L'Espalier
30 Gloucester Street
Boston MA 02115
(617) 262-3023
Official Website
L'Espalier is the quintessential 5-star $$$ French restaurant of Boston, with a rich elegance, daily marriage proposals, a titanic wine list and most importantly, a much-lauded chef - Frank McClelland. It currently occupies a luxurious Back Bay brownstone town house just between Newbury St and Commonwealth Ave, but will move in 2008 to the nearby Mandarin Oriental hotel. The restaurant and chef win multitudes of awards for their cuisine and undoubtedly make a good living from fine expensive dining. As well as their French-New England lunch and dinners they also offer wine-tasting nights, cheese tasting sessions and - most importantly for us - a Saturday afternoon 'Fantasy Tea'.
It may seem quite strange for a French restaurant to take on the English ritual of afternoon tea, but McClelland - a New Hampshire native - is a big fan of the Boston Teacup's favorite pastime and has admirably given it a go. The tea service begins from 2 to 3 pm every Saturday and booking is as essential as dressing to impress. Through the wrought-iron gate into the restaurant, it's up a small flight of stairs to the first floor dining room where tea is served. About 8 or so small tables fit into this old beautiful high-ceiling front room that dates back 100 years or so.
There are two tea service choices offered: 'Make Way For The Ducklings' ($27) - your choice of tea plus a selection of petit fours and pastries - and 'Red Riding Hood's Basket' ($36), which adds tea sandwiches and canapes. For 15 dollars further, a glass of fine champagne can be served with either. Vegetarian substitutions can be requested. The tea choice is a typical 8 or so varieties and your cup is refilled from teapots carried by the staff rather than leaving them on your table. The accompanying food includes lobster salad, cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, strawberry terrine and the classic L'Espalier swan. As you might expect, presentation is given a lot of thought here.
Tom...
I was so glad to hear that L'Espalier served afternoon tea as it gave me an affordable chance to experience dining in Boston's most luxurious restaurant. L'Espalier has a great reputation in New England, so it was exciting to put our afternoon tea pedigree up against McClelland's excellence. He came out well of course, with service and food probably being the best we've experienced so far. Tea was perfectly served and tasted fine, but the selection didn't include anything too exciting.
The room was beautiful and elegantly decorated but felt slightly formal. Fortunately, the surrounding tables filled with attractive girls treating themselves to birthday celebrations more than made up for it. At least for me, maybe not for Hana. L'Espalier definitely is something to do for a special occasion with your significant other or best friends - the food is stunning and the service is first class. For me, the full experience is slightly behind an afternoon spent in a traditional hotel lounge, but it's not far off.
Hana...
What sets L'Espalier apart from all the other afternoon tea venues for me is that it is very accommodating. They were able to come up with a vegetarian tea menu, an excellent one, without any troubles or complaints despite being a French restaurant. I was able to taste their watermelon soup from their regular menu. The food was beautifully presented, especially with an espresso-creme filled swan pastry. A great way for a guy to pop the question to his lady would be to put the ring on the swan's neck and surprise the girl. I know I'd definitely say yes, but in any case, I'd definitely finish all the dessert.
Unlike other afternoon teas, the tea here is served by a waitress making rounds and refilling your teacups instead of you pouring the tea yourself. The advantage to this is that you'll always get perfectly brewed hot tea each and every time, instead of letting the tea steep over time. I felt that L'Espalier is a great place to check out for afternoon tea, but not a great place to bring friends and catch up on conversations over tea. The tables are slightly close together, so you'd have to speak in a hush-hush tone. In addition, unlike the Taj, the room did not feel warm and comfortable to be in. Perhaps it was because of the posh clientele.
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2 comments:
Truly excellent food, and a great way to try out L'Espalier if you're not prepared to drop hundreds of dollars on dinner. I agree with the review that the atmosphere feels more formal than many places for tea, but I came prepared for that. Presentation on the plate was also more restaurant-style, and it was a treat for the eye above any other tea experience I've had. Service was impeccable.
One thing that did strike me as a bit weird is that rather than serving clotted cream with the scones, we received something that was clearly a very think and rich crème fraîche. (Nothing about the creme was mentioned on the menu, so it may have just been a substitution that day or something; I didn't inquire.) Delectable, yes, and perhaps appropriate to such a French restaurant, but it seemed odd in the context of a clearly English tradition.
But this is perhaps just prejudice, since it was still delicious (along with all the food). The Taj may have a slightly more appropriate ambience for tea, but the food at L'Espalier wins hands down.
They have recently moved to 774Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199.
In the heart of fashionable Back Bay, adjacent to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Boylston Street, one block from the Hynes Convention Center, Prudential Center and Copley Place. L'Espalier is walking distance to Symphony Hall, Berklee Performance Center and major colleges and universities.
Tea - Saturday & Sunday only.
http://www.lespalier.com/menu/8%20tea%20menu.pdf
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