St. Regis Tea

Patty says:

So, I was doing a belated Mother's Day thing for my mom.  She requested to go to St. Regis for their tea service.  That hotel previously was a Ritz-Carlton which was known for the tea service.

I would say the experience was as close to a true English Tea as you'll get in Houston.  They did the whole sandwiches, scones, desserts, and of course tea.  

First of all, you need to make reservation to attend.  At first I was thinking, how snooty... but once I arrived, I understand why.  There was about 6 or so tables that they can seat.  So, that leaves no room for walk-ins.  As I had mentioned at the  beginning, it's a belated Mother's Day thing, that was because I couldn't get us in until now.

So, when you arrive, you're greeted by the butler, Charles.  He seats you and explain to you how it works.  He brings you sandwiches with desserts and highly recommend that you get the scones before you get the desserts.  The reason being that you want the scone to be nice and warm.  Then, he explains the 3 types of tea they have, they got a St. Regis blend which was 3 different types of tea blended together, which is said to be refreshing for summertime.  Then, there's 2 other herbal tea, forgot one of them, the other was raspberry.  

They have the traditional cucumber sandwich but it's open-faced.  They also have the salmon sandwich.  They also have a provolone & cheese sandwich and a cheese sandwich.  My favorite of all, is the chicken salad one.  That is to die for, yum!

The scone is a huge warm gigantic scone with devon cream.  I'm used to having either Lemon Curd or clouded creme which has more taste than their devon, but supposedly they are flown in from England weekly.  Hmm...  I said hmmm because it didn't taste like more than hand whipped whip cream.  It doesn't have as much taste as the other creme I've had in other tea services.

The butler was right, the St. Regis blend goes w/ the scone very well.  Of course, they also have dessert.  But by the time I got to dessert, I can't squeeze much more in.  They had a small fruit tart, cream puff, and a lemon meringue tart.  Charles brought 4 serving for the 3 of us, which was fine by me... more to share.  Double yum!  The kindest thing Charles had done was that he knew we can't finish it all and boxed it all up.  Even if we ate some of it already, he replenished it for us to make sure we all get to enjoy it later. 

Overall, service was superb, mind you, it's Charles against 6 tables full of guests, he does have a helper but he's still the one that come and give you the schpiel,  about the food and tea.  Food is good in some spots, tea is fine.  But the service is absolutely divine which makes the experience so much more delightful.

Like I said, call ahead to make reservation and make sure you have 2 hours to spare, you wouldn't want to rush thru your tea service.

St. Regis Hotel, Houston

Tea Lounge

Service Wednesday - Saturday, 3-5p

Reservations Required (they're not kidding)

(713) 403-2631