The Lobby

I love the high tea, but I don’t think I’d have the patience to wait in that line. The worst part about waiting is that you can’t really leave your spot and you have to stand while waiting… luckily, I had a reservation (only people living in the hotel can make one).
I think they change their sets every once in a while, but regardless I’ve had better high tea in HK. The items were pretty standard, nothing really stood out to me. I couldn’t even finish the whole thing… don’t get how people can eat lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner! It’s a good place to try at least once, just for the vibe/​ambiance.
If you’re looking for something more worth the price, try dining at Verandah upstairs. They even have some of the same or similar desserts and the buffet is way more worth it along with the seafood.

After missing out on «high tea» in LA and having really bad luck in Taiwan and San Francisco, my sister FINALLY got her chance to experience afternoon tea at pretty much the most popular place you could have it — The Lobby in the Peninsula Hotel.
The Lobby is a classy hotel as well known celebrities tend to stay here as well as many foreigners. With the many fancy cars parked outside, you really can’t miss it. It’s definitely a scene out of Eloise, and something you must experience if you’re into fancy things. We came from visiting a few museums, so we weren’t exactly decked out in fancy attire. But no matter, I think the workers understand that tourists feel the need to have «afternoon tea at The Lobby» checked off of their bucket lists, so they’re super friendly and welcoming no matter how fancy or sporty you dress. You can make reservations for high tea, but I think most people come and wait in line for available tables, which is why it’s important to come before 2PM (when afternoon tea starts) as a line is usually formed by 1:30. They also seem to accommodate guests of the hotel, so be prepared for a wait. A lot of people don’t leave until hours later, so you could be left waiting for a pretty long time.
The Lobby is located in the common area of the hotel. So once you walk into the hotel, you’re pretty much walking into the restaurant. There are chairs and tables decked out in with a small aisle for people to walk across. There’s a small orchestra area on the second floor that overlooks the Lobby as the musicians play accompaniment music that suits the mood of afternoon tea. Fancy chairs, pretty silverware — the whole shebang.
We got there around 2PM and were lucky to get a table after only 10 minutes of waiting, despite there being a line in front of us. Some people were choosy and wanted a seat out of the sun, and the workers did try to accommodate them. Once you are seated, you’re given the silverware in a very formal manner. Definitely made me feel a bit awkward as I’m not used to eating so fancy.
Afternoon tea set — pretty much what everybody is here to eat. A set for two is a hefty $ 628 HKD (roughly $ 90 USD). You can get a nice tea set for around $ 30-​$ 40 in LA, so I honestly did not think the price justified what we ate. But for the ambience and simply being able to say «I dined at The Lobby», I guess it was okay for a one time thing.
There were three tiers to the tea set along with two tea choices. I have to admit — the tea was really good. I love tea and I could really taste the natural flavors of the Organic Peninsula Blend. I think the waitress recommended this as their most popular, and I can see why! My sister chose something from the Peninsula Tea Collection which was good, too although I liked mine better.
Out of the three tiers, I have to say I liked the scones the best. The raisin scones were still warm when the set arrived at our table. Super flaky and sweet, and adding the clotted cream and jam made it taste heavenly! The best scones I have ever eaten. I saw girls not bothering to eat their scones and I really wanted to eat it for them!
The other tiers were pretty disappointing. They looked nice, but tasted strange and off-​putting. The savory sandwiches included a tuna roll, a quiche, cucumber sandwich, and some strange salmon cake. The flavors were okay, but nothing that justified $ 90.
The sweets included an over-​the-​top lemon cake, a way too bitter macaron, some weird raspberry dessert, and a coconut dessert. Again, everything LOOKED good, but even I couldn’t finish the macaron or the lemon cake. Way too much.
The Lobby Club was around $ 30 USD. It came with French fries, but the sandwiches were cut without crusts and were so tiny — I’d take club sandwiches from any HK Café in the SGV over this!
The Espresso was frothy and tasted pretty good. You’re also given free refills, which is nice. And the waiters will refill your teapot with water as many times as you want, probably why people tend to stay here for hours.
Service is really good for a place in HK. Everybody speaks English at first, but I think if you talk to them in Cantonese, they’ll reply in Cantonese. We were even able to see some random movie star who was given pretty nice treatment as he immediately got a table and a drink.
tl;dr — A classy afternoon tea if you’re feeling fancy and want the ultimate afternoon tea experience. Expect a really nice ambience with good service, but don’t expect too much out of the food. If I ever returned, I’d only want those scones. It’s definitely more worth it if you get afternoon tea for 2, but they can also add to the party size depending on how many people want the set. So if you have 3 people, they’ll give you 3 of each item, etc. I was disappointed by the sweet and savory tiers, and I definitely think I still need to go to a high tea place in LA before I get my craving satisfied.

