little disappointed by the venue. We actually ended up sitting in the bar because all of the window tables were taken in the lounge. However, we walked past the lounge, and it was not what I had envisioned. It is essentially a lobby area on the 23rd floor with some low tables, couches and chairs. For some reason, I had visions of a cozy restaurant with overstuffed chairs, thick carpets and tapestries.
Still, the very idea of tea service makes me plenty happy. I am sure I will return. When everyone else is going for cocktails, I'll be hitting up tea service.