Afternoon Tea

Went to tea this afternoon for Mother’s Day and my nieces birthdays had a wonderful time as always

A fun place to people watch and relax while enjoying a cup of tea. We had the champagne and tea option. The tea sandwiches were tasty as well as the dessert. Service was a tad slow but not such a big deal.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that over the last 5 years the service has dropped quite significantly. I don’t think it is the fault of the waitress/​waiters, as much as I think they are severely understaffed. This is extremely expensive — $ 40 for essentially a cup of tea and a few finger sandwiches. It’s like ordering a $ 500 steak. Given the cost, I would expect not just good service, but extraordinary service. At most a server to three tables. But instead it looked like there was one server for the entire place. My table was never checked on. We asked for more hot water at least 3 times and it took 20 minutes to get. I’ll continue to come here because it’s a family tradition but I truly hope management sees this and fixes the problem.

HORRIBLE service and experience! My husband and I went to afternoon tea yesterday — and walked out after waiting 45 minutes without being seated, let alone apologised to for the wait or the inconvenience (what is the point of a reservation, after all?). There were half a dozen empty, uncleared tables, wait staff and hostesses running around without a clue, and absolutely NO MANAGEMENT or leadership to be had. What a joke and huge disappointment. We left and went and had a cocktail elsewhere and received a text — a full hour after our reservation time — to «return to the hostess stand» as our table is ready. How about you all return to Downton Abbey and learn some manners, some management, and how to serve tea.

I’ve experienced afternoon tea across the US and in other countries, and I would sadly say that the afternoon tea at the Brown Palace was a pathetic attempt at trying to be refined. First off, if I call in advance to inform you that one of the guests is pregnant and ask for you to make dietary accommodations AND your menu even requests for the guests to inform you of any allergies or dietary restrictions, and yet the server appears to be dumbfounded and thinks that cucumber sandwiches alone would be a sufficient supplement… Why did I waste my time and yours to call in advance? Then finally you think of tomato and mozzarella as an alternative after you look at us condescendingly (but mainly dumbfounded)?! Second, if you’re going to require parties of 5 or more to pick only three teas to be brought in heavy giant pots, then you should also have the service and awareness to refill our cups timely rather than expecting the guests to lift these heavy tea pots. Third, depressing and tacky presentation. At most each tier of plates should serve three people. It should NOT be piled up for five and placed at the center of a large table so that we need to stand up to reach the food. Why are ten scones piled up on one plate? Not to mention ugly and thick chinaware and the overly scratched and used silverware. That is just vulgar. Fourth, pathetic excuse for food. Heavy egg salad topped on soggy white bread, while two pieces of dried and stale bread sandwiched grey, tasteless roast beef, overly sweet desserts that look and taste like they were leftovers from a cheap event night, and overly steeped tea. Well, at least the curried egg salad was decent, even if I could barely bring it to my plate for fear that the bread would disintegrate. Also, using tea bags instead of loose tea leaves is obviously another way for you to cut more corners.
It appears that your business model is to try to lure guests with tasteless food, unrefined plating, and unaccommodating and ill informed staff and service, which led to an overall tacky, severely underwhelming, and comedic experience. The food, staff, and décor need a renovation and remodeling.

Not worth the price! The tea was very good but the pastries were blah. Also, for the price, you would think they could spare a few more sandwiches. Oh and by the way, they say the scones come with Devonshire cream… they don’t! They come with whipped cream! it is totally not the same thing!!! The hotel is beautiful and the service was not bad. All in all, I would never have high tea here again.

The foreign girl Who took my order was really sweet, but terribly inefficient. She knew from the get-​go I was in a hurry and she brought my check really quickly which was awesome but I asked her at the same time can you please bring a to go box so that I don’t waste $ 36. I waited nearly 15 minutes for that to go box but it never arrived. Finally I had to leave so I forfeited 2 scones and three little cakes. Pretty sucky.

We came on a Sunday afternoon to celebrate my Mother’s birthday.
Our server was wonderful and very friendly. There are only two or three servers for the entire area (12+ tables). Thus this is not a rushed experience nor should it be.
We chose three teas of which one was unique to the Brown Palace (a brown tea), a green tea and Chai tea. Of all the teas the brown place was the most enjoyable.
The scones (normal and lemon poppy seed) were delicious and even better with the Devonshire cream and jam.
The finger sandwiches were all delicious. The choices were curried egg salad with craisin on top, turkey & hummus and cucumber.
They gave us extra sandwiches & were able to provide gluten-​free sandwiches and sweets (must request this when booking).
The sweets were good and thet offered an assortment of three or four.
Our party was eight which just fit at the couch and chairs they sat us at.
Definitely a worthwhile experience.
It is approximately $ 36/​person before tax & tip (more if you opt for champagne).