*Begin First World Rant*
The Lobby at The Peninsula doesn’t call Afternoon Tea as «High Tea», so why do people still insist on calling it that?
*End First World Rant*
I come here at least once in my trips to the «old country». This is certainly one of the parts of the vacation I look forward to the most. I’m willing to wait over an hour for this, though my parents have been lucky enough to stay here one time. They got to reserve a spot, slide on down from their hotel room and not wait in line. Lucky…
I almost always order the Peninsula breakfast tea, and the whole experience just seems so… proper…formal. The teapot comes with its own cover for the handle. The strainer is so sturdy and fancy. The tea is always strong enough to be noticed but definitely graceful for the occasion.
The scones are still some of the best scones I’ve had outside of the British Isles and I am still trying to duplicate them… which is likely folly. They’re not too dry or wet and have the right scone texture. The dark golden brown scones have a nice crease in the middle for easy opening, so you can slather that decadent clotted cream inside. However, there’s strawberry jam too that isn’t too tart nor too sweet.
The finger sandwiches are delicate, flavorful, and just on-​point. The one I enjoyed the most was techno-​colored smoked halibut and salmon rainbow sandwich. I like smoked fish to begin with, and the sandwich here does not disappoint. The cucumber and chicken sandwiches were both timeless classics that were still executed nicely. The cucumber didn’t make the bread soggy and the chicken wasn’t dry. The duck, apple, cheese quiche wasn’t too memorable but it wasn’t a liability.
Definitely the weakest groups in the afternoon tea set were the desserts and pastries. I could’ve done with just sandwiches and scones and be completely satisfied. The coconut mousse with pineapple compote (that had some sort of liquor inside) was just not a fitting combination. The cranberry butter cake was a bit dry and pedestrian, something I could’ve found at a grocery store. The cinnamon and chocolate truffle was fine, despite the fact that both flavors aren’t always the best of partners. The raspberry and vanilla log was a little too sweet but the combination worked out. The maple syrup canele was also decent.
Service, as you can imagine, is careful and fairly warm. I’m going to sound like a basher, but yeah, while there weren’t a whole lot folks from the north around, but you can definitely notice the few that were present by their brutally loud banter.
Yeah, it’s expensive here but worth going once. I mean, the price is likely the same as afternoon tea spots in the States and you can figure out who’s got it down better. The Lobby is definitely a date place too.

The wait is SO NOT WORTH! :(I’m bumping up this review by a star because of the location and setting but my cousin and I didn’t like half of the things in the afternoon tea set. First off, you can only make a reservation here if you live at the hotel and if not, the wait can vary between an hour to an hour and a half. Standing there for a 700HKD afternoon tea set for two (inc tip)…I could spend that elsewhere and get so much more out of it than at The Lobby. Music is live and played upstairs but even that wasn’t good! :(WHYYY.
Some good things in the set: The middle and bottom tiers (savory) were def the better ones. But don’t touch that brown cake thing on the bottom… it’s weird trust me. Scones were my favorite but be careful, you might get super full. I also really liked the sandwiches int he middle, especially the salmon one.
The top tier was the sweets but most were mediocre. My cousin and I barely finished over a bite of these :(Some were too sweet and others were just not great. Overall, horrible top tier compared to the others.
Service is also quite lacking, surprisingly. It took over 10 minutes for us to grab a waiter for the check and half of the lobby was already cleared out! They give you two truffles at the end but uh. they weren’t that good and I was already uncomfortably full from the scones. I don’t know how people finish this tea set because there’s SO MUCH FOOD (albeit, not-​that-​great food). Writing this review makes me really want to give this place 2 stars!!! But I mean, people come for the experience and the pictures – I won’t put a stop to that :) The Lobby has a lot of history and the place really is beautiful. Just don’t have super high expectations!

