Afternoon Tea @ The Library, St Regis Downtown Dubai

Afternoon tea is a tradition that mum and I do – whenever she’s here. As such, I would actually say we have done most of the Afternoon Teas in Dubai, particularly those that were in the Entertainer. Past tense, because as we all know, most venues are (sadly) no longer part of the program.

Whilst browsing – there were only 3 to choose from, and St Regis Downtown was the closest one to us. Not the biggest fan of Business Bay area but hey – if there’s a 2 for 1, we just gotta drive a little further, don’t we? 🙂

So – how was the afternoon tea at the St Regis?

First off – before heading over – I did my usual google search. There was nothing on their website, on More Cravings, nor any current reviews. I did find one photo of a specialty experience curated for little ones, but that’s not what we were doing. We’re not bringing kids to this Afternoon Tea 😉 I did understand that the hotel is relatively new, which explained why. Let’s just try it out anyhow.

We drove up to Business Bay one school day afternoon, mid May. Found our way to the St Regis – and then realised that though I had been to Bleu Blanc once upon a time for brunch – this would be my first time walking into the lobby itself.

Afternoon Tea at St Regis is held in their lobby lounge – also known as ‘The Library’.

The Library is brightly lit with natural light, streaming in through floor to ceiling glass facades. You look out to the Dubai Canal and the other side of Business Bay. It’s nice.

There were other guests – what looked like mostly work meetings. Some were on laptops. This reinstated my decision to not bring the little people 🙂

The staff explained how the Afternoon Tea worked – emphasizing that one set is for one person, and that we could get unlimited tea and coffee with it. As we were three sharing two sets – they reminded us (nicely, of course) – that we could not share (the drinks). We ordered a cappuccino for dad. Priced extortionately at 40 aed, but hey – we are sitting in a St Regis hotel. Plus, it did come in a beautiful cup and saucer with St Regis’ signature stamp for coffee art so, let’s not be sourpusses and dwell too much on it 😉

St Regis Downtown Afternoon Tea – 195 AED (not shown : Scones – 2no. )

Let’s get to the main deal, shall we?

The spread itself was…. how shall I put this nicely. I guess I expected a little bit more? I do understand quality over quantity, especially when it comes to fine dining spots but the stand was just so sparse. See above. For a quick comparison – check out the Afternoon Tea at One&Only the Palm, which uses the same stand, but look at the size of the mini tarts and sandwiches on that, compared to that of the St Regis.

Not pictured, 2 scones per person.

Was it good though, you may ask? It was okay – there was nothing that knocked our socks off. Simple, delicate, but nothing memorable.

What about service? The team were attentive, and courteous. Again, it was… alright.

Would I recommend it to others? Let’s just say – do your research before you go. I hope you found this post, while googling for St Regis Downtown Dubai Afternoon Tea. At least you know what to expect, before you head over 😉 If you like what you see – the venue, the spread, by all means – go. The problem for us was having had no past reviews to see : no photos, or menu. Had I know what I was getting, I probably would have gone somewhere else. Plus, having done so many afternoon teas in Dubai – this just wasn’t our……..cup of tea.

For those of you who like to know the details, here’s St Regis Downtown’s Afternoon Tea menu.

Price-point, glad we had the Entertainer. 195 AED for 2, sitting in beautiful lounge on a quiet weekday, drinking good coffee with gorgeous coffee art – that’s not too bad, isn’t it ? Just make sure you have dinner prepared at home 😉

Ps – Hear they do a fab Saturday brunch. Anyone been?