Like any major city, Washington, D.C. has certain spots that are must visits each season. One of these is sipping tea and eating finger foods and scones at one of the city's ritzy hotels, most of which offer a holiday-themed afternoon tea. But doing so requires being very quick on the draw with reservations, because spots for the best ones often fill up back in the fall, which is why I've never had a chance to try one out. That changed this year when I got to try the holiday tea—at Peacock Alley, the world famous tea hall inside the Willard Intercontinental Hotel. Did it live up to the hype?

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Located just across from The White House, the hotel itself is a national landmark—it's perhaps the most famous hotel in D.C. after The Watergate. The Willard, a luxury hotel that's been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the 1970s, has played host to plenty of historical figures; President Abraham Lincoln moved in for 10 days prior to his inauguration, and Martin Luther King. Jr. touched up his "I Have a Dream" speech in the lobby. It's nicknamed "the residence of presidents."

The dining options onsite are known for being historic and sceney—countless D.C. movers and shakers have drank at the centuries-old Round Robin Bar, and the afternoon tea at Peacock Alley, a narrow space just off the lobby that's famous for its vibrant interior. Afternoon tea is a hot reservation for both tourists and locals, but the holiday and Cherry Blossom-themed teas in the winter and spring book up well in advance.

Tea, which includes teas, food, and an optional alcohol add-on, is available on weekends year-round, and Thursday-Sunday from November 29-December 28 for the holidays. There's a dedicated Tea Room just off the alley, which hosts tea on weekdays. Each seating is about two hours, and the menus change seasonally. Plus, there's a live harpist.

Tea is a perfect activity for me because it taps into two of my favorite things: chatting and little treats. I love hanging out, and I love a little snack, and afternoon tea is a great venue for both. I've tried a number of tea venues both in the U.S. and in London, and I've found that the best ones include a mix of several things: pretty scenery, great tea, plus nicely portioned, tasty desserts and finger foods. And afternoon tea should have all these things for what many of the best cost; most luxe teas run upwards of $100 (New York's ritziest tea at The Baccarat Hotel starts at $125, and standard tea at London's historic Langham hotel costs about $109 per person). The Willard's afternoon tea costs $90 per adult, or $105 with a glass of champagne.

What happened when I went to The Willard's Afternoon Holiday Tea at Peacock Alley

The ambience

The festiveness and grandeur of the experience hit me even before I had a single sip. The Willard's iconic lobby is about as luxe as it gets, with its grand marble floors and coffered ceilings, and the warm atmosphere was a welcome reprieve from the brisk wind I'd braved to get here. I met Christian, one of my best friends and a fellow lover of little treats, and we joined the long line in the lobby to be seated. We were quickly checked in and guided up a couple of steps to the tea area, which is just off the lobby. We were seated toward the front of the room at a low table with comfy arm chairs that each came with a pillow. The decorations inside Peacock Alley were beautiful and festive. The space is lined with Christmas trees decked with gold and silver baubles and ribbons, and several huge poinsettia arrangements. 

I was curious whether the space would be too noisy given it's open to the lobby, but there wasn't too much excess noise. Despite the narrow space, there was plenty of room between tables so we couldn't overhear other conversations and didn't struggle to hear each other. Plus, the massive lobby Christmas tree made for a nice view. We were seated close to the live harpist playing holiday tunes (plus some instrumental covers—I heard Taylor Swift's "Love Story"), which added to the mood. I found my eyes wandering a lot to try to take in all the beauty around me. 

The teas

Once we settled in, we were greeted with glasses of champagne started to review the tea options. The tea menu includes at least a dozen loose leaf and blended teas from Jenwey Tea that are a mix of year-round options and special holiday blends. There was a category for nearly every tea drinker that included black, white, green, herbal, and wellness teas; I particularly like black, white, and herbal, and each of those categories had at least three blends.

We settled on trying one seasonal blend, and one a little more traditional: the Winter Wonderland, a black tea infused with marshmallow and Stevia leaf, and Raspberry Rose, a punchy, floral white tea (we also later tried a third tea, the seasonal Peppermint Snowdrift white tea.) The kind server gave us great recommendations, and we had fun flipping the little hourglasses that let you know when your tea is steeped and ready to drink. The servers came by frequently to refill our pots with hot water, and we got about three steeps from each pot, which felt like plenty of tea.

