Merrion Hotel : High Tea in Dublin Traditional Afternoon Tea with a Twist

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When visiting new places, I am a big fan of getting on the local schedule. Eat when the locals eat. Eat what the locals eat. When I first moved to Dublin, I was intrigued about the tradition of afternoon tea – but I also didn’t understand it. When do you have it? Should you skip lunch? Plan a late dinner?

Eventually my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to spend a Saturday afternoon with a friend nibbling on teensy sandwiches and scones. Choosing the site for my first afternoon tea experience was a difficult one – especially with so many wonderful options in the capital city of Ireland. Eventually I settled on the 5-star Merrion Hotel and their much-praised Art Tea.

Art Tea at the Merrion
One sunny Saturday afternoon I arrived at the historic Merrion Hotel, a Georgian building just a few blocks away from St Stephens Green. I had heard that the hotel had a beautiful garden, but I was about to find out just how perfect it is.

The sunny courtyard would the location for my first experience of Art Tea. Art Tea is the Merrion’s interpretation of afternoon tea and beyond offering the teensy sandwiches and scones, they also offer a selection of pastries based on different pieces of art from throughout the hotel. You won’t see a fake or a print anywhere in the Merrion Hotel – all of the pieces of art are real, unique, and add to the cozy feel of the hotel. The pastry chefs take this concept one step further by allowing the paintings to serve as inspiration for the 2nd course of their afternoon tea. I was excited to see how they would bring the hotel’s artwork to life – but first I had many tempting treats to savor.

Afternoon Tea Arrangements
The popularity of Art Tea (both with guests of the Merrion Hotel and the general public) is substantial – so be sure to make reservations in advance. I made my reservation weeks in advance. When we arrived at 3pm, there was one table left on the sunny terrace. The Merrion offers a variety of upgrades to their basic afternoon tea package – one of which is upgrading to champagne art tea. Our afternoon began with a glass of champagne – a real indulgence on a sunny Saturday for two friends catching up.

Each lovely detail added up to a stellar experience. From the genuinely friendly and helpful staff to the charming silver tea set, it was easy to see why it was difficult to get a reservation. Art Tea is divided into two courses: the first course is a three-tiered presentation of small sandwiches, scones, and raspberry preserves or lemon curd as sweet toppings. Everything stayed true to Irish roots, from the local salmon on Irish brown bread to the crumbly scones. While I expected to be impressed with the selection of scones and sandwiches – the tea itself was also wonderful. I told our server what type of tea I enjoyed, and she walked me through the menu making a few suggestions.

The Second Course
After our tea was ‘refreshed’ (I liked this term) we moved inside for our 2nd course: the art pastries. Our server presented us with three cards, depicting pieces of art on display in the hotel. On the back of the card, the pastry inspired by the artwork was described in detail.

Then the pastries themselves arrived. It was fascinating to see how the pastry chefs took a painting and recreated it into a bite-sized treat. No two were the same, further showing the skills of the chefs. They were just as delicious as they looked, but I must admit, I had most of them wrapped to bring home as the first course was enough food to last me straight through dinner. Some splurges leave you feeling shortchanged, but this isn’t one of them. I was immediately seduced by the charms of the Merrion Hotel, and from now on, whenever anyone asks me for a recommendation of a special afternoon treat, I will point them in the direction of the Merrion for their Art Tea.

Especially the champagne version of afternoon tea – it’s a delicious little upgrade.