Great festivities at the lobby bar. The NYE party between the food, entertainment, video station and service met all our expectations. Thank you
Dave
This was our second holiday tea at the Claremont, and we were very disappointed this year -- just nothing special. (We were seated in a dark part of the bar, no view, and staff starting to close down the area while we were eating.)
Patricia
My friends and I enjoyed our experience of the holiday tea at the Claremont. We said that we would want to do it again next Christmas holidays.
Lynn
What a wonderful holiday treat to have a lovely tea at the Claremont! The decorations were festive and perfect for the space. The food was delicious, plentiful (we had to get boxes to take food home) and our waiter, Arun, was kind and catered to our every wish. Our table had a beautiful view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge on a lovely cloudless blue sky winter day. I'm looking forward to my next Claremont experience!
Donna
Our group of 3 adults 2 children had a great experience at the Holiday tea, the boys felt very special. We had seating with an amazing view towards the city on a sunny clear day. The food was delicious although 2 of the scones were well overcooked and we had to request replacement which they had no hesitation in doing and they were lovely. The tea included a glass of sparkling wine for the adults and apple cider for the children, but the staff were walking around later and refilling the glasses if required so we ended up with 3 glasses of sparkling and 2 apple cider which was a nice surprise. We really enjoyed the savoury delights but were underwhelmed by the dessert selection, the panna cotta was amazing but the rest a little disappointing though it did not take away from our experience at all. The selection of teas was great and lovely. We must make special mention though to our waiter Rafaelle who was absolutely awesome, he was so attentive and pleasant and very personable, he really made our experience lovely. We also liked that we were not rushed out the door as soon as our allocated sitting time was over, considering it is not a cheap event. In regards to pricing at $135 per adult it is reasonable, but once you add tax and tip the cost to us was over $800 which i think is overpriced. $135 per person inclusive of tax and tips is probably more reflective of what you get in return. We had a great day and it was very special to do this with my family while i was visiting from Australia as i had done high teas before but they had not. And the hotel is so lovely.
Lisa
I go to high tea regularly and my experience at the Claremont was disappointing and the food was below average. Similar to my experience at their LimeWood restaurant the service was cold and rushed. The waiter rushed us to order and lacked the formality of explaining the menu. There were only 5 teas to choose from. When we explained our food restrictions the waiter took a note but left abruptly before we could ask what we wanted for substitutions. 20 minutes after ordering, our food arrived with the items we don't eat and had to be taken back. The food was below average, it was edible but I would not ask for more of any item on the plate, and I would not go back. For over $300 for two people we should have gone to the spa which has a warm and welcoming staff and great service. Skip the tea here. I recommend the Palace San Francisco instead. They serve a beautiful tea with a harpist in the garden court. Their food and service is exquisite and at a lower price point.
Dana
Great choice for holiday tea. Friendly service, lovely tea, warm and intimate atmosphere. Skip the City if you're in the East Bay, Claremont is the move.
Fawn
My first time here for holiday tea service. We arrived early and enjoyed the festive decorations while waiting to get seated. The tea and food were very good with hearty portions. We left happy and plan on returning in the future.
Kim
Amazing holiday tea - will be back next year! Both the tea selection and finger foods were delicious. Exceptional service - caring and attentive.
Pam
Extremely over priced. Little service, stale finger sandwiches, and tower of finger foods and desserts made conversation virtually impossible. Very disappointed.
If you are reading this review in 2026, I'm warning you this is a waste of your hard earned money. Do not book this experience. I gave the Claremont several opportunities to turn things around. Speaking up at the time of the event, emailing them afterwards, and trying to understand what changed so drastically from one year to the next. They are lackadaisical in their response and negligent with customer service. Open table asks us to judge a location based on the following criteria: food, service, ambience, and value. Starting with value, there is none. You're paying $140 for an $80 experience at best. It felt like highway robbery. You get nothing that justifies that price point. The biggest reason for that is the food. The bread was chewy. The desserts were inedible. We did not bother taking it home. The panna cotta was not actually panna cotta it was some kind of vanilla cream that did not set. The Black Forest cake was stodgy and tasted like it had been left in the fridge too long. They replaced petit fours with some a marzipan monstrosity that fell apart because it lacked a rather crucial component. (It was battenburg cake without the apricot jam.) the cranberry cheesecake had signs of being warmed and chilled and then warmed again. Service was terrible. The table wasn't clean, the manager let people in early (people who had 2:45 and 3:00 appointments were let in before us who had a 2:30 seating. We were there almost an hour early.) Our servers were not tea servers, they were waiters. They had no idea what the tea flavors were, couldn't answer any questions, they seemed to avoid tables. Hung out in the bar area and outside to chat. Ambience was also sad. Last year they decorated the place tastefully. This year they had a simple tree and no other decor. So it felt hollow. No music was playing. The groups were so loud and disruptive that I could barely hear my partner. Do not book this experience. It's nothing like it once was.
