afternoon t

where coudl i do afternoon tea somewhere grand and lovely?

afternoon t

The Royalton Hotel. (when I was 18 and a freshman at F.I.T. my friends and I would get all dressed and go there for tea.)

afternoon t

The St. Regis Hotel and the Hotel Pierre are both lovely. Lady Mendl%26#39;s further downtown is supposed to be divine (in a townhouse). Depends on whether you like classic or more modern. Hadn%26#39;t heard that the Royalton does tea. It%26#39;s a very trendy hotel. Most of the hotels now do aft. t.

I agree with Whiz%26#39; two choices.

The Astor Court at the St. Regis is very refinded. You won%26#39;t firget that you are in a very fine hotel.

Tea at Lady Mendl%26#39;s at the Inn at Irving is something else altogether.

The only clue that you have arrived at the right address (it%26#39;s in a Brownstown on Irving Place directly across the street from Sal Anthony%26#39;s) is a little brass teacup on the door.

You open the door and whoosh! You%26#39;ve been transported back in time to (and yes this imagery has been used ad nauseum to describe this room) to an Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence space with the scent of candles and the sound of a burning log crackling in the fireplace (seasonally, of course).

There is a sense at Lady Mendl%26#39;s that you%26#39;ve discovered a place far, far from the heavily-travelled tourist paths..

As an added incentive for the latter, the walk past the ultra-exclusive and private Gramercy Park and Madison Square Park at the junction of Fifth and Broadway is real eye candy, particularly as night falls so I would suggest the five o%26#39;clock seating.

The bottom line: you couldn%26#39;t go wrong with either but there%26#39;s a reason why Lady Mendl%26#39;s made the cut for the book ';The Great Tearooms of America';.