I used to go to afternoon tea at the Brown Palace regularly, but the quality has dwindled and I think this will be my last visit. If you book a reservation for more than 3 people, it is still the same cost, but you can only choose 3 teas for the table. They come pre-​steeped and sit in a container, becoming bitter overtime. I would like to note that the cost is still the same with a larger party. Service was also a let down– I tried to flag a server to get water for a good half an hour. Neither waitress even glanced at our table. The most attention we received was upon getting the check– which already had a 20% tip written in. I’m a believer in never tipping below that mark, but having it written in, especially when the service was lacking really put the final nail in the coffin of a poor experience.
The scones are still fantastic, but not worth the cost/​lack of service for the experience. There are better afternoon tea options available in Denver.

Amazing place to get some warm time with family or close friend. The staff so helpful we asked for some change in our order and they did it. Thank you for the time we spend.

The Brown Palace Tea at Christmas time is spectacular! We went for a girls tea and were treated like royalty. 2 adults and 3 young ladies. We had the gluten free tea service and we were all very impressed. The scones with clotted cream were so light and airy that they melted in your mouth, a tough feat for gluten free. The hostess poured out tea for us and the girls giggled with joy!

Impeccable, but would you expect anything else? High tea was elegant and lovely. Scones were warm and soft, with the Devonshire Cream whipped to perfection. The finger sandwiches were perfect (egg salad was yummy!), and the petit fours were put together well (a little too rich for my tastes, but executed perfectly). Service was spot-​on. Just a very nice afternoon.

As mentioned it is a $ 40pp high tea, this was known upon arrival for a meetup of 12 girls. Our numbers has dwindles due to a snow storm but we called 24 hours before and modified the reservation (originally it was 17).
It took us over 45 minutes to order our tea, another 15 to get it, and another 15 to get the first tray of sandwiches. During the 2.5 hour tea our server came back twice, as he was getting gratuity he had no reason to make sure we were happy. Then when we went to pay evenly with 12 cards, he then explained he can only take 3 cards.
He wasn’t apologetic, understanding and gave no explanation why we were never told before, even when stating over three time it would be separate checks.
He made us scramble about to try to get it down to three cards, this required two of our party to paypal money to another member so she could put it on her card. The amount of disrespect and pure annoyance shown made the whole experience unworthy.
The small sandwiches were good, not revolutionary, and the tea was quite good, but for $ 40 you are paying for a full experience and that was worth $ 2.

It’s a lovely and elegant tea, albeit pricey, in a beautiful setting. The pianist was really fun to listen to and would mix in some kids songs with the more typical jazz and classical pieces. The scones were especially delicious and we enjoyed the elegant teapots.

The Brown Palace is so nostalgic for me. My 2^nd gma took me here on quite a few occasions when I was younger, including afternoon tea. I feel that this is an important experience to have as a Coloradan. This hotel is full of history and you can not beat the ambiance of this place. I just had afternoon tea more recently and I was so much more appreciative of my surroundings. The lovely pianist playing in the background and everyone sipping on tea definitely makes me feel like I am in England.
Now, the least expensive tea time selection starts at $ 32 I believe and goes up from there. My friend ordered the jasmine tea and o my goodness, the fragrance of Jasmine filled his cup. I ordered the coconut tea and with one brown sugar cube, it was very good. I thought the coconut tea would be odd, but definitely would order it again. You receive a 3 tier setting for scones, finger sandwiches and the top tier being sweets. All were light and very good. The service was attentive, the tea attendants will keep filling up your tea with hot water. Overall a very lovely experience and I will bring my future children in one day to experience high tea.

They keep the winter holiday decorations up until after the stock show so we do our holiday ladies Christmas in January.

I love this place. I definitely grew up in the Titanic Movie frenzy time frame, and I can’t help it, but I’ve always loved anything to do with the turn of the century. The atmosphere is so elegant and refined, with the harp playing in the background. The lovely tea attendants made sure that we had lots of hot water and enough of everything. The scone and cream are the best in town, hands down.
My complaint, much like others is the fact that they still make you pay for valet parking. Since the tea is so expensive already, why don’t you comp that like you comp the patrons at Ellyington’s? I hurts the wallet for sure.
But, still, it’s one of the bastions of the past, and one of the only places to wear a fascinator in Denver without being stared at. I can’t wait to go back for more scones. :)
VERDICT: Your wallet will cry, but you’ll still want to buy the scones.