Janet
Beautiful setting, but so many tables that it was not as special as I had hoped. Wanted to be in the lobby with only a few other tables, not added tables. Regular round and rectangular tables added were not as unique to this high price experience. I love tea and have been to almost everyone in the Bay Area - this was a bucket list item for me- maybe my expectations were too high, but it took over an hour to get our food with 1.5 hours allowed for tea. Staff was great and tried to make it right with a bottle of champagne.
Sue
The tea at the Claremont was delicious! The servers worked very hard, but the tea seemed understaffed and we had to wait a while for our food and teas. The staff worked very hard, but there needed to be more servers. Out reservation was at 2:30 but we didn't sit down until 2:50 and were at the beginning of the reservation line. The experience would have been perfect if the were more servers to serve such a large crowd.
Peyton
Our reservation was at 2:30pm. Tea was served an HOUR later at 3:30pm (the room was only half full of people). The tea strainer was encrusted with yellowish gunk - so we had to ask for a replacement. The food was nothing like the photo on the website - it was, in fact, grossly inadequate. Stale scones (no lemon curd or clotted cream), one sandwich with barely any meat and a “crab” with no crab sandwich but lots of fennel. Terribly disappointed with this experience.
Allison
The holiday tea was a gift to my kids. My 4 year old granddaughter loved it. Her parents said it was disorganized and the servers were overwhelmed. The utensils and plate were dirty so they had to request new ones. The food was slow to arrive. They said the tea and goodies were lovely. There was an issue with the bill since I had paid in advance including tip. The server said they had no record of it so I had to text them my receipt. Not the first class service I was hoping for. Next year, the Fairmont.
Great festivities at the lobby bar. The NYE party between the food, entertainment, video station and service met all our expectations. Thank you
This was our second holiday tea at the Claremont, and we were very disappointed this year -- just nothing special. (We were seated in a dark part of the bar, no view, and staff starting to close down the area while we were eating.)
My friends and I enjoyed our experience of the holiday tea at the Claremont. We said that we would want to do it again next Christmas holidays.
What a wonderful holiday treat to have a lovely tea at the Claremont! The decorations were festive and perfect for the space. The food was delicious, plentiful (we had to get boxes to take food home) and our waiter, Arun, was kind and catered to our every wish. Our table had a beautiful view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge on a lovely cloudless blue sky winter day. I'm looking forward to my next Claremont experience!
Our group of 3 adults 2 children had a great experience at the Holiday tea, the boys felt very special. We had seating with an amazing view towards the city on a sunny clear day. The food was delicious although 2 of the scones were well overcooked and we had to request replacement which they had no hesitation in doing and they were lovely. The tea included a glass of sparkling wine for the adults and apple cider for the children, but the staff were walking around later and refilling the glasses if required so we ended up with 3 glasses of sparkling and 2 apple cider which was a nice surprise. We really enjoyed the savoury delights but were underwhelmed by the dessert selection, the panna cotta was amazing but the rest a little disappointing though it did not take away from our experience at all. The selection of teas was great and lovely. We must make special mention though to our waiter Rafaelle who was absolutely awesome, he was so attentive and pleasant and very personable, he really made our experience lovely. We also liked that we were not rushed out the door as soon as our allocated sitting time was over, considering it is not a cheap event. In regards to pricing at $135 per adult it is reasonable, but once you add tax and tip the cost to us was over $800 which i think is overpriced. $135 per person inclusive of tax and tips is probably more reflective of what you get in return. We had a great day and it was very special to do this with my family while i was visiting from Australia as i had done high teas before but they had not. And the hotel is so lovely.
