Afternoon Tea at Hillwood Estate
Our group went during the Perfumes and Seduction exhibition, so we got to see some really neat bottles of perfumes and vinaigrettes. The estate does rotate what visitors get to see, so I’d check their website to see what’s up if you're interested in visiting. The place is about a mile walk from the Van Ness / UDC metro station. At one point, the estate also displayed a lot of the owner’s collection of jewelry. Mrs. Marjorie Post was one classy lady with a very interesting life.
High Tea at Hillwood Estate, May 26, 2019
Our menu:
SAVORY SELECTION
SWEETS SELECTION
DRINK SELECTION
[ THE GOOD ]
My high points for this tea are the tea they served (Damman Frères, which Ritz Carlton Pentagon City used to serve!) and the savory selection. I don’t know what it is about curried chicken salad being served these days, but I have no complaints. It’s quite tasty.
My tea for the service
[ THE BAD ]
Unfortunately, the scones were quite dry and we didn’t get cream or jam to go with them. It’s a bit unusual for a tea service. For the sweets selection, the lavender lemon cookies were definitely the winner for me. One of the people in my group mentioned that she had expected it to taste like soap (the combination is often used in soaps, I suppose), but it doesn’t! For me, it was more like a sugar cookie with a very, very subtle hint of lavender.
Service left a bit to be desired, but I wonder if it’s because we were seated inside a room. I noticed a previous group’s meal in the same room (different table) wasn’t cleared out the entire time we were there. Our table’s attending waiter tries to come by once in a while, but I do find my table without water for quite some time.
It seems the menu also changes, as the current menu on the website isn’t all what we received at our tea.
Visit date: May 26, 2019
- Cost: $28.50 (inclusive of taxes and gratuity); the entry fee to the estate (required to go into the cafe) is $18 for adults.
- Reservation needed? Likely; our event organizer arranged everything, though. There may be a discounted price for a bundle, so contact the estate to see what they can do!
- Dietary restrictions? They don’t do any substitutions. Call ahead if you have dietary restrictions to see if their lunch menu can accommodate you!
- Would I go back? Yes.
High Tea at Hillwood Estate, May 26, 2019
Our menu:
SAVORY SELECTION
- Seasonal Miniature Scones (I think we had cinnamon and blueberry, but I’m not 100% sure)
- Cheddar Puff Pastry Straw (poppy seeds)
- Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuille (dill cream cheese, cucumber relish, pumpernickel bread)
- Coronation Chicken Salad (dried apricots, chives, almonds, butter croissant)
- Sundried Tomato Hummus (alfalfa sprouts, Persian cucumber, sourdough bread)
- Miniature Quiche (tomato, feta, fresh oregano)
SWEETS SELECTION
- Chocolate Nutella Tart
- Lemon-Lavender Sugar Cookie
DRINK SELECTION
- Choice of Dammann Frères Hot (tea bags – option of Earl Grey, Chamomile, Hibiscus blend, Gunpowder green tea) or Iced Tea (only 1 choice for iced tea, a tropical flavor)
[ THE GOOD ]
My high points for this tea are the tea they served (Damman Frères, which Ritz Carlton Pentagon City used to serve!) and the savory selection. I don’t know what it is about curried chicken salad being served these days, but I have no complaints. It’s quite tasty.
My tea for the service
[ THE BAD ]
Unfortunately, the scones were quite dry and we didn’t get cream or jam to go with them. It’s a bit unusual for a tea service. For the sweets selection, the lavender lemon cookies were definitely the winner for me. One of the people in my group mentioned that she had expected it to taste like soap (the combination is often used in soaps, I suppose), but it doesn’t! For me, it was more like a sugar cookie with a very, very subtle hint of lavender.
Service left a bit to be desired, but I wonder if it’s because we were seated inside a room. I noticed a previous group’s meal in the same room (different table) wasn’t cleared out the entire time we were there. Our table’s attending waiter tries to come by once in a while, but I do find my table without water for quite some time.
It seems the menu also changes, as the current menu on the website isn’t all what we received at our tea.
Visit date: May 26, 2019
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