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Afternoon Tea in Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel – Everything You Want To Know

Time for a tea party!

My minifashionista loves a good tea party.  Whether it is at home with princess playmates and pretend tea set, or to celebrate a birthday, or in London (her first fancy afternoon tea), she (and I) are always up for a little afternoon tea.  So when daddy proposed the grand and impromptu idea to enjoy a little afternoon tea during our stay at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago this summer, we excitedly agreed to it!

The setting

We just love the beautiful restaurant, located in the lobby of the hotel with its dramatic floral arrangements, 20 ft. high, floor-to-ceiling windows, and elegant atmosphere.  It’s certainly the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion or just to celebrate the everyday like we did!

(this picture taken from Peninsula’s website)

The menu

The afternoon tea included a delectable sampling of savory and sweet bites.

For the adults, sandwiches included the traditional variety: salmon and cream cheese, egg salad, tuna fish, and cucumber.  The middle tray included 2 scones and the top tray featured all the pretty desserts and treats.  As you can imagine, it took all my willpower not to start there first!

For kids

Everything was so perfectly pretty that the tiered tray just begged for a picture.  Juliet enjoyed ordering from the kid’s menu which also featured a decadent afternoon tea with treats including: gummy bears, jello shot, and her own collection of bite-sized pastries and chocolates prepared by the Peninsula’s world-renowned culinary team.  We should note that children’s, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free afternoon tea menus are also available upon request.

French fries, baby burger, a ham and cheese sandwich shaped like a teddy bear, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich slice rounded out her plate. When she accidentally dropped her PB&J, the waiter jumped to offer her another one.  What service!  But he didn’t just come back with her replacement sandwich.

The surprises

He returned to also magically place the Peninsula bear on her seat without her realizing.  She discovered it moments after he left and was left curious as to how he got there.  When she asked the waiter about it, he playfully guessed that the bear must’ve jumped up onto her chair when she wasn’t looking, hoping to find a new home!  Juliet was ecstatic to find a new friend to enjoy tea with and she quickly introduced him to her pet bunny.  Together we all had a grand old time! The tea selection is vast and impressive ranging from oolong, herbal, green, black teas.  And we found that ordering one afternoon tea set, and one children’s set was enough for the 3 of us to enjoy as a family.

And what made the afternoon tea even more memorable was the live music that we were treated to!  

A cellist and violinist serenaded us!

Location and times

The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago is located at 108 E. Superior St. between N. Michigan Avenue and Rush St.  And afternoon tea times are:
2:30 pm, 4:30 pm (Mon – Sat) and 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm (Sun). $65 for the adult tea order and $39 for the kid’s portion.

We highly recommend this AND the chocolate buffet served Friday and Sundays (7pm-10:30pm)

We hope you enjoyed this insider’s peek into the Peninsula’s perfect afternoon tea!

Click here to read about how to plan a kids’ tea party – princess style!

Click here to see the teddy bear tea party we planned!

Click here to see the first tea party for toddlers that we hosted at home!