Sweets at the de l'Opera Hanoi afternoon tea were absolutely delicious.
Hanoi is huge, but only a few minutes apart are two incredible and completely different Sofitel buildings. We stayed in the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi Hotel, which made a legendary impression, so we dug a little deeper. We are fond of afternoon tea, and that is enough for us to check another Sofitels’ Hotel – Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi.
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Here, they serve high tea in the heart of a spacious inner courtyard. Perfect place to cool off and indulge treats in peace. Enjoy our de l’Opera Hanoi afternoon tea review.
The inner courtyard of de l’Opera Hanoi Hotel is a calm oasis, where we recovered from loud traffic noises. In the middle of it is the running water and, I swear, I have never appreciated this soothing sound more. Oh, what a blessing! Add this to extensive free space around us – just perfect. It literally couldn’t be more different than the Hanoian streets.
This spacious area is the second part of La Fée Verte bar while the first part is where the actual bar stands. It is less decadent but still full of modern interior with a 20th Parisian influence. De l’Opera Hanoi Afternoon tea is served in this metropolitan oasis though.
De l’Opera Hanoi high tea set comes with the spinning sandwich stand and tea of your choice. On the lower three plates were scones, cream, jam, and sandwiches. First, we had a taste of tall soufflé shaped scones, which came in two varieties. Both plain and raisin scones were delightful, only a little overbaked. To be honest, their appearance was a slight surprise. However, the pleasant taste is what matters.
I preferred the raisin scone, mostly because of the juicy soaked raisins. The plains might be leaning more towards the biscuit side, but still satisfactory with strawberry jam. Slightly disappointing was the cream next to the scones – it shrank too much. Only two bites and we were left with strawberry jam to coat the scones.
Like scones also tea sandwiches for our high tea came in two alternatives. Each of us got a rich egg and mayonnaise sandwich, which was pleasantly seasoned. Another abundantly filled traditional afternoon tea sandwich was with ham and Emmental cheese. The sandwich was tasty and it had grape tomato on top, for tinge and more moisture.
Both were tasty, but I missed at least one more on the de l’Opera Hanoi afternoon tea menu. Perhaps, the refreshing cucumber or light salmon sandwich, possibly both.
After the second part, I went straight for the intense flavors of Opera cake. It was a blast full of coffee and chocolate creaminess. I loved how fresh and luscious it was. To point out, this is the best opera cake I have ever had. Again, I fell for silky smooth texture, except this time for passion fruit Panna Cotta. It ticked all the boxes from sour-sweet taste to crunchy-smooth texture.
Another colorful addition to our afternoon tea sweets was the red velvet cupcake. It had an airy and yet compact feel with buttercream frosting, which made the cupcake even lusher. In the same color specter were the pink macarons with soft vanilla cream. They were good looking and palatable, but the meringues were very stiff.
Lack of softness in biscuit might be in missing maturing process, but it also didn’t melt as it should. Last on the tea menu was the strawberry tart. Complete with lovely crumbly dough, and delightful filling, topped with a fresh strawberry.
Taken everything into consideration the Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi afternoon tea is ranking in a must-try in Hanoi. The courtyard itself is a beautiful place to sit back and breathe deeply. After experiencing the Hanoi’s air pollution that essential “task” is one I learned to appreciate. Running water surely adds some zen vibe and while acknowledging that, an afternoon tea set does suit well with the environment.
It is a beautiful hangout place where afternoon tea bites can be topped with some sparkling wine. Even if the sparkles reach your head don’t you worry about communicating with staff. English is not a problem here. The staff is professional and very helpful, so maybe next time we try out the Hotel room as well.
If you are a high tea lover, then you should check Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi’s sister, Metropole Hanoi Hotel. They serve amazing Metropole Hanoi afternoon tea. The ambiance there will amaze you. If you are a more modern style lover and you like to dring your cup of tea above the skies, than Landmark72 afternoon tea is the one for you. You are welcome!
The afternoon tea menu for two persons we had comes at a cost of 15 USD. Add 10 USD and you’ll get two glasses of sparkling wine to your two persons afternoon tea set. The time window for de l’Opera Hanoi afternoon tea starts at 1 pm and lasts until 5 pm. Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi is on address 29 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi and here is a link to the location.
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