【Roppongi】Afternoon Tea at The Lobby Lounge, The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

“Noon-Katsu” – a buzzword in 2022 in Japan. This means “Enjoy afternoon tea as activity”.

Afternoon tea has an image of elegance, but its popularity has skyrocketed by Instagram and has spread to young people, especially the first generation of true Digital Natives. In addition, with the COVID-19 disaster, there was a mood of self-restraint in meetings that included alcohol, and afternoon tea, which can be enjoyed in the daytime by a small group of people, began to attract more people…. Afternoon tea is now functioning as a tool to “casually enjoy an extraordinary experience.”

However, because it is an “extraordinary” event, it is still a very exciting. I told my daughter, “We are going to afternoon tea! We’re going to afternoon tea at a hotel!” with excitement. This time, we went to The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo.

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo offers an elaborate afternoon tea each season, and this time we had the “Buccellati Afternoon Tea” (from November 30, 2023 (Thu) to January 8, 2024 (Mon) in collaboration with Buccellati, a long-established Italian jewelry brand.

Buccellati is also known as the “magician of jewelry” for its delicate designs created with a rare sense of beauty and traditional techniques nurtured in Italy, and continues to attract celebrities from around the world. In 2021, Buccellati opened its first flagship store in Japan on Ginza’s Namiki-dori Avenue.

Afternoon tea is served at “The Lobby Lounge” located on the 45th floor of the hotel’s main lobby. You can enjoy a meal and conversation in a comfortable space with live piano music. The photo shows an empty seat, but when I looked at the table, it was set up for afternoon tea…it looks like it is full of reservations. This is The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo.

Seating is for two hours and includes free-flowing drinks. The welcome drink was The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo’s original blend tea. The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo is known for its chocolate aroma, and this original blend tea was also chocolate flavored.

The cake stand that was brought to the table, which was a collaboration with a jewelry brand, was filled with beautiful sweets and savories that looked like jewels.

Sweets include six items, including a chocolate cake inspired by Buccellatti’s jewelry with a floral motif. The savory menu features five dishes using premium ingredients appropriate for the Christmas season, such as roast black beef, lobster, and caviar.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye as I carefully ate each of the jewel-like finger foods and sweets. Each piece was small, but when I ate them all, I felt full. The tea, coffee, and green tea were carefully brewed, and we enjoyed a very satisfying afternoon tea.

The presentation of this afternoon tea, which was so exciting even for me as an adult, was also impressive to my five-year-old daughter. She told her friends at preschool the next day, “I went to afternoon tea and ate strawberry cake.”

Before leaving the hotel, I explored around the 45th floor without getting in the way. There was a kids’ area near the reception desk. This would keep the kids occupied when the check-in procedure is crowded.

Where should I go for afternoon tea next time?