You KNEW my mom and I were going to go to tea during our girls weekend in San Francisco, right? It looks like there are several places for afternoon tea, but we chose The Rotunda at Neiman Marcus.

It was actually a little weird, because my mom made the reservation online and there was some kind of mixup and they thought we were there for lunch instead, so we had to leave and come back an hour later. But we worked it out, and we were really glad we waited.

 

The Rotunda is on the fourth floor of Neiman Marcus, and as you can see, it’s absolutely gorgeous. The fact that there’s a massive Christmas tree coming up through the center makes it even more awesome.

 

The corner of the store also is surrounded by windows, which look out on Union Square. (By the way, I am not actually a giant — I don’t know why I look so much taller than my mom in these photos).

 

We started with giant popovers and pink cocktails called Rudolph’s Red Nose. The drinks were fruity and delicious but much stronger than expected — be careful! And, of course, it’s hard to go wrong with a popover. I ordered Paris black tea (one of my favorites), and my mom got a rare white tea that was delicious.

 

And then, the tea tray. We had to request some substitutions because I’m allergic to shellfish and don’t eat other fish; the tray usually comes with a smoked salmon tea sandwich and something with lobster, I think. Instead, we got three each of the deviled egg sandwich (basically deviled egg filling on tiny rounds of bread), the chicken salad and cucumber-cream cheese.

We both enjoyed all the sandwiches, and most of the desserts. I got so full that I couldn’t finish them all, but they were tasty. The best was the chocolate wafer with chocolate-salted caramel on top (the sort of egg-shaped one on the right). The scone was also good, though it was so crumbly it was difficult to eat.

 

In all, we had a lovely time — although we were there for ages because the waiter didn’t take our order until we had been there for quite a while, because we were talking to the ladies at a table next to us. Still, the combination of the gorgeous view, the excellent tea and the tasty food make it a great place for afternoon tea. I would also guess it’s fabulous for lunch while holiday shopping. If you’re in San Francisco, check it out! But be sure to make a reservation: It was packed in there.