A garden of modern Japanese desserts in a storied Manhattan hotel.
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 seven years in NYC, we nibbled our way through every single of the high tea spots in NYC, and featured the most memorable in our high tea guide (see here). Although we left NYC in 2024, on each annual trip back, we have made it a point to track and visit each new high tea opening. Most of have been bit average, so we have not featured it on this dessert review and travel blog. However, when we heard that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel had finally reopened (it was under renovations for the entire time that we were stationed in NYC), we could not wait to visit such a storied hotel for high tea. And it did not disappoint.
During our visit, afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria took place at the lobby-level Japanese restaurant called Yoshoku. Located off the Park Avenue entrance to the hotel, the restaurant is an elegant beige-toned space, graced by soaring ceilings and Grecian-style colonades. In alignment with the restaurant’s name – which when translated refers to Western-style Japanese food – the high tea likewise leaned towards a modern Japanese-French sensibility. The teas on offer were all Japanese teas, and predominantly green teas. We do not like green tea, with the exception of Longjing, so we opted instead for the Soba Cha and Hojicha. The high tea was served almost like a tasting menu, rather than using a traditional three-tiered silver tower. Arriving on a wooden platter, the savouries partly featured English-style afternoon tea ribbon sandwiches, and otherwise bites that would not look out of place at a degustation. Each tinkled with a touch of typical Japanese flavours, such as edamame, yuzu, pickles, and shiso. Our server offered to replenish these morsels as well. There were also the prerequisite scones, though these were more muffin or cake-like in texture. They were very soflty infused with hojicha and yuzu tones.
The piece-de-resistance of any high tea is of course, the desserts, and the Waldorf Astoria imagined a very beautiful terraced garden of desserts. Also numbering five, the desserts were exceedingly refined – more so than at the very expensive Baccarat Hotel or even our favourite NYC high tea spot, the Mandarin Oriental. The “Cherry Blossom Entremet” was the unquestionable star, a delicately-scented tube of mousse-cake. Two other desserts held a slight Japanese sensibility, being infused miso caramel and peach, whereas the remaining desserts were decidedly Western in style, one being a pistachio macaron and the other a blueberry pannacotta or pudding verrine.
Our verdict
If you were to ask us what is NYC’s best hotel afternoon tea service, we would point you to the Plaza (if you don’t mind the tourists), the Lowell (for upper-crust uptown vibes), the Baccarat (for nouveau riche feelings), the Mandarin Oriental (for the views), and we would now add the Waldorf Astoria to that list. Since leaving NYC, we discovered that aside from Hong Kong, Tokyo is home to some very exquisite high teas. That spirit can be found in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria, and if you have no issues with it being at a similar price point to the Baccarat’s high tea, we highly recommend the experience.
Dessert adventure checklist
- ☑ Dessert destination: Waldorf Astoria, 301 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYC.
- ☑ Budget: $$$ (USD $135 pp + tax/tip).
- ☑ Sweet irresistibles: High Tea.
- ☑ Must-eat: Modern Japanese French desserts.
- ☑ The short and sweet story: A garden of modern Japanese desserts in a storied Manhattan hotel.
Dessert Correspondents 