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On a cold and blustery day, team IMAGE sought refuge in the warm and pleasant lobby of Anantara The Marker Dublin Hotel, just around the corner from the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. We were invited to try out the hotel’s fabulous new afternoon tea experience – Poetry and Places – and we weren’t disappointed.
After settling around a table in The Marker Bar & Lounge with a picturesque view of the waterfront outside, we tucked into the leatherback menu to see what was on offer…
Dubbed “a cultural and culinary adventure”, the illustrated menu was a tome within itself, guiding us through the inspiration behind each featured flavour combination. Each menu item is inspired by a stunning Irish location or poetic work – featuring a choice of delicate sandwiches, pastries, tea breads and homemade preserves.
(The full menu is here if you want to read more about it.)
To start us off, the waitress stopped by with an impressive array of loose-leaf teas to choose from and we each got our own pot to pair with our treats to come. While we sampled a good few, we all agreed our top favourites were the chocolatey Irish Whiskey-Cream, the citrus-infused Gunpowder Green and the fruity Granny’s Garden.
But first, a palette cleanser – we started with a Bollinger Champagne sorbet, cleverly served on an ice-cold plate, formed from the base of a Bollinger bottle.
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Then came a tray of delicious finger sandwiches and while the smoked salmon and roast beef with Achill sea salt were a delight, we were pleasantly surprised by the cucumber and chive cream cheese sandwich. I’ve never had a cucumber sandwich I’ve loved, but this one had me reaching for our vegetarian friends’ trays more than once.
The tea breads were equally tasty – I’m still dreaming about the chocolate Guinness cakes that were actually shaped like mini pints of the black stuff. We also adored the Battenburg inspired by the hotel’s geometric facade, with white and chocolate sponge encased in vanilla caramel.
Finally, we slathered buttery, fresh scones with Earl Gray clotted cream (yum!), gourmet jam and butter straight from Glenilen Farm in Cork – all while sipping on flavourful teas and catching up on work and our latest Netflix binges.
It’s safe to say that while other afternoon teas can have a scant food offering, we had plenty to go around. In fact, we filled two takeaway boxes with the leftover treats we couldn’t finish and brought them to the rest of our colleagues at our latest IMAGE Business Club event, who were eternally grateful!
Overall, we’d highly recommend this experience for your next afternoon tea – it’s perfect for foodies, literature lovers or a scrumptious brunch date.
Afternoon Tea at Anantara The Marker Dublin Hotel starts from €65 per person for the ‘Poetry and Places’ option to €100 for the Bollinger Rose Champagne Afternoon Tea. It is served daily from 1pm to 4pm every day in The Marker Bar & Lounge and on the Terrace, weather permitting. To book call (01) 687 5104 or email bookyourtable.themarker@anantara-hotels.com.