On the day of our anniversary Mr. FFID
announced that he’d booked us in for the Art Tea at The Merrion hotel. A few weeks later,
we headed to The Merrion Hotel on a windy, freezing day and I can’t express how
excited I was. I was even delighted to be cold on the way there, as I knew they had a fireplace.
We arrived in the bright Georgian drawing room, beautifully laid out with comfy armchairs, sofas and luxurious furniture. We
couldn’t have hoped for better seats, facing the roaring fireplace, it felt
like we were the only two people there and imagined it was our living room for the
day.
The Art tea in the Merrion is a 2 course
high tea inspired by the private art collection scattered around the hotel. It is priced
at €36 per person, or €50 /€56 with champagne/pink champagne. On the menu you chose one of 14
different teas and the waiting staff refill your cup constantly during your experience.
A cake stand filled to the brim with savoury treats,
breads and cakes comes first.
The savouries are very traditional: chicken and
pesto on sunflower bread, smoked Irish salmon on brown bread, cucumber with
cream cheese on tomato bread, bridge rolls stuffed with egg mayonnaise and
cress and roast beef on white bread. The fingers sandwiches are big, fresh and come generously filled.
On the middle tray the plain mini scones
were light and soft whereas the fruit ones were a bit dry. The two slices of
colourful and delightfully moist Battenberg, inspired by one of the works of art were certainly the highlight on the tier.
On that tier you also have some lemon
bread and porter bread. On the top tier, clotted cream, raspberry jam and a
delectable lemon curd are served in small glasses.
The most impressive part of the Art Tea is
without a doubt the second course: the pastries. On your table are displayed
three miniature cards featuring three paintings from the Merrion’s art
collection and the pastries you get are an edible interpretation of each work
of art.
Pastries vary from a selection and on our visit we had: a raspberry and
passion fruit tart, a green apple macaroon and a rosewater and orange mousse on
a white chocolate feuilletine. The tart was fruity, flavoursome and a nice
contrast of texture. The macaroon was original and stunning looking but the
apple taste wasn’t there. The mousse was very rich and exquisite and the
feuilletine nicely crunchy.
The Art Tea at the Merrion is a dream for
the sweet toothed and those with big appetites. It’s without a doubt the most substantial
afternoon tea I've ever had and is also the most luxurious in Dublin. The amount of food even
defeated big eaters like Mr. FFID and I. The staff
are incredibly welcoming and attentive without being intrusive. The
surroundings are stunning yet very cosy and comfortable which makes you feel
like staying forever. A complimentary booklet that contains the art collection
is at your disposal and comes handy if you’re having a browse at the paintings
after your afternoon tea. The Art tea is
indulgent, decadent and would be a perfect celebration for any special occasion.
The Merrion Hotel
Upper Merrion Street
Dublin 2
