A little pre-Christmas twinkle in the West Village.
Our experience
High tea is not a NYC forte — after quite a number of high tea experiences in NYC, we have yet to come across a venue that offers the lavish dessert spreads seen in Asia and Australia, or the cultivated creativity of desserts seen in London. Over the last seven years in NYC, our New York Christmas tradition has been to partake in an afternoon tea. This year, we visited AnnTremet for its Christmas-themed high tea.
Last year, we showcased AnnTremet’s colourful mirror glaze mousse cakes in a review when it first opened. See that review here. With respect to its high tea offering ($52pp++), it is held inside the shop itself. It is a little bit of a tight fit for three mid-sized tables and two smaller ones. Do note that there are no toilets, so be very careful with that tea consumption. AnnTremet’s high tea is served on a three-tiered tower. On our visit, for savouries, there were two sandwich bites, one with sliced figs, and another with salmon. There was a skewer of mozzarella as well, plus three somewhat burnt mini loafs of zucchini bacon, sundried tomato, and olive rosemary. For sweets, there was a selection of mini biscuits, with the menu describing them as “Russian Tea Cookie,” “Lemon Lavender Buttercookie,” “Cranberry Almond Cookie,” and “Walnut Cookie.” The solitary apple cinnamon scone for each customer was a scone made in the American-style, i.e. a hard and dry nugget. It was not accompanied by any jam or cream. 😦 The Christmas macarons were far more memorable, as were AnnTremet’s signature mousse cakes. For the afternoon tea service, we were given the choice to select any three mousse cakes from the glass counter. We, of course, couldn’t miss the rabbit cheesecake, and we also chose a strawberry heart and a sunshine yellow passionfruit mousse cake.
Our verdict
If you are looking for an affordable Christmas afternoon tea in NYC that is not in a fancy hotel setting, AnnTremet is a cute option, particularly as it includes its full-sized mousse cakes. Just try to overlook the tight seating, the stark white lighting, and make sure that you don’t drink too much tea as there is no restroom in this little patisserie. 😮
Dessert adventure checklist
- ☑ Dessert destination: AnnTremet, 47 8th Avenue, West Village, Manhattan. (See previous review here).
- ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
- ☑ Sweet irresistibles: High Tea.
- ☑ Must-eat: Passionfruit mousse cake.
- ☑ The short and sweet story: A pre-Christmas twinkle in the West Village.
Dessert Correspondents 