Tres by Jose Andres (Afternoon Tea) (SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills) - Los Angeles (Mid-City West)

After my brother stopped by with my adorable little niece, I was off to meet my childhood friend for afternoon tea at Tres by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills.


Tres is to the right of the main entrance of the hotel and is separate from Andres' more well-known restaurant, The Bazaar. Upon seeing the bookcases in the outside entrance, I knew I would already be charmed.




Definitely my kind of place!


I got there a few minutes before my friend and simply basked in the cozy atmosphere amongst the books and fireplace. Sure it was too sunny and warm in SoCal to really justify the fire, but I loved it anyway.


The afternoon tea is $29 and includes 14 items along with your choice of tea. Most of the items were set, with choice between two items for the mini sandwiches and cone.

After taking our order, the waiter brought out this beautiful little bowl of honey and lemon slices.


I chose the SLS Blend which was made exclusively for the hotel and includes a mix of Ceylon tea with jasmine blossoms. My friend chose the Nobo Whole Fruit which is non-caffeinated and has a mix of strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. We always share so we wanted very different types of tea to sample more variety.


Then out came our three-tiered tray of delectable little bites.


Saffron pate de fruit on the left, and raspberry pipets on the right. Squeeze the raspberry juice into your mouth while simultaneously eating the raspberries off the stem.


Chocolate tablets. The dark chocolate had sea salt and the white chocolate had pink peppercorns.


Hazelnut volcano cookie in the front and almond orange tart in the back.


Mint Chocolate "After Eight" in front and financiers in the back. I loved the fresh mint leaf as a riff on my favorite European chocolate.


Beet macaron with goat cheese on the left. As for our choice of mini sandwiches, my friend went with the smoked salmon with coconut on the right.


I opted for the foie gras sandwich with quince. My friend said she doesn't like liver, but tried a tiny bite of my sandwich anyway and was amazed that it didn't taste too liver-y. That's because it's foie gras!


Caviar atop steamed buns filled with creme fraiche.


Cucumber stuffed with goat cheese and topped with "tomato caviar."


Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But don't let that pedestrian title fool you. These PB&Js were light and crispy and wonderful.


And finally, the most fun item on the tray, chocolate-covered Pop Rocks!


Actually, we started our afternoon tea by eating these cones first, but I was busy snapping photos of the tea tray from the top on down. My friend got the guacamole cone in the back, while I opted for the bagel and lox cone in front.


And for the next hour and a half, we "oohed" and "aahed" over every single item we tried. Seriously, every single item was lovely and delicious. Sure it's a little pricey, but when I factored in the quality of the afternoon tea, it was so worth it.


A burning fireplace, catching up with a long-time friend, and wonderful little treats. Afternoon tea at Tres by Jose Andres was the perfect way to ring in the Year of the Cat.


It was so much fun, we figured we'd treat ourselves to a nice meal for the next Lunar New Year and make it a tradition. Not that we don't see each other at other times, but it's a little special when we designate it specifically for Tet (Vietnamese New Year). The first time was dim sum at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant - Rosemead, the second time was here, so next year will then make it a tradition, right?

I was trying to remember why we didn't get together last year, and of course with the blog it was easy to double-check. I had forgotten that I was busy with my brother's baby shower and then my college friend's wedding, both of which fell on the same weekend as Tet.

And look, afternoon tea was so special that I even wore my new boots for the occasion.


I had been lusting after these boots for five? six? years? They've been patiently waiting in my Amazon shopping cart until I saw the price drop by 50% during the holidays. Sure they're a size too big, but they didn't have any smaller. And then someone stole the box from my porch! :( But luckily, Amazon replaced them for free! :) I got the very last pair in stock. :) It looks like they've now been discontinued, so it's a good thing I felt like I deserved something special.

Anyone have suggestions for next year's Lunar New Year outing? Nothing fancy, just a nice place we'd be sure to enjoy.

Who else had afternoon tea at Tres by Jose Andres?
WeezerMonkey was treated to leftover brunch freebies during her visit. Tony of SinoSoul told me to get an early reservation and to show up early because that's how they got the brunch leftovers. Alas, I did as instructed, but didn't get anything extra. We were plenty happy with what we got though!

Other afternoon tea posts:
Royal/T Cafe (Three Apples: An Exhibition Celebrating 35 Years of Hello Kitty) - Culver City
Vanille de Patisserie - San Marino

Tres by Jose Andres
SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills
465 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310-246-5551
Afternoon Tea daily from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today, Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection (Pomona Public Library) - Pomona.
2 years ago today, nectarine blossoms.
3 years ago today, Happy Year of the Rat!
4years ago today, Canh Bi Tom (Vietnamese Wintermelon Soup with Shrimp).