Dublin Eats - Posh Tea at The Merrion Hotel

The Merrion Hotel is one of the most posh hotels in Dublin and features an even more posh afternoon tea.  The hotel is set in a lovely, period decorated Georgian building near Merrion Square.  A group of us treated ourselves to the champagne Art Tea experience.  We started with bubbles...

While sipping our champagne, we took the opportunity to steep in the richness of our surroundings.

...and then the first course arrived including finger sandwiches, scones with jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd, and cake.

They even made a special gluten free version for those with dietary restrictions.

Pinkies up!  The tea had arrived!

We ate our fill of the delicious treats.

The first course was quite big and we weren't sure how we could possibly eat more!  The staff brought out what looked like a sculpture made from polished forks and placed a card on each section.

The cards represented famous artworks displayed at the Merrion Hotel.  The second course involved desserts inspired by those paintings - thus the moniker 'Art Tea'.

We compared the desserts and the works of art side by side and we could tell where the pastry chef had drawn his inspiration.

There were plenty of leftovers which the Merrion Hotel thoughtfully packaged up in posh 'doggie bags'.

On the way out, we saw one of the paintings that had inspired our dessert.

Art Tea at the Merrion is quite an experience and I recommend it.  It is pricey (50-60 euro per person) but I'd say it's worth it for a rare treat.