On one of my early trips to New York City, back when I was in high school, my friend and I woke up early, bought croissants at a local bakery, and had breakfast standing outside of Tiffany’s, just like Holly Golightly did in the classic film.

As it turns out, it wouldn’t be my last meal at Tiffany’s. Earlier this month, my friends and I descended on the famous jewelry store. But this time, rather than breakfast at Tiffany’s we were having afternoon tea.

And I no longer had to stand outside on the sidewalk while I enjoyed my meal. About a year and a half ago, Tiffany’s opened The Blue Box Cafe on the fourth floor of its flagship store. And, not surprisingly, it’s incredibly difficult to get a table.

Reservations open at 9:00am 30 days in advance, and by 9:01am they’re all booked up. So it took me several tries (and several months!) to finally secure a spot.

Nicole, Chelsea, Jess and I decided to be as basic as possible (I mean, why even have afternoon tea at Tiffany’s if you’re not going to go all out?!) and wore little black dresses adorned with pearls, just like Audrey Hepburn did in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

While the cafe is cute, it’s also pretty plain. I have to say, between the anticipation and the fact that it’s Tiffany’s, I was expecting a little more.

We each chose our own Bellocq tea.

And then the food arrived shortly thereafter.

In case you’re wondering, the proper way to enjoy afternoon tea is to go from savory to sweet. You begin with the sandwiches, then the scones (pronounced like this), then the desserts. And whatever you do, don’t call it high tea!

The sandwiches were the following:

Herbed Chicken Salad

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese

Cucumber Goat Cheese

Romesco & Asparagus

They weren’t particularly amazing, and Tiffany’s didn’t have my favorite: egg salad.

The scones however were really delicious, and perfectly moist. Half of the scones were sweet, which is expected in an afternoon tea, and then the others were savory, which is a more unique choice. For the sweet ones we topped them with sour cherry-cranberry jam, clotted cream, and honey. But the savory ones, while tasty, were much more difficult to decide which toppings were best to accompany them. Ultimately I just ended up eating my savory scones plain.

For dessert, we nibbled on the following:

Tiffany Bird’s Nest

Blue Box Petit Four

Coconut Brownie

Key Lime Tart

Chocolate Ingot

Lemon Jelly Square

I thought the bird’s nest was adorable, and I really liked the key lime tart. Other than that, the desserts were just ok.

Overall, I left The Blue Box Cafe feeling a little underwhelmed. As fabulous as Tiffany’s is, I thought they would do more with their cafe. From the decor to the food, everything felt a little like they were phoning it in.

That being said, I always have fun with these girls, and I’ll take any excuse to dress up! And, at the very least, this time I wasn’t standing outside in the cold while dining!

To make a reservation at The Blue Box Cafe, click here. Don’t forget to do so at 9:00am 30 days before!

“The only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany’s. Calms me down right away.”

~A