Clinking china, sparkling silver, and the gracious gesture of lifting a teacup to a proffered pot. What is more civilized, more sophisticated than afternoon tea, a repast featured at Buckingham Palace and in The Great Gatsby? But tea also has its fantastical, whimsical side: the Mad Hatter’s manic tea party in Alice in Wonderland, the magical confections consumed by Hogwarts students in Harry Potter.
It’s this mix of elegant and eccentric that has moved teatime into schedules and menus across Las Vegas. Brunch is basic, lunch is lazy, but teatime can be the framework for a wide variety of tastes and experiences, from the comfortably traditional to the cunningly twisted … and combinations of the two.
The teapot is the symbol of teatime, serving as the focus of whatever nibbles and bites are served. It can also have its own flair, as demonstrated during the Upside Down Tea Party at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Each guest is served from a unique teapot, which might be shaped like a bulldog or a telephone or clock.
“We tried to make it as different and fun and whimsical as possible, while elevating what we were offering with the teapots, with our pastry team, with the culinary team,” says Andrew Pittard, vice president of food and beverage at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
At the Upside Down Tea Party, the spouts pour more than just Earl Grey, including tea-based cocktails that might mix peach and orange blossom vodka with chamomile tea or Suntory Japanese whisky with Good Fortune mango tea.
The Upside Down Tea Party is held in the Shag Room, which does offer a British vibe, although the booths draped in sari fabric and touches of greenery and brass are more Rolling Stones in Marrakech than Princess Anne in the drawing room — fittingly, the music isn’t a string trio, but a live band playing lounge-y covers of Amy Winehouse and Oasis. “We wanted to make it more lively, approachable. It doesn’t feel stuffy. It feels like a party,” Pittard says.
The Bellagio also offers its version — with entertainment — of an Afternoon Tea at the Petrossian Bar. Some truly excellent piano players provide the musical accompaniment, and an endless procession of tourists makes for an always-fresh floor show. The menu leans into luxury, with Iberian jamon and truffle-Gorgonzola sandwiches accompanying the traditional cucumber, as well as a caviar tea option that includes a caviar taco and caviar donut. Naturally, since this is a bar, you can also opt for something stronger than tea leaves in your cup.
The idea of teatime as showtime is taken to its outrageous extreme at the Electric Playhouse’s Teatime in Wonderland in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. The venue’s technology is deployed for a Lewis Carroll-inspired theme, incorporating motion-activated visuals to “amplify the experience and encounters with characters, who will transport you down the rabbit hole with Alice,” says Vivian Sorenson, creative culinary director of Electric Playhouse.
A series of full-room projections ranges from croquet-mallet flamingos dancing across the walls to roses on vines swirling around your plate of scones with jam and clotted cream. You can watch the “walls” fly upward as you sip a tiny bottle of raspberry cordial labeled “Drink Me” and paint a white chocolate rose red with strawberry syrup before eating it. Performers dressed as the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit roam the space, and some guests add to their experience (and yours) by donning their own Wonderland-inspired attire. “Afternoon tea holds a rich tradition of leisurely indulgence and connection, lending itself perfectly to an interactive, whimsical experience like this,” Sorenson says.
A more grown-up version of theatrical tea can be found in the Tea Lounge at the Waldorf Astoria, where one can channel giant Alice, gazing down 23 stories at the Strip, lights winking like a litter of grinning Cheshire Cats. There are the expected tiny sandwiches and petit fours, but with seasonal inspirations and ingredients, such as strawberry tarts for summer, pumpkin-hazelnut for fall. You can also pair a coconut-pineapple Bellini with your lychee green tea.
One reason for tea’s popularity is that, within the format of the teapot and the three-tiered tray of treats, there is a lot of latitude for different moods and themes, from Disney princess to Bridgerton duchess, Christmas elf to Halloween witch. The dishes themselves also leave room for embellishment and adaptation: Cucumber sandwiches can be crust-cut-off simple or elaborately garnished creations; macaroons can be classic flavors or exotic combinations. And, of course, the small servings of mostly cold finger foods mean tea can be served without an enormous, expensively appointed kitchen and staff.
Traditional tearooms also offer journeys to other worlds, and the Las Vegas Valley has a half-dozen or so spaces specifically dedicated to afternoon (and occasionally late morning or early evening) tea. Queen of Hearts in Henderson is a tearoom whose Wonderland theme extends to both menu and décor. The walls are extravagantly muraled in black, white, and red patterns of stripes, diamonds, hearts, and roses, while playing-card sandwiches, chessboard cookies, and cream puffs with white rabbit ears are served alongside pots of Iron Goddess oolong or rose petal tea.
The Cobblestone Cottage is another extravagantly embellished space designed solely for tea service. The room is decorated in rosy tones of velvet and brocade with furnishings that are a mix of Louis XIV, Victorian, and cottagecore. Many of the fixtures belonged to owner Arsine Rassam and were handed down from her family.
“When guests see teacups or china patterns from their mothers or grandmothers, it brings warmth and cherished childhood memories,” Rassam says. “We could hire designers to create stunning, Instagram-worthy backdrops, but they wouldn’t provide that comforting embrace (you get) while enjoying a warm cup of tea.”
Cobblestone’s menu offers traditional afternoon and high tea featuring delicacies such as sesame-seeded cheese puffs and tiny chocolate lava cakes. The spot also holds holiday-themed teas with specialized entertainment and menus, as well as monthly “destination” teas that may be French, Italian, Greek, or other international themes, complete with dishes and passport stamps.
“In a world dominated by electronics, texts, emails, and social media, we often forget to disconnect,” Rassam says. “Teatime encourages us to slow down, allowing for genuine connection without distractions.”
This is also why afternoon tea suits Las Vegas — tourists with wide-open schedules and locals with less traditional ones can all find themselves with midday downtime. At tea, they can socialize in a relaxed setting, rather than shop or sleep or scroll.
Last spring, Circa’s Legacy Club hosted High Tea in the Sky, demonstrating how wide the audience for tea-centric events can be. A diverse mixture of girlbosses toting designer bags, petticoated rockabilly chicks, hat-wearing grandmas, and of course, Las Vegas’ ladies who lunch sipped from souvenir floral teacups, snapped selfies, and told each other how fabulous they looked. The atmosphere was warm, and the vibe was elevated — and not only because it happened a few dozen stories above Fremont Street.
Henry James begins his novel, The Portrait of a Lady, by writing, “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” The ceremonies may have changed with the times and adapted to the audience, but the hour is agreeable as ever.
