“Let them eat cake!” Marie Antoinette famously exclaimed, in response to the news that the French populace had no bread to eat. That was, of course, before she was convicted of treason and sentenced to be guillotined!
Despite the excesses and ignominious end of Marie Antoinette, you can eat cake, and feel like royalty, without any fear of reprisal, if you attend the Marie Antoinette afternoon tea service at Two e bar/lounge at the Hotel Pierre in New York City.
The Hotel Pierre is famous in it’s own right, a luxury property at 2 East 61st Street at the intersection of Fifth Avenue in New York City, facing Central Park .It has been host to celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Coco Chanel, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who loved the elegance and old world charm of this wonderful hotel.
Two e Bar/Lounge is a modern but elegant lobby lounge featuring classic cocktails, and a wine list that features unusual producers. Two e Bar/Lounge also serves as a coffee bar. You can also order up light fare and small plates, and there is live jazz every Tuesday evening.
But this lounge also serves two limited edition, afternoon tea services.
I’m not talking about just any afternoon tea. The elegant and luxurious tea service here features two champagne-soaked varieties, with unlimited Piper Heidsieck Brut Cuvee for the Marie Antointte tea ($95.00/per person) or if you really want to enjoy an over-the-top tea, a Kin Lous IVI unlimited Piper Heidsieck Rare 1998 for $195.00. There is also tea served with your bubbly: 15 different varieties, both herbal and more traditional, including the Pierre Blend tea, custom blended black tea with black currant, lemony bergamot, and vanilla notes. The champagne and pots of tea are supplemented with a savory and sweet selection of sandwiches and desserts. Both the savories include e $95.00 Marie Antoinette tea, and the King Louis XVI tea for $195.00/per person).
Both tea services offer the same sweets and savories. I don’t have a clue how much Marie Antoinette ate at one sitting, but don’t expect to be groaning-ly full from the tempting, but tiny, tiers of tea delights. Each one is beautifully presented, and very delicious, but the point is not to bolt down food. You’re going to want to sit, savor, and enjoy the experience, enlivened perhaps, by the witty conversation of your companions. After a few glasses of good champagne, you will find whatever they say, witty!!!
This is all great news if you live in New York or you’re planning to visit, but there is some less happy news: these special tea services will only be offered 3-5 pm each Sunday until April 28th. And, the price of the teas isn’t inexpensive, given the range of other tea options in elegant surroundings around New York City. What Two e Bar/Lounge gives you is a delightful experience — one that money can buy. Take “mom” for Mother’s Day but just do it before April 28th and you’ll share something very special. Or, get your girlfriends together and toast the coming of Spring. “just because..” Unlike Marie Antoinette, you will enjoy your “cake” and keep the memory of it, too!
To contact the Hotel Pierre: 2 E 61st St New York, NY 10065
(212) 838-8000
