Visit Seattle: Afternoon Tea at the Historic Fairmont Olympic

While planning my Seattle itinerary, I stumbled upon an article from a couple years back naming The Fairmont Olympic Hotel as one of the best hotels for Afternoon Tea.  Built on what was originally the site of the first campus of the University of Washington, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel is one of the Seattle's most celebrated historic landmarks and a premier luxury hotel home to the award-winning restaurant, The Georgian - an elegant AAA 4 Diamond restaurant featuring French-inspired Northwest cuisine and Afternoon Tea.  

As a big fan of tea, I was sold and just had to figure how to get my friends on board.  But being such awesome friends, they were up for anything; including their very first Afternoon Tea.  Lucky for them, it will most likely be the grandest and most elegant they experience as The Georgian is a splendid setting with high ceilings, large Palladian windows and spectacular chandeliers.

The Georgian offers two tea menus:  the Traditional Georgian Tea ($39 per person) and the Olympic Tea ($49 per person) which is the Georgian Tea plus your choice of a glass of Prosecco, Mimosa or Kir Royale.  We were feeling super fancy so we opted for a glass of the French cocktail with our tea.  As we sipped on the bubbly, we took in the scents of some of the loose leafed tea offerings.  The cherry rose, a vibrant green tea, was delightful, but as a fan of black tea, I selected the 1907 Blend - a luxury black tea with hints of oak cask and a dusting of delicate citrus created in celebration of the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Centennial Anniversary.

Our savories (Smoked Salmon Roulade, English Pea Macaron with Minted Goat Cheese Filling, Truffle Deviled Quail Egg, and Tarragon Crab Salad), house made blueberry lemon scones, and desserts (Chocolate Coconut Cube, Lime Sugared Churro, and Fruit Tart Cherry Rose Tea Shot) were presented beautifully on tiered trays.  My favorite savories were the quail egg and crab salad.  I could have easily eaten more.  The delicious scones were perfect in texture.  The sweets were all delightful, but I favored the perfectly bite sized lime sugared churro.

While the tea exceeded all my expectations, I was so happy that my friends had the best time as well.  They loved the fancy experience and I was delighted to introduce them to it. 

  

The historic Fairmont Olympic

The Georgian

Vaulted ceilings, chandeliers; a grand setting for Afternoon Tea.

Cheers!  A glass of Kir Royale with our Olympic Tea. 

We enjoyed taking in the scents of some of the loose leafed tea offerings.

Starting off with fresh berries. 

Tea is served. 

Our tray of beautifully arranged sweets, savories, and scones.

A close up of the sweets.

The crab salad was easily our favorite.

The blueberry lemon scones were served with Raspberry rose water jam
and Devonshire cream. 

A bird's eye view.

Definitely a highlight of our trip to Seattle!

Afternoon Tea at The Georgian is available daily.  Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling The Georgian directly at (206) 621-7889.  The attire for The Georgian is smart casual, but a jacket is not required.  A children's tea menu is also available upon request.   Menu items are subject to change as they reflect the latest seasonal ingredients.
  

Thank you to the Fairmont Olympic for sponsoring my Afternoon Tea.  All gratuities were paid on my own.