One of the benefits of living in England is the ability to jump on a flight or the Eurostar and head to Paris; it’s less than an hour away by plane so it’s an easy little journey. Last month we popped over to Paris to stay one night and also to check out how the French do Afternoon Tea. We decided to have Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons Hotel George V after reading that the hotel was the best in Europe.
This was my first time visiting a Four Seasons property; I have always seen them as a very American hotel chain (they’re actually Canadian) filled with Americans wearing khaki trousers and my visit for Afternoon Tea did change some of my preconceived perceptions of the brand.
Sandwiches
Now let’s be honest, the French aren’t renowned for their sandwiches and from the gluten free point of view; I didn’t enjoy them. It wasn’t the bread that I had the problem with (it was a tad dry), it was the copious amounts of creamy filling / dressing that just overpowered everything; you couldn’t taste the beef or salmon. I had to scrape off the horse radish filling as it was just too much unfortunately. I didn’t finish the sandwiches as they weren’t that nice. G on the other hand; loved them but then again he’s addicted to horse radish! (Left: Gluten Free Sandwiches; Right: Normal Sandwiches)
Scones
Now I was impressed with this; there were no gluten free scones but I was okay with this as the hotel provided a little gluten free muffin and what I would call coconut whispers which were lovely. (Left (2): Gluten Free Scone alternatives; Right: Normal scone)
Pastries
France, the home of tasty little pastries so I had pretty high hopes here for the gluten free pastries especially as I knew there was a little shop in Paris selling gluten free chocolate eclairs. I was provided with macaroons; when in France as they say! I was expecting a little more creativity with the gluten free pastry selection but I shouldn’t complain as these macaroons are probably the best tasting macaroons in the world.
Would you like a little peek of the normal pastry selection served with the Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons Hotel? Apologies for the slightly blurry photo on the right hand side but it’s hard to photograph food when I’m getting the evil glare from my other half as he’s wanting to scoff his pastries
Some of the finer establishments will offer more cake delights from the trolley and let’s just say if I ate gluten this trolley would have being rolled over to my table and would have left empty!
Tea
G and I both had a light white tea which I find compliments all the sweet pastries.
Atmosphere
The hotel is stunning and the floral displays are out of this world but you would expect this due to the eye watering amount that is spent each year on the flowers at The Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris.
Service
The service was good during the Afternoon Tea however my first impression of the hotel was through the booking process and it wasn’t fantastic. The hotel would take 2-3 days to reply to my emails when it came to the reservation and I didn’t feel 100% certain that I actually had a booking until we turned up. If the Four Seasons could have an online booking system it would be great!
Would I recommend the Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons George V in Paris, France – the pastry selection of the Afternoon Tea was lovely however if you’re a savoury lover then I would recommend trying elsewhere.
The Four Seasons George V is beautiful and well worth a visit just to take in the floral displays, so if you are on a budget then maybe pop in for a cocktail at Le Bar.
The Afternoon Tea at The Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris starts at €48 pp and can be booked by contacting the hotel directly.
xx
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