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2
Tue, 3/19
20:00

Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Details

PRICE RANGE
£32 - £63
CUISINES
Russian, Eastern European, International
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options
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meals, features, about

Location and contact

Midtown
0.3 miles from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Reviews (1,682)
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Reviewed today

Wow never has a place delivered so poorly. Might be the worst experience I have ever had in any of my travels. The food is ridiculously overpriced. Had the afternoon tea, and it was disappointing to say the least. Horrible little sandwiches, served on bent...metal trays. The scones were okay but the clotted cream was a runny mess. The presentation felt lackluster and the staff seemed bored. In fact other than constantly trying to upsell they didn't seem interested at all. sigh, avoid at all costs.More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Very disappointed. Made reservations for afternoon tea and was looking forward to a wonderful time. The ambiance was nice but the afternoon tea was disappointing. If you are into afternoon or high tea this is not the place to go. I can’t say that the...sandwiches were tasty and not sure what we had with the awful scones but it definitely wasn’t clotted cream. I can’t in all fairness recommend this place for afternoon tea. Overpriced for the poor quality. Even the tea was with teabags and not loose tea. So pretentious. Two stars because We took beautiful photos.More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 3 weeks ago

A hidden gem in the heart of NYC! Beautiful, super glamorous, it’s like you enter a movie or a time capsule! Lovely food too! Super friendly staff! It’s all good, don’t miss it!

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 29 January 2024

I was so disappointed! The place is shabby and the food was horrible. We did the afternoon tea and with food and two glasses of prosecco it was around $230pp. The sandwiches had been made for a while. The bread was soggy and the tops...were dried our like they had been made the day before. The scones were the only enjoyable part. The whole experience was not worth $50. Just Don'tMore

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 24 January 2024 via mobile

A lovely dinner at the Russian Tea Room. Excellent service and delicious food. Ordered from the Restaurant Week Menu; a great value at $60! Everything was so good: Borscht soup, blinchik appetizer, wild mushroom stroganoff, sea bass, and chocolate mousse cake. A memorable evening!! The...decor adds to the ambiance: red leather banquettes and Russian art on dark green walls.More

Date of visit: January 2024
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Reviewed 17 January 2024 via mobile

Not as good as it used to be, unfortunately (used to be one of my favorite places in the city). Still has a great atmosphere!

Date of visit: January 2024
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Reviewed 9 January 2024

Went to The Russian Tea Room with my adult daughter for a girls' trip to NYC and decided on the tea service. Extremely overrated and very disappointing, especially for $145 per person before tax and gratituity. Loved the sour cherry syrup used to sweeten the...tea, very unique and I had never seen this before. Sandwiches, while I truly enjoyed the hearty and savory flavors that were so different from the delicate English tea sandwiches, they were served on stale bread...and, yes, I know the difference between a crusty type of European style bread and stale bread. Same for the scone and dessert course. I only ate the creme scone and although I sampled the other two I couldn't eat them no matter how much butter (practically frozen), clotted cream or preserves I added because they were that dry. For the dessert course the only thing I truly enjoyed was the mini creme brule' - adorable and yummy! Both the vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting and the red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting were horribly dry, however the cream cheese frosting was delicious. Finally, the macaroon was sticky and chewy. The service was very good but when we complained about the dryness of the courses, "sorry" was the only response. Am I glad I did it? Not sure! I guess so, just to say I had this quintessential NY experience with my daughter. However for almost $200 per person I would definitely have preferred...and expected a much better experience! Overall I think I would recommend skipping The Russian Tea Room for tea.More

Date of visit: January 2024
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Reviewed 26 December 2023

Rip off muck. A sad and tired relic of what it once may have been. Dirty red velour seats , haven’t been cleaned in years , and ripped faded carpet added to the ambiance. We went there for Christmas dinner which was a set menu....The bread roll was stale and cold with rock hard butter. The caviar came out on two of the tiniest blinis I have ever seen with about 5 caviar eggs each (we counted), the presentation of these tiny morsels completely lackluster. The starter, we chose the blinchik with goat cheese and mushroom which was served cold? The duck had no crisp to it and again just slapped up on a white plate all for the rip off price of $145 per head. They should have served a side of vaseline to ease the pain when presenting the check. Will not be returning.More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 24 December 2023

