Wicked Afternoon Tea at the Plaza NYC
In honor of the release of Wicked Part I I wanted to share my experience having a Wicked themed afternoon tea at the Plaza! During October 1st to November 3rd, The Palm Court, at the historic Plaza hotel offered Broadway’s Wicked-Themed Afternoon Tea for the second year in a row. Now this experience is $$$ and my sister and I decided to indulge to celebrate the release of my new book, A Path to Healing. Simultaneously, I was going through a hard time and since I have the best sister in the world, she decided to take me out to celebrate my release and to pick me up a little. It ended up being a memorable…though expensive…experience.
A Little Bit of History: The Plaza Hotel's Palm Court has been a prime destination for afternoon tea since it opened in 1907. Originally known as the Palm Room, it became the Palm Court in the 1930s and quickly grew in popularity. The tradition of afternoon tea continues today, with a refined menu featuring teas, fine pastries, and custom tableware. In 2014, the Palm Court underwent a renovation by architect Thierry Despont, blending modern elements with the space's classic design. The Plaza is also home to the iconic Eloise, a character from Kay Thompson's 1955 book, and visitors can enjoy both the afternoon tea experience and Eloise-themed merchandise.
The Plaza is also famous for its Christmas afternoon tea, which is on my bucket list to do! It gained extra popularity due to 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where Kevin McCallister stays at the Plaza and enjoys a luxiorous afternoon tea at the Palm Court. The Palm Court is currently offering there Home Alone inspired afternoon tea to celebrate the Christmas season!
The Experience: The Palm Court mentions that you should “dress for the occasion” but we saw people wearing all sorts of outfits including a sweatshirt, baseball cap, and jeans. So you don’t need to worry too much about dressing up, but I will say the people who were dressed very casual did get stared at by other guests a little. Most people went business casual.
Right when I entered I noticed that The Palm Court had an emerald green dome! I wasn’t well versed enough on The Plaza to know if this was the normal color or specific for the Wicked afternoon tea. It turns out it is specific for the tea! It was a really nice touch. The Palm Court was offering three different types of afternoon tea in this visit: The Wicked Afternoon Tea, Eloise Anniversary Tea, and a traditional afternoon tea. Right from the entrance the staff was very nice and attentive. We received a really spacious table for our party for 2.
We were asked if we wanted to upgrade to champagne, rosé, or cristel for a steep up charge. I will share more on pricing in the next section because this is a luxurious tea!
The Wicked Afternoon Tea consisted of three themed tiers. They were the traditional tiers with the bottom level being scones, middle was savories, and the top was desserts.
Savory:
Boq's Blue Crab Basket-Blue Crab, Avocado, Sweety Drops Pepper, Micro Basil, Sesame Basket
The ‘Bad Witch’ Herb Roasted Beef-Horseradish SlawWatercress, Whole Grain Mustard, Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Emerald City Cucumber Sandwich-Cucumber, Labneh with Mint, Lemon Zest, Tarragon, Pickled Mustard Seeds, White Bread
Shiz University Smoked Salmon Sandwich-Wasabi Cream Cheese, Shiso, White Soy, Pickled Ginger, Spinach Bread
Elphaba’s Emerald Spinach Tart-Spinach, Pistachio, Mozzarella, Spinach Bread
Fiyero’s Foie Gras-Foie Mousse, Truffle Kewpie Mayo, Caviar
Our favorite was Boq’s Blue Crab Basket and Fiyero’s Foie Gras. Fiyero’s Foie Gras actually looked like a maccaron so that was a surprise to eat a savory maccaron. We also liked that the Emerald City Cucumber Sandwich was shaped into Elphaba’s witch hat. It was a cute touch.
Sweets:
Look To The Brest'ern Sky-Pumpkin Pie, Spiced Latte
Wicked Ube Cheesecake Ube Cheesecake-Ube Graham Cracker
Glinda's 'Popular' Raspberry Tart-Raspberry Confit, Mascarpone Chantilly
Oz-mazing Hazelnut Crunch-Hazelnut Crunch, Cocoa Nibs, Hazelnut Namelaka, Cocoa Streusel
Flying Monkey Macaron-White Chocolate Pistachio Ganache
All the desserts tasted wonderful but we enjoyed the Look to the Brest’ern Sky the best.
Scones:
Cranberry & Candied Ginger Scone
Plain Scone
Accompanied by Devonshire Cream, Kalamansi Curd, and House-Made Berries & Lime Preserves
Both of the scones were delicious but surprisingly the plain scone was the best. They are small, dainty scones so I was kind of sad I finished them too quickly.
As a whole, everything was delicious! I did notice that they brought a small cake out for birthdays and celebrations. We received nothing when I put on our reservation that we were celebrating, though the host did ask what we were celebrating. I guess my book release was not considered cake worthy hahah. But we still had a great time.
As of Today: Now I cannot emphasize enough that this is a LUXURY TEA EXPERIENCE. The Wicked Afternoon Tea was priced at $145 pp. With the glass of champagne upgrade it can go to $175, or $184 for Rosé, OR A WHOPPING $214 for cristel!! Did I mention this is an indulgent experience??? Such a huge upcharge for ONE GLASS OF ALCOHOL. It’s ridiculous but going to The Plaza, you should expect it. It’s a tourist destination. The standard tea is $120 for a base without alcohol. You can check out the different menus here.
My Rating: 4/5. The pricing makes this inaccessible for the average person, but I cannot deny that I had a lovely experience. It was a really memorable way to celebrate the release of my book, though INDULGENT. If you are an afternoon tea fanatic like me, I think it’s worth a visit at least once. (It will be twice for me because I am determined to do there holiday tea-stay tuned!)
