The Lounge at Taj Boston

A group of 5 of us were seated at a love seat and 3 chairs around a coffee table. At first sight, it looked like it would get crowded at the table, because as stated, it’s really just a regular coffee table, but surrounding lamp tables are utilized as well to hold your tea. The space is elegantly decorated. I loved that the chairs and love seat were mix matched. It felt more homey and comfortable, as if you were truly at your girlfriend’s place having tea and sandwiches.
We went with the Royal ($ 50 per person) which comes with a glass of Prosecco, It’s definitely worth it to go with the champagne since the price difference is just $ 5 from the next option down. I wasn’t particularly blown away by their sandwiches, but the desserts were fantastic — my favorites being the panna cotta, tart, and macaroon.
In comparison to the tea time at the Boston Public Library, the Taj has more teas to select from, but I think the sandwiches at the BPL are bigger and better.

I was extremely disappointed after getting a reservation for months in advance. While we came on time, the service was obsolete. We walked in and were passed by multiple times until we had to final tell the coat person that we had a reservation.
After being seated, no one came by for the past 15 – 20 minutes as we sat idle trying to get someone’s attention when our server finally came. After only ONE round of finger sandwiches, no one came by anymore. We then went up the coat person yet again who (somehow) became our server by accident.
Seriously??? We’re paying $ 50 per person and the service was disgusting. You come to afternoon for the atmosphere, service and the menu.

Elegant tea service in beautiful surroundings! My wife and I on our anniversary trip decided to stop in, without a reservation — and they had a table for two available. Live violin music played. For a reasonable $ 42, you get a pot of tea, a full tray of tea sandwiches, and then another tray of deserts! A slice of relaxation and class in the city center. Check it out!

The waiters are nice and the sandwiches are good. But for dessert, it’s okay. Good environment for chatting with friends. Teas are good but the tea cups are really ugly and not delicate at all. Not an amazing place for afternoon tea. But considering the price is cheap and the location is great. I will still go there but I will not keep on tracking other good places for afternoon tea in Boston.

Comparing this high tea at the Taj to the one we had at the Langham Hotel in Boston, the Taj very much disappointed us today. The amount of food they serve at the Taj for $ 42-​$ 50 is ridiculously small. Tongs instead of spoons for the sugar cubes would be much more convenient. The coat that our waiter was wearing was so dirty looking you would not expect that even at a fast food restaurant. The most surprising thing about the high tea was that they served the scones with what looked and tasted like whipped cream, not with clotted cream like the Taj may want us to believe.

The bartenders and waitstaff were all great, but I must say that the bar’s manager was not. You get a definite sense that she wants everyone in the room to know that she is the boss and is there to crack the whip on her staff. It was uncomfortable to watch.

We booked a table at 1 pm (always book in advance — you are unlikely to get a table if you just walk-​in). The 3 pm is the more preferred slot but it wasn’t available. The décor is really nice — very colonial British style of the Raj. Our server — Sumit — was polite and we ended up ordering two tea sets (duchess and the taj). Each set comes with its own pot of tea which is really enough for 4 people. We ordered the black tea leaves (imperial earl grey and custom blended taj). I could feel the slow caffeine kick in the custom blended Taj flavor — and the imperial earl grey had a nice cardamom flavor to it (less strong though). Other tea options I would recommend if you are into black leaves would be Darjeeling and the English Breakfast. The food was AWESOME — definitely can’t substitute for a proper lunch but chocolates, macaroons — all deelish (the chocolate flavored pecan was my fave). Also the ambience is relatively quiet and fantastic for catching up and conversations (don’t engage in loud banter here — this isn’t the place to do it) — Comes up to average $ 40 per person — I would recommend coming here for special occasions and celebrating with your special people :)

Good place to hangout with friends. But hard for parking and need to reserve the seats.

A great place for having a wonderful afternoon with friends or company. Service is top notch and the ambience is perfect for the high tea. You get a lot of tea which lasts you for a long long conversation.
The reason why this place gets 3 stars is basically because of the food. While the presentation was on point, the mini sandwich bites were lacking. The bread tasted on the stale side and the toppings didn’t strike me as the freshest or that creative. For the desserts, I’d echo the fact that many of them were too sweet. Finally, all of this does not justify the steep price.
However. If you are looking for a place where the focus is more on your company, this is the place to go.