We enjoyed going to such an iconic place, but everything was just "okay." We were there for dinner on Christmas Eve. The hostess was incredibly friendly, but our server was horribly inattentive. It took well over 30 minutes get tea and forever to get our...food. We didn't get silverware and had to track someone down to get some b/c our server was nowhere to be found. The food lacked seasoning, so we had to get up and go track down our server to ask for salt and pepper b/c she still had not checked on us. My husband and son each had steak (ribeye and filet), and both said they were pretty good - not great. My vegetable Wellington was good but definitely needed some salt. Fwiw, I don't like a lot of salt. We were there for a long time and laughed about finally timing how long it takes the bear to fully rotate (30 minutes and 45 second).More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 17 December 2023 via mobile

Nice decor but very disappointing afternoon tea. The sandwiches were uninspired and the bread was stale. The scones were slightly burned and the other cakes were underwhelming. Including a crème brûlée without the burnt sugar top. The bill was eye wateringly expensive ($145 each pre...tax) & we were hoping for something really special. I can’t comment on the main menu but the afternoon tea is one to avoid.More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 12 December 2023 via mobile

Horrible experience! We visited New York December 23. We ordered afternoon tea. The sandwiches were tasteless and had been made much earlier as the meats were dried up. They tried to keep them fresh but made them soggy. The scones were good but everything else...was not worth a tenth of what they changed. Even the crème brûlée had no sugar crust on top and tasted like instant pudding. The place is still pretty but you had to angle your pictures because the balcony was covered in cardboard boxes. It was not just a bad day as almost no one was there. Find someplace else, you will thank me.More

Date of visit: December 2023
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Reviewed 27 November 2023

Afternoon tea , what a delight absolutely loved this , we felt like royalty ! The sandwiches and cakes were all different we couldn’t eat it all The staff were amazing , we felt like the old movie stars The history of this place is...breathtaking , superb afternoon I would highly recommend , pricey but the experience was amazing Thank you Russian Tea RoomsMore

Date of visit: November 2023
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Reviewed 24 November 2023 via mobile

In technical terms, something that is iconic is worthy of veneration, or having a reputation of greatness. This is no longer the case for this restaurant. When I think about the fact that I planned a dinner date at this place, counting on it being...a place of great worth, and receiving a bill for $341 for the meal, it saddens me. The service was terrible. The food was lackluster at best. I will give them props for the borscht, which was delicious. But not worth nearly $400. Not worthy. Not worthy.More

Date of visit: November 2023
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Reviewed 12 November 2023 via mobile

We had a fantastic time at the Russian tea room. We stopped here before a concert a Carnegie Hall. What a great location to have a drink and eat a meal before listening to a wonderful concert. I had to beef Wellington, yummy! I loved...the Champagne. They are each $30 by the glass several different types. I had the Vue.More

Date of visit: November 2023
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Reviewed 7 November 2023

We came here for weekend tea and it was a fun experience as we had friends visiting from out of town. Ambiance: Very nice set up. The paintings and theme are on point and really add to the exclusive vibe. Food: The food was delicious...and they did provide a lot of different sandwiches and sweets. They had an entire vegetarian menu which I very much appreciated. Tea: The tea options were a bit lacking and honestly felt very generic compared to some of the other afternoon teas I’ve been to in the city. Service: Service was good and somewhat prompt. I felt at times when we needed something it took a while before someone came over. We didn’t get hot water refills until almost the end which didn’t make sense. Price: The afternoon tea was really pricey especially considering what was given wasn’t anything extraordinary as compared to other afternoon teas. I think you’re paying more for the ambiance than anything else.More

Date of visit: October 2023
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Questions & Answers
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chrish574
19 February 2024|
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Response from Cindy L | Reviewed this property |
I don't see why not. When we were there last, we stopped in for a drink at the bar.
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THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM, New York City - Midtown - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu, Prices, & Reservations - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about The Russian Tea Room

Yes, The Russian Tea Room is taking precautions against COVID-19. A full list is available within the "safety precautions" section of this page.

The Russian Tea Room is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 3.5
  • Service: 4
  • Value: 3
  • Atmosphere: 4