While most of the reviews here are for the high tea, mine is for lunch. Crazy how there is already a line for high tea at 1pm and high tea doesn’t even start until 2pm. We bypassed the line because we wanted lunch.
The set lunch here is pretty reasonable considering where we are. At HK$ 398/​person, you get a really decent 3-​course meal while enjoying the service of The Peninsula.
I remember coming here as a child. The grandeur of its yesteryears have disappeared. These days, the lobby is over-​run by mainland tourists and a few Japanese ones dotted here and there. The charm and sophistication of its clientele is no longer, and all you are left with is loud chatter of Mandarin with awkward table manners to boot.
Still, if you’re a visitor, The Peninsula is a must because after all, it is still the grande dame of hotels in HK, possibly the only remaining one still standing.

There are so many cafes around tst area. Decided to venture café at the peninsula for breakfast. It’s really 一分錢一分貨. This is a pricey place for breakfast given that you can get much cheaper breakfast anywhere else for hk$ 650.
Had the classic peninsula breakfast. It was just delicious! The crispy bacon is really crispy and yet not oily! The croissant has a rich buttery flavor that’s not clogging! The coffee, smooth and silky, not acidity and not bitter even without sugar!
This place is really where you will go for quality breakfast. Totally love this!!!

My family still has high hopes of me marrying an Asian woman, and though that’s dwindled over the years, I came here for high tea on an arranged date.
I really wanted tea and sandwiches, even though family duty calls.
She spoke mainly Cantonese and is the daughter of a businesses man, but she knew very little about high tea, and didn’t care for the sandwiches here.
Also, her English, joked my Uncle, was about as good as me trying to use complex Chinese words. For instance, I don’t know how to say things like «sarcastic» or «overrated» in Chinese. And well, she doesn’t get my jokes about coming to HK to collect the minion toys at McDonalds.
My mom suggested this place saying, «it’s the oldest and fanciest.» To which I replied, «kind of like you, huh?» LOL
I came prepared with flowers for my arranged date, and I guess that’s NOT the thing to do because she was expecting some sort of gift.
I’m still not understanding that, even when my Uncle tries to explain it to me.
I’m suppose to buy some girl I don’t even know some expensive gift that she’s bound to like?
Anyways, the lobby looks like any nice hotel in any big city and the waiters are dressed up in their penguin suits (that means suits, I’m being sarcastic) and they treat you better if you speak English because they think you’ll leave a bigger tip. Which, I guess we Americans do.
My date was some skinny college graduate who spoke in depth about shopping, shopping, and more shopping while I ate the sandwiches that she didn’t want. Which was like all of them.
She only wanted the desserts, so I left them all to her.
The sandwiches were classic cucumber, salmon, egg. All very good considering we’re located in the tourist district of HK.
She never said thanks, and barely smiled, and of course lacked that sense of humor that even Eva Green can convey in her interviews. I was glad to be done with the whole date thing.
This place provides a solid high tea experience for those who appreciate or like that sort of thing.
It’s also pricier than your normal cha chan tang, but I think it’s worth it for a taste of home.

*Yelp removed my review for the Peninsula b/​c there is a listing for its lobby?! Seriously? But here it goes again!*
3.5 star.
High tea at the Peninsula is a must do in HK. So of course I had to pay a visit when I was visiting HK.
I came maybe 20 minutes before the tea time started and there was a line already. The hotel is quite beautiful. And there is a dress code. After a bit wait, I was finally seated. It took awhile for them to take my order. My server was nice but service was slow overall.
In HK, you will notice you get treated differently when you speak English or Chinese. I don’t know why they do that but the double standard is terrible! Generally speaking ppl treat you better if you speak English or Cantonese. If you speak mandarin, ppl treat you like a second class citizen (as one of the reviewers said) because they assume you are from the mainland. I speak fluent English and mandarin but I spoke English on my entire trip to HK. When I did speak mandarin once taking a cab, I was treated poorly. Anyways, this rule also seemed to apply here.
I ordered the high tea for one since I came alone. To be honest, I thought it was all right. The tea was flavored, yes. Lots to choose from. But it wasn’t anything special. There wasn’t a balance between sweet and savory for the pastry. Most of the stuff on my tray were a bit too sweet. I did like the little sandwiches tho. There was only ONE macaron. Yup, only one. I wasn’t wowed.
After the tea time, I went upstairs to use the bathroom. They had a maid there who turns on and off the water for you to wash your hands. That’s a bit uncomfortable and unnecessary. No matter how rich or poor I am, I can do that myself. I’m just glad that she didn’t offer to wash my hands for me.
The price is probably a bit high for locals but if you convert it to US dollars it isn’t that bad. Overall, an OK experience. I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. I’m glad I went tho b/​c now I can say i did high tea at the Peninsula in HK.

