Palm Court — Restaurant in Chicago

Been coming to The Drake at Christmastime for my entire life. It’s quintessential Chicago Christmas.

While there’s some sparkle left in the old dame, it’s a real shame to see how much the hotel and palm court has been left to deteriorate over the last 10 years or so. It’s really a shell of its former grand self. I really hope they find new owners who can breathe life (capital $) and class back into her.

Focusing now on Palm Court Holiday Afternoon Tea. Palm court was grand and glorious back in the day, sadly there’s been no upgrades or general maintenance in recent years and it’s really showing wear & tear in the details. The bathrooms are deplorable, stall doors don’t lock, sinks don’t work, paper towels are low-quality (when they used to have rolled towels like other upscale hotels). The bussing service stations are piled high with dirty plates and tea kettles. Tables are left unbussed. It’s really a huge lack of attention to detail.

The holiday decor in the club international is extremely tacky with half-dead Poinsettia plants, an undecorated “Psychedelic” Christmas tree in the corner that flashes all kinds of color and tables with cheesy beaded tree centerpieces and candles that are never lit during service. Again, huge lack of details and pretty tacky.

Focusing on the actual tea service. The menu is nicely done and has all the essentials for a holiday tea service. The China is elegant and the presentation of the three-tier platter is done well. The scones and desserts are tasty, the savory finger sandwiches are a bit dry but not bad.

Service is average at best. Perhaps it was our server, but, we were rarely checked on and had to ask the bussers for refills of hot water for our tea pots and replenishment of the condiments.

The service staff is pretty hands off and it feels more like a “serve & churn” mentality. If you leave for the bathroom for example, your place setting isn’t cleaned or napkin folded.

Typically in the past, midway through the tea service we would be asked if we wanted to change to different type of tea or purchase additional sandwiches; but this was not offered this time. After tea cocktails are not offered- the check is dropped and that’s about it.

Again, many will say commenting on these lack of details is nitpicky, but this how Drake Palm Court Tea used to be. It was so elegant and festive. This is how holiday tea at The Ritz, Langhman and Peninsula is currently. Granted, Drake tea is $78 and Peninsula Tea is $130, but I digress. Maybe I’m just stuck in the past.

At the end of the day the history of the Drake and the memories of growing up visiting every Christmastime is still worth the visit in my opinion. But if things don’t improve or change next year, it will be hard to justify the cost for...

I was so looking forward to having tea at this hotel. It was so disappointing that I’m actually sad. I had the holiday tea and I reserved a table at the palm court for one person. So I was surprised that they walked me through the palm court and off to a side room (they never stated when I reserved that the tea would not be served in the palm court dining room). They didn’t even apologize. The room I was seated in was nice yes, but it wasn’t what they advertised to me.

The waitress introduced herself and offered to go over the tea selection with me but I already knew what I wanted. I’m thankful that the waitress asked me what I don’t eat or if I had allergies (I requested that none of my sandwiches have mayo because mayo is gross. I’m glad they honored my request). So I ordered my tea and waited. The wait was so short and that was nice.

The brought me my tea (I got the earl grey) and they didn’t even ask me if I wanted milk or not. When they brought me my tier of desserts, finger sandwiches, and scones, they didn’t even bring me the clotted cream, lemon curd, or jam that is supposed to accompany the scones. So it was a lot of asking busters and other wait staff to bring me things which I really hate because I know they are busy with their own tables. My waitress was with other patrons a lot so I really couldn’t ask her.

The roast beef and turkey sandwiches were delicious. My smoked salmon sandwich smelled rancid and I couldn’t eat it. The cucumber sandwich was okay (I ate half because some of it touched the salmon sandwich and I couldn’t eat the rest of it).

My orange and cranberry scone was stale and hard. I gave up on the scones. There was also a slice of bread pudding that looked so sad sitting on the plate without any sauce. I couldn’t touch the desserts because when I got there the salmon smell was so strong and fishy and my whole table smelled of rancid smoked salmon (I was happy when I left the restaurant just so I could get away from the smell).

I shouldn’t get food like this for 78.00 (I went on Christmas Eve so I had to pay extra because Carolers were there even though I personally didn’t ask them to sing anything). I would never go back to...

I came with my family for the holiday tea time. We made reservations in October for our December date to ensure we had a table. The inside of the tea room is grand, as there is a elegant fountain in the middle of the room and the decor is classy. There was a live harpist and she played such beautiful music that set the tone for the evening. Aside from just christmas music, she played modern hits too. If you go on certain days there are carolers - we didn’t pay for them to come but we could hear them at other tables and they put on quite a show. Once seated, we started with tea. I got the Tropical Garden blend and was impressed with how vibrant the fruit flavors were, as I could taste each hint of the different fruit. The tea cups and plates for the table were adorable. For the food, they serve a big tower of a variety of finger foods and dessert cookies. For the finger foods, my favorites were the turkey sandwich and roast beef. Im a sucker for a deli sandwich so these were right up my alley. The cucumber roll had unique flavors but not my favorite and I wasn’t a fan of the smoked salmon bite (I like smoked salmon but wasn’t feeling this one). For the snacks, the little biscuits melted in my mouth and the jam served with it was vibrant. The mini pecan pies had a great flavor too. For the little dessert bites, the salted carmel macaroons were the star of the show for me - The chocolate cube with the drake button on top were good too. You don’t go for the food but it is sufficient for a meal and there is plenty to fill you up. The service was wonderful, as our waiter did a great job of ensuring we had all the food and drinks we needed. I was pleasantly surprised to know the tower of food was bottomless. Overall this is a unique experience - While it is pricey, I found it worth it for the quality time i got to spend with family, while enjoying delicious tea, snacks and a curated...