Le Bristol
Add: 112, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris
Tel: 01 53 43 43 00
Hours: [afternoon tea] 3-6pm
Website: www.lebristolparis.com
Price: [afternoon tea] €80/tea set for two
Visited: Sep 2015
Before leaving Paris, I wanted to have one last afternoon tea at a hotel. Crossing off the ones I’ve already been to – Le Meurice, Plaza Athénée, Shangri-la, The Peninsula, George V – I decided to try Le Bristol and the delicious creations from renowned pastry chef Laurent Jeannin.
The Thé Complèt (€48/person, or €80/for two) includes two beverages and a three-tier stand of savories and sweets. Though it’s designed for two people, it can easily satisfy three people in terms of the amount of food that’s served. Details to follow.
Very pretty tea ware.
From the bottom: savory sandwiches, croissants, and cakes.
Cream puff, lemon tart, raspberry tart, financier. The kitchen had forgotten to put macarons on the tray, and upon request, our waiter brought over some raspberry rose macarons later.
Scones, madeleines, muffins.
There are also a la carte options (€21/each), though to be honest I wasn’t too drawn to the presentation and decided to skip these.
Instead, we decided to try the Pain Perdu (€26) which was featured in Laurent Jeannin’s recipe book, and also recommended to me by some friends. Served warm and fluffy with creme anglaise, fresh fruits, (even adorned with a gold leaf), this was indeed a very tasty French toast…but at €26 a piece? Wow.
The surrounding is definitely luxurious – though I personally prefer settings with more natural light – and service was smooth and attentive throughout. In terms of the tea set itself, I wasn’t really disappointed, but not really wowed either. Among the few hotel afternoon tea services I have tried in Paris, I’m more drawn to the sets at Shangri-la (do note that the chef patissier has changed since my visit) and Plaza Athénée, though the a la carte options at Le Meurice were excellent as well.
