{"id":24113,"date":"2009-12-23T07:04:22","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T06:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hightea.com\/nl\/afternoon-tea-at-the-merrion-hotel-dublin\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:34:57","slug":"afternoon-tea-at-the-merrion-hotel-dublin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightea.com\/en\/afternoon-tea-at-the-merrion-hotel-dublin\/","title":{"rendered":"Afternoon Tea at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Drawing<\/p>\n

Drawing Room at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin \u00a9 The Merrion Hotel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I called for afternoon tea reservations at The Merrion Hotel in Dublin and was told that they were booked for the entire month of December. Fortunately after we arrived at the hotel, the staff was able to get us a seating (most likely because were guests of the hotel). As luck would have it, we were given a table directly in front of the fireplace and facing the harpist who was just beginning to play for the guests taking afternoon tea.<\/p>\n

The Merrion Hotel is\u00a0located in the center of Georgian Dublin and is just a short walk from Dublin\u2019s \u201cgolden mile\u201d \u2013 an area of pubs, shops and restaurants near St. Stephen\u2019s Green. The main house of the hotel was created from four townhouses originally built in the 1760\u2019s and now painstakingly restored.<\/p>\n

Afternoon tea is served in the hotel\u2019s two Drawing Rooms which are beautifully restored Georgian masterpieces. The rococo plasterwork, woodwork, period furnishings, chandeliers, Irish fabrics, turf-burning fireplaces, and antiques were all either acquired or meticulously restored to lend an authentic feel to what genteel living in Georgian Dublin was like in the 1700\u2019s.<\/p>\n

When you are first seated, you immediately notice the quiet elegance of the room, the flickering fireplace, the soft harp music, and you get the feeling that something\u00a0good is about to happen.<\/p>\n

\"Harpist<\/p>\n

Harpist at Merrion Hotel Afternoon Tea \u00a9 HighTea.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There are only nine well spaced tables in the Drawing Rooms at The Merrion and the benefit of this is that you will have a very private afternoon tea, as if you and your party were personally invited over to someone\u2019s elegant Irish home.\u00a0 Since the drawing rooms are located on the main floor of the hotel, an added benefit is that you might observe interesting hotel guests on the way in or out of the hotel. In our case, we encountered the Irish actor, Gabriel Byrne, on the main floor of the hotel evidently back in his home town of Dublin taking a break from his busy schedule.<\/p>\n

Afternoon Tea today was a \u201cthemed\u201d event called Art Tea. The sweets and cakes courses\u00a0were inspired by the extensive collection of 19th and 20th Century Irish art on display in the hotel.\u00a0 The Pastry chef creates three pastries for you that mimic the actual paintings hanging on the walls of the hotel. (More on that later).<\/p>\n

On the tea menu, the selections were four black teas, three green teas, three fruit infusions and three herbal infusions. I chose the Darjeeling Earl Grey which is Darjeeling blended with oil of bergamot, and it was excellent.\u00a0 The tea is served in silver teapots, and the china service is Wedgewood \u201cW\u201d bone china.<\/p>\n

Art Tea begins with a course of four savoury tea sandwiches \u2013 Chicken and Pesto on Sunflower Bread, Oak Smoked Irish Salmon on Brown Soda Bread with Horseradish Cream, Cucumber with Cream Cheese and Chive on Tomato Bread, and Egg Mayonnaise & Cress on Bridge Rolls.<\/p>\n

\"Battenberg<\/p>\n

Battenberg cake designed like artwork at The Merrion Hotel \u00a9HighTea.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After the finger sandwiches, the themed art show begins.\u00a0 A Battenberg cake<\/a> (also known as a window cake) was brought out in a color scheme that matched the full sized painting hanging on the wall right behind us. It was moist, delicious and a work of art in its own right.\u00a0 Lemon bread and Portercake were also served on this level of the three tier tray.<\/p>\n

Not to be forgotten, I should also mention that plain and fruit scones were part of the Art Tea and were served with Glenilen (County Cork) clotted cream, raspberry jam and lemon curd.<\/p>\n

Now\u00a0it was \u00a0time for the stars of the show \u2013 the Merrion Art Tea Pastries.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Art<\/p>\n

Art inspired pastries \u00a9HighTea.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Arranged on our table were miniature renderings of three paintings from the hotel \u2013 Woman in White, Frying Pan, Funnel, Eggs & Lemons, and Roses and Temple.\u00a0In this final course were three art pastries that were inspired by the three artworks \u2013 a coconut & blueberry macaroon (for the Woman in White), a vanilla biscuit with orange curd (for the Frying Pan, Funnel, Eggs & Lemons), and a rosewater & orange mousse on white chocolate feuilletine (for the Roses & Temple). These were almost too beautiful to eat, but we did somehow manage and they were delicious. We\u00a0agreed that the rosewater and orange mousse was the\u00a0standout of the three.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Around this time, a couple of girls (about age 9) seemed interested in the young\u00a0woman playing the harp and sat down on the carpet right in front of her.\u00a0 Without skipping a beat, the harpist smiled at them, engaged them in a little conversation and never missed a note. I guess you could call that a musical form of\u00a0multi-tasking.<\/p>\n

Let me summarize or \u201cpaint\u201d the scene for you (pun intended). You\u2019re sitting in a vintage overstuffed, soft, cushy chair in a very uncrowded room as if you were in 18thCentury Dublin (sight). Next to you is a fireplace flickering with the burning of \u201cturf\u201d or peat and giving off that unmistakably peaty aroma (smell), and a harpist is gently strumming the strings of her harp (hearing). You\u2019re sampling fine full-leaf tea,\u00a0tea sandwiches and pastries\u00a0served on Wedgewood fine bone china (taste and touch). The fact of the matter is, all five of your senses are being gently massaged and you don\u2019t even realize it.\u00a0 Two hours\u00a0go by quickly and after the afternoon tea was over, I\u00a0 didn\u2019t want to leave. So I stayed a while longer, watched the fire, and my daughter soon returned with a book to read so we could enjoy the ambiance just a little while longer.<\/p>\n

\"Georgian<\/p>\n

Georgian entrance to Merrion Hotel, Dublin \u00a9HighTea.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here is a video of our visit…<\/p>\n