I go to high tea regularly and my experience at the Claremont was disappointing and the food was below average. Similar to my experience at their LimeWood restaurant the service was cold and rushed. The waiter rushed us to order and lacked the formality of explaining the menu. There were only 5 teas to choose from. When we explained our food restrictions the waiter took a note but left abruptly before we could ask what we wanted for substitutions. 20 minutes after ordering, our food arrived with the items we don't eat and had to be taken back. The food was below average, it was edible but I would not ask for more of any item on the plate, and I would not go back. For over $300 for two people we should have gone to the spa which has a warm and welcoming staff and great service. Skip the tea here. I recommend the Palace San Francisco instead. They serve a beautiful tea with a harpist in the garden court. Their food and service is exquisite and at a lower price point.
Great choice for holiday tea. Friendly service, lovely tea, warm and intimate atmosphere. Skip the City if you're in the East Bay, Claremont is the move.
My first time here for holiday tea service. We arrived early and enjoyed the festive decorations while waiting to get seated. The tea and food were very good with hearty portions. We left happy and plan on returning in the future.
Amazing holiday tea - will be back next year! Both the tea selection and finger foods were delicious. Exceptional service - caring and attentive.
Extremely over priced. Little service, stale finger sandwiches, and tower of finger foods and desserts made conversation virtually impossible. Very disappointed.
Restaurantji Recommends
If you are reading this review in 2026, I'm warning you this is a waste of your hard earned money. Do not book this experience. I gave the Claremont several opportunities to turn things around. Speaking up at the time of the event, emailing them afterwards, and trying to understand what changed so drastically from one year to the next. They are lackadaisical in their response and negligent with customer service. Open table asks us to judge a location based on the following criteria: food, service, ambience, and value. Starting with value, there is none. You're paying $140 for an $80 experience at best. It felt like highway robbery. You get nothing that justifies that price point. The biggest reason for that is the food. The bread was chewy. The desserts were inedible. We did not bother taking it home. The panna cotta was not actually panna cotta it was some kind of vanilla cream that did not set. The Black Forest cake was stodgy and tasted like it had been left in the fridge too long. They replaced petit fours with some a marzipan monstrosity that fell apart because it lacked a rather crucial component. (It was battenburg cake without the apricot jam.) the cranberry cheesecake had signs of being warmed and chilled and then warmed again. Service was terrible. The table wasn't clean, the manager let people in early (people who had 2:45 and 3:00 appointments were let in before us who had a 2:30 seating. We were there almost an hour early.) Our servers were not tea servers, they were waiters. They had no idea what the tea flavors were, couldn't answer any questions, they seemed to avoid tables. Hung out in the bar area and outside to chat. Ambience was also sad. Last year they decorated the place tastefully. This year they had a simple tree and no other decor. So it felt hollow. No music was playing. The groups were so loud and disruptive that I could barely hear my partner. Do not book this experience. It's nothing like it once was.
Beautiful setting, but so many tables that it was not as special as I had hoped. Wanted to be in the lobby with only a few other tables, not added tables. Regular round and rectangular tables added were not as unique to this high price experience. I love tea and have been to almost everyone in the Bay Area - this was a bucket list item for me- maybe my expectations were too high, but it took over an hour to get our food with 1.5 hours allowed for tea. Staff was great and tried to make it right with a bottle of champagne.
The tea at the Claremont was delicious! The servers worked very hard, but the tea seemed understaffed and we had to wait a while for our food and teas. The staff worked very hard, but there needed to be more servers. Out reservation was at 2:30 but we didn't sit down until 2:50 and were at the beginning of the reservation line. The experience would have been perfect if the were more servers to serve such a large crowd.
Our reservation was at 2:30pm. Tea was served an HOUR later at 3:30pm (the room was only half full of people). The tea strainer was encrusted with yellowish gunk - so we had to ask for a replacement. The food was nothing like the photo on the website - it was, in fact, grossly inadequate. Stale scones (no lemon curd or clotted cream), one sandwich with barely any meat and a “crab” with no crab sandwich but lots of fennel. Terribly disappointed with this experience.
The holiday tea was a gift to my kids. My 4 year old granddaughter loved it. Her parents said it was disorganized and the servers were overwhelmed. The utensils and plate were dirty so they had to request new ones. The food was slow to arrive. They said the tea and goodies were lovely. There was an issue with the bill since I had paid in advance including tip. The server said they had no record of it so I had to text them my receipt. Not the first class service I was hoping for. Next year, the Fairmont.
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