Best Restaurants for Afternoon Tea in Chevy Chase

Great food and service. Went far and beyond! We go here every time we want to see a show at the Kennedy Center

Nice experience. Ambiance was very nice. I felt the tea sandwiches could be much better. You could tell they were made in advance. Very small amount of food for the $90. But I’m Glad I tried it. 👍🏼👍🏼 Fyi Wait until after thanksgiving if you want to experience the Christmas theme!

The St Regis afternoon tea is an exquisite experience for special occasion, maybe a business meeting, date night or even a birthday present to yourself, as it was for me. The service is top-notch. You’re first given a plate of savory foods, and then a carousel of sweet foods. You have a menu for what you can choose for a blend of tea or even champagne. The atmosphere is very quiet, refined and elegant. The seats are comfortable and one could easily linger in them for a time after. Perhaps the only one thing to notice that the restroom is quite far away, down a spiral staircase 

The tea itself and service were excellent. The savoury components were well balanced and delicious. The sweet components were hit or miss. Some were overwhelmingly sweet. The clotted cream was closer to a chantilly or whipped cream than a true clotted cream. However the scones and the jam were delicious. The ambience was also a bit mundane. Overall, the experience satisfied a craving, but did not match the expectations based on price.

The Alice in Wonderland Tea Party is one of the best-curated experiences in DC. They set up their tea room - off the main restaurant, overlooking the terrace and Rock Creek Park - with Alice-themed decorations, including bronze statuettes from the book illustrations, the Mad Hatter’s hat, flamingoes, playing cards and more. While that may sound like a lot, it was tasteful and understated while encompassing everything that Alice is. Thankfully, there were no mice in the teapots. The selection of teas was fantastic. There were some teas selected by management, and others that were Disney-branded. My guest and I had the black tea with hints of strawberry, fig and vanilla (one of the Disney teas), and it was perfect. When you drink it, you know you’re drinking a black tea, but the hint of other flavors lightens the taste for a perfect afternoon tea. My guest and I were celebrating his birthday - he is a huge Alice fan. As adults, I was worried that this would be too childish, knowing nothing else about it, but it’s a very adult, refined experience, modeled after and on par with any afternoon tea you could have in London (and even better than some). The finger sandwiches were an incredibly varied selection, all carefully crafted. There wa severything from ham and Brie to olive to crab cake (one of the best crab cakes I’ve ever had). The scones and desserts were also fantastic. Service was incredible. Staff was amazingly attentive and kept bringing sandwiches until we were ready to burst. They brought out a slice of cake (complimentary for the birthday celebration) and even comped a mimosa and a glass of sparkling cider (for the non-drinker) to top off the celebration. The chef even came out to wish a happy birthday. Service was so good I tipped somewhere around 35%. If you or a loved one is an Alice fan (even if you’re not), this is a must-do experience.