3 of the best… tea salons

With tea time making a comeback across Europe, we seek out three of the best places to clink china and crunch macaroons

words by Sophy Grimshaw

01 / From Far East to West End

On a side street close to London’s Oxford Circus, but undiscovered by many, is the Chinese-French fusion patisserie Yauatcha. In the ground-floor tea salon you can wash down an absinthe cupcake, chocolate teddy bear or phosphorescent pink macaroon with the tea or tea-based cocktail of your choice. There are also some fruity, creamy cocktails for a liquid hit of everything you’d spread on a scone in a more traditional tea house. If the conversation slows, play a game of ‘spot the weirdest fish’ as you survey the enormous aquarium that serves as a dividing wall. On a particularly lazy day you could easily slip from tea to dinner here, as dim sum are served all day in the sleek basement dining room. The only down side is the waiting staff, who are generally as brusque as they are beautiful.

Yauatcha
15-17 Broadwick Street, London
+44 (0)20 7494 8888

02 / Sipping in style

When you take tea at The Ritz-Carlton in Berlin you can choose from a list of brews as long as your arm. But don’t just read the menu; it’s important that you smell it, too. The tea list incorporates a box of tealeaf samples in compartments, so you can inhale the aroma of each before ordering. As at the London Ritz, here you can eat freshly-baked scones, sandwiches and petits fours while listening to a classical pianist play, but this isn’t just a homage to the jolly old English experience. The tea lounge also nods to tea’s true home, China, with accents of the Far East in the decor and staff uniforms. A delicious afternoon, brought to you by folks whose motto is “tea is a way of life”.

The Ritz-Carlton
Potsdamer Platz 3, Berlin
+49 (0)30 337 777
www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/berlin

03 / Right royal treat

Sofia Coppola’s latest movie re-imagined the whirlwind of glamour, tragedy and fancy pastries that was the life of Queen Marie ‘Let them eat cake’ Antoinette. All the pastries in the film were made by Ladurée, itself the queen of French patisseries. Although featured heavily in the movie, macaroons were yet to be invented in Marie Antoinette’s day. Still, let’s not allow a little anachronism to spoil the fun – the point is, we have them now! There are four branches of Ladurée, but head to the iconic HQ on the Champs Elysées, where you can enjoy some namesake Marie Antoinette macaroons, as well as millefeuille (the famous ‘thousand-layers’ pastry), Saint-Honoré cake, marrons glacés, petits fours and much more.