My greatest annoyance when drinking tea is a weak flavor with indiscernible notes, which wasn't the case with any we tried. The Winter Wonderland tasted strong and layered both with and without milk, and the Raspberry Rose was a beautiful deep pink and avoided the soapiness that too often comes with rose flavors. We did end up trying a third tea, the Peppermint Snowdrift, which was refreshing and light. The teas get top marks from me.

The food

Tea typically includes three kinds of food: savory bites like tea sandwiches; scones with toppings like jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd; and assorted sweets like cookies, meringues, or little tarts or cakes. Food at The Willard's tea includes all of these and comes out on a pretty, three-tiered serving dish. We used the standard menu because neither of us have allergies or dietary restrictions, but there are vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free menus available that seem to have comparable offerings, too. 

We started with the savory course, which includes five small bites. There was a nice variety of flavors here, but each bite was noticeably small. There was a small cucumber and citrus cream cheese sandwich that tasted just fine, but the standouts were a hot pink red curry roasted turkey mouse in a beet waffle basket, and an edible pretzel spoon that held a bit of roast beef kissed with horseradish and cornichons. Both were tasty and interesting, although the turkey cup could've been more generously filled. 

The other foods, two plain crostinis with tiny nubs of lobster and smoked duck breast, were fine but nothing special. The proteins were cooked well, but there wasn't much discernible flavor like the others; it tasted just like having a bite of lobster and duck. Generally, I found the savory course underwhelming. The paltry portions made it the weakest of the food offerings. Compared to other high-end teas I've had, this course was a disappointment. 

Next were the scones, an essential make-or-break for a good tea. A good scone shouldn't be too large and should have a nice crisp outside and a not-too-sweet but buttery inside and both passed muster here (no surprise, really, because The Willard is known for its scones). I particularly liked the vanilla scone, which was a perfect vehicle for some very tasty Devonshire cream and lemon curd. The seasonal gingerbread scone had a lovely flavor, but the texture was noticeably more crumbly than the other scone, which made it a little harder to spread the toppings. It still tasted great with the raspberry and apricot jams, though. I'd buy these if they packaged and sold them, they were that nice.

The final dessert course was decadent. Each dessert was the right size—some teas include desserts that are too large, so you can really only take a bite or two of each—and included interesting, festive flavors. The best? The buttery panettone shortbread cookie, which was studded with dried orange, lemon, and raisins and melted in my mouth. The Salted Caramel Gingerbread Basket and Eggnog Cinnamon Tarts were just sweet enough and had a satisfying mix of creaminess and crunch. The Coconut Cranberry Macaron looked like an itty bitty Santa hat, but I liked the small bite of tartness.

The only dessert that wasn't a hit at our table was the hard-to-eat Chocolate Peppermint Choux, a puff filled with chocolate cream and topped with a too-generous dome of peppermint meringue that was so sticky it took me a couple of minutes to scrape it off my front teeth and fingers. I wrangled a thinner marshmallow layer onto the puff, which was nice.Even so, the dessert course was a sweet and satisfying end to a nice experience. 

Final takeaways

As far as afternoon teas go, this was a great one, but there were a couple snags. Some places allow visitors to try as many teas as they'd like, while others have a one tea per person limit; The Willard lets each guest pick one tea, and each additional costs extra. Although this isn't unusual for a high-end tea spot, it's good to know if you prefer to sample a lot of teas. We ended up trying a third tea, however.

I also wished the savory bites were more substantial; most of what I ate was delicious, but each felt substantially more delicate and less filling than the scones and sweets, which made the tea feel unbalanced. Each savory starter being larger would've helped, because I felt mostly full from the sugar afterward. Compared to the finger foods at other high-end teas I've tried both in D.C. and elsewhere, these were lacking. 

However, the ambience, service, scones, desserts, and tea itself were top notch. It was nice to enjoy such a historic, well-decorated space and unwinding for a couple hours with harp music in the background never hurts. The servers were kind, attentive, and made helpful tea recommendations. The tea, scones, and desserts all tasted great, and I liked having a variety of flavors for each. 

Overall, The Willard's holiday tea was as I'd hoped. I did emerge from Peacock Alley feeling full and extremely festive. I'm happy I got to experience a beloved D.C. tradition, and I'm curious to come back during another season. This is one of the better afternoon teas I tried in D.C., so I am pleased I could check it off my list.