If you walk into the Brown Palace you can not miss the Tea Room, it is right in the center of the lobby of the Brown Palace. Couches, chairs, and coffee/​tea tables are all around where people are drinking their tea and eating their finger sandwiches and scones while gossiping about the latest news. This was my first time having high tea and I wanted to take in every little bit of it.
The ambiance is very appropriate for having high tea. High ceilings and stair cases all along the sides of the room for a very elegant look. We ordered 3 different types and they were all great. My personal favorite was the Early Grey and the Rhoomibi (sp?). Add in some cream and sugar and the teas will fill you right up. We also got the three tiered plates of scones, sandwiches, and small desserts. My favorite sandwich had to be the egg sandwich because it was the most flavorful out of the three. We were so full by the tea and scones that we didn’t even get to finish our desserts!
The service was great. There was a waiter who came by every few minutes to check up on us, bring in more tea, pour more tea, and brought out more sandwiches if we wanted it. It came out to be about $ 40 per person for a couple of hours of tea time. It is a little pricey, but hey, it is all for the experience.
If you really end up liking a tea, you can order them on the side to take home!
Bottom Line: Every woman (and man!) should try high tea at least once. Pinkies up!

A little pricey for tea but we left full and satisfied. With the signature tea you get your own pot of tea (a bunch of choices for which one) and a tower of scones, finger sandwiches, and petit fours.
Everything is just as you would imagine high tea to be. Dainty tea cups, love piano music and attentive and friendly service.
I had the brown palace signature tea and loved it. Also loved the lemon poppy seed scone and all the finger sandwiches. They will refill things for you as needed! The petit fours were also very delicious my favorite being the lemon crime puff.
Recommended for a special treat.

When I was younger and still living in PA, my Mom and I used to make the hour plus drive to get to a little mom and pop shop to have afternoon tea. We would have homemade scones, tea sandwiches, desserts and delicious tea over the course of a couple hours. Afternoon tea has been something we’ve been doing for years and on her most recent visit I couldn’t resist reservations at the Brown Palace.
I made reservations on Open Table, I always appreciate the ease of on-​line reservations. If you opt out of valet as I often do you may have to walk a block or two to get to the Brown Palace.
Upon entry to the Brown Palace your head will be permanently fixed staring straight up admiring the ceiling of the Brown Palace. I was mesmerized with the beauty and kept sneaking glances every chance I had. The live music coming from the piano added to the lovely ambiance. I loved enjoying Afternoon Tea in the gorgeous lobby of the hotel and would come back just for the ceiling alone.
We both choose The Royal Palace option which offers, a tea of your choice, a glass of Kir Royale, house-​made scones served with Devonshire cream and preserves, finger sandwiches and pastries finished with a Brown Palace truffle.
The service left something to be desired, clunky would describe our service best. It felt rushed and sloppy at times, tea was sloppily refilled and care was not taken when pouring hot water to ensure no splashing and when bringing our glasses of Kir Royale. A few small fixes with service would really go a long way to improve the whole experience.
I thought the presentation of everything was exquisite. The three tiered presentation of fresh scones, tea sandwiches and variety of desserts was very nice.
The tea options sounded tasty on paper but were both pretty flavorless. They became more watery as we were supplied with more hot water but not fresh tea leaves.
We enjoyed two different varieties of scones, one of which was supposed to be pumpkin but neither of us could find pumpkin flavor anywhere. The saving grace was the Devonshire cream that is imported straight from England I hear. We were both taking spoonful after spoonful and spreading this luxurious cream over every bite.
The tea sandwiches were good, the stand out was the curried egg salad. I could have easily had a whole plate of just these. The other two sandwiches were rather bland and not memorable at all. I’m glad we were able to order a second serving of the sandwiches at no charge.
The desserts were a nice way to end the experience and were the highlight of the afternoon. There were three or four unique creations and each one offered something new. The chocolate truffle was decadent and pure poetry.
I’m not likely to return in the near future for Afternoon Tea with so many other options in the area that I still have yet to try.

There are things that I may not of tried, if I wasn’t married.. .
Afternoon tea at the brown place is one of those things. It is the second such tea event I’ve been to with my wife (the other was the Drake).
I was somewhat surprised that it was a mixed crowd. I had expected nothing but moms, grandmas, and daughters.. .but instead you had those as well as several tables of two men having tea?
Were they English? On a date? Or doing business?
Whatever the reason, it shattered my demographic expectations of afternoon tea. Now I too can come here with a buddy, instead of beer and wings. Score!
If you haven’t done it before, its like this
1) in the beautiful open atrium of the Brown, with skylight
2) live piano music
3) comfortable chairs, couches, etc
4) our tea service started with champagne
5) you get this multi level thing that has level 1 — scones level 2 — sandwiches level 3 — dessert
The best thing was the clotted cream (think whipped cream without a lot of sugar) and preserves on scones. OH — SO –NOT –Good for me.. .but it was awesome tasting!
The sandwiches (which will be refilled if asked) were decent.. .I thought I had better.. .but good
The desserts on top! awesome.
Oh, and its served with a tea — your choice. Cream to add to the tea and sugar. This is a talking experience.. .a nice casual talk — tea — talk –nibble kind of place
It is fun, relaxing.. and those guys that were there. I can see how it can be a good casual place to share the presentation on your ipad between scones and finger sandiches