Such an elegant place to do afternoon tea. I forget what time afternoon tea starts BUT I do recommend lining up before start time. I think we got there about 20 min before afternoon tea started and there was already a line so arrive early if you don’t want to wait too long! Also, you can ask the front desk for the hotel wifi if you need it. Afternoon tea itself was really good so if you’re going to do it, might as well do it here.

We used to come here for Afternoon Tea Every Sunday.
This trip, the feel of exclusivity is gone, there is a line up about 40 people sitting just outside the lobby restaurant. Gawking and loudly talking, not relaxing at all. For the price of the sets, you would expect a reservation system only and not have to have people line up for hours.
The service is not the fastest but you are suppose to relax as you have tea but with people lining up, you automatically feel that you should hurry and finish so others can get in also.
The restrooms are on the second floor, they still have the attendants inside to turn on the water to wash your hands and hand you the drying towel when you exit the stall. Do not feel like you can do it, and not let them help. It is their job and will be eliminated if no one uses their service.

ambiance/​/​****
i could easily *imagine* this luxe hotel’s original grandeur with elegant columns and sweeping staircase… there is little to criticize of The Lobby except for the sadly nonexistent view of the harbour
service/​/​*
utterly disappointing… i took a friend here as a thank you after hearing great things of their high tea
the wait was lengthy and they did nothing to appease the situation, taking for granted people would be cajoled by the stately ambiance and reputation
the waitstaff must be fairly new or inexperienced because he kept spilling the hot water when filling my cup and dropping the butter knife
food/​/​***
the traditional elements exist: tiered finger sandwiches, scones, and tarts
the cuisine… not so much… either too dry or not sweet
for the amount they charge, i expect a wider selection of tea
~*~
this place may impress your guest, but make sure you are willing to splurge for some overrated history

TARTS! SCONES! CAKES! ASSORTED FINGER SANDWICHES! WHITE BREAD! TEA! This list goes on and on and on… Yes. It is finally the time for me to write something about High Tea. Afternoon tea is a tradition in Hong Kong that pays homage to its colonial tradition, in a good way. And on top of the list, I am sure everyone will recommend The Lobby. Located inside Hong Kong’s oldest hotel, the Peninsula, The Lobby captures the essence of ‘high tea’ with modern interpretations including the grand colonial decors and the rich British influenced menu.
So what does that mean by saying it is heavily influenced by the British, take The High Tea Stand as an example, the presentation stays true to the authenticity where different types of savories are put on the different stand respectably depending on their flavor. There isn’t any garnishment on it and you have to appreciate the simplicity of it and yet elegant. On the stand you may find finger sandwiches and all types of pastries. The best for me is the raisin scones as they are freshly baked and the taste of raisin is such a nice touch; As for the tea, how can we have the acclaimed Peninsula Classic Afternoon Tea without ordering Earl grey to be honest? It is my favorite of all time. The scent and the taste. It tastes like heaven.
Food aside, the décor itself would be worthy of your visit already. As the Peninsula Hotel has become the luxurious symbol of Hong Kong and the lofty and spacious interior give you such regal feeling and you would feel like you have just risen to the upper-​class or even a royality.
Notice: You cannot make reservation here unless you live at the hotel, so I strongly suggest to go there as early as possible. Since the tea time starts from two to six. Please make sure you get there by 1:30pm as the lines start to form around 2 and it will be impossible to have a table if you arrive later than half past 2.