There’s nothing more quintessentially New York City than having afternoon tea at The Plaza Hotel, so when my mom was in town I had to take her there.

Afternoon tea is held in the hotel’s recently-renovated Palm Court, a beautiful atrium of glass, flora and light.

As with most afternoon teas, at The Plaza each guest selects their desired tea and is served their very own pot.

Guests also choose which tea service they prefer, since each service has different accompanying food. My mom and I picked The New Yorker Tea, and there’s also a Champagne Tea and a Children’s Eloise Tea dedicated to the hotel’s most famous resident.

The sandwiches and savories served with The New Yorker Tea vary depending on the season. We had:

Smoked Salmon with creme cheese and chives in a crêpe

Deviled Organic Egg Salad with dill pickle relish on white bread

Slow Roasted Turkey with caesar aioli and romaine on whole wheat bread

English Cucumber with minted goat cheese green goddess on rye bread

Thyme Roasted Prime Rib Sandwich with horseradish aioli, watercress and Yorkshire pudding

Parisian Ham with gruyere cheese and a Bavarian mustard on a pretzel ficelle

For dessert, we dined on:

Maple Cheesecake with candied pecan

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Bars

Yogurt Panna Cotta with green apple jelly and granola

Pear and Caramel Macarons

Mandarin Pain Epice Tart topped with gingerbread marshmallow

Seasonal Fruit Tarts

Sesame and Milk-Chocolate Éclairs

And of course, no afternoon tea is complete without freshly baked, warm scones.

Everything was delicious and we left completely full.

If you haven’t had afternoon tea at The Plaza you need to put it on your NYC bucket list. You can make a reservation here.

I just love when my mom visits!

~A