Feeling fancy? Want to dig into your British roots? Well, have some afternoon tea here at the Taj, and you may find yourself being a bit more pompous than usual.
Afternoon tea offerings around Boston is a rarity — either they don’t offer quality food and tea, or the atmosphere is shoddier than expected, or again, they just don’t offer it. I can probably count on one dismembered hand how many places I would go to for afternoon tea. Assuming I lost an epic fight with a blender and only had two fingers left, it would be the Taj, and still subject to sample, L’Espalier’s afternoon tea. Although I say these two, I haven’t personally tried L’Espalier’s offering except their dinner winter degustation course, which blew my mind (and maybe some more if you know what I mean, it was that ecstatically amazing) — therefore, I assume their tea to do the same, and have been meaning to see if they trump Taj’s position as my #1 Boston spot for afternoon tea. That’s another story for another day (or review in this case).
The afternoon tea set at Taj offers a variety of tasty, and most importantly, well presented assortment of food. The Courtyard a few blocks down within the Boston Public Library receives rave reviews for their afternoon tea set, but upon looking at the pictures of Unilocal,it’s as if they hired a kindergartner to hand select the sweets — it’s a pastel explosion of sweets, lathered with icing. That in itself, just ruins the ambiance. Taj does a great job, ranging from the choice of food to fill up that tri-​level platter to the silverware (real silver folks) and china selection. Every detail is intricate, and therefore, the décor and ambiance is amazing in Taj. It literally feels as if you’re in one of the rooms in Buckingham Palace, sipping on tea with Her Majesty. The tea selection is also expansive, and from the ones I’ve sampled (go green tea!), they are aromatic and sensational. The service at the Taj is also exceptional, as would be expected.
Price-​wise, this is not for the faint-​hearted. A tea set that includes pastries, sweets and sandwiches for one runs at a whopping $ 42. Throw in a glass of Prosecco to sate your alcoholic needs, and that rounds up to $ 50. However, if you’re here for the experience or are celebrating an occasion, go all in. You’re here to be fancy after all, and the fancy don’t worry about the little things.
Taj, you have my British seal of approval (I’m not British, but I’d hope the British would concur).

Had lip lick on my glass of water from previous customer. Lost my appetite after that, because I had already drank from it, but the dessert tea set was hardly touched, so I boxed it. The manager gave me extra chocolate dipped strawsberries for compensation which I was grateful for, but the food was already no good that same night. Great atmosphere, but I think their ac broke, there’s a fan in the room that did not match the theme. We ordered the white blossom and the oolong tea, they were quite average. The food was okay. I liked the mini sandwiches. Might give it a second try.

Great tea! We came for high tea around 3pm — I got the Blossom White Tea while my friends got the English Breakfast and Darjeeling (?). Mini sandwiches were yummy, and the pastries were decent.
Great poppyseed scones!
Ambiance was great with a classical guitarist in the background.
However, towards the end of tea time, a little furry mouse friend scurried right through under our table. Several other patrons witnessed it too.
Told our server with nothing but a nod, a nervous laugh, and a brisk walk away in response.
So there’s that. It would have been a 4.5 experience, but mr. mouse came along. Service post mr. mouse also put a really bad taste in my mouth.
tl:dr — great tea, resident rodent, mediocre service.

A good place to have european style afternoon tea. Not as formal as we thought. There is live music. So many combos to be chosen. Foods are good, but not the best in Boston. A little bit expensive

We had such an amazing experience today!!! What a beautiful space. High class, lovely violinist and delicious food. We went here to celebrate so many fun events: a birthday, wedding and baby! :) We had the cheese plate and two «individual portions» of The Taj I believe. This was sandwiches and sweets combined. Because we didn’t get the «per person» option we only got one sandwich and sweet of each. It was delicious but the portions were so small!
I know it’s a high tea, but $ 42 – 50 per person per plate is ridiculous for the amount of food they serve. It was a really beautiful, super fun one time thing but we wouldn’t go back because it was so expensive for not that great quality or quantity. Yummy, but the quality of the food couldn’t definitely been better. The macaroons were just okay (and I LOVE French macaroons), and the sandwiches were decent. Also, it was SO HOT in there I felt like I was having a hot flash and I’m not even 30!
My favorite part of the day was when the violinist played happy birthday and we were brought special sweets for all of our celebrations. Good place but definitely a one time deal.

Have not been there yet myself but my daughter has been there many times and my wife and other twin daughter had tea there a week ago for the twins birthday. Wanting to do something for them while back in LA, I called the Lounge and got through even in their busy hour (I forgot the time zone difference, thinking I was calling a little early). But busy or not, it was not a problem. They listened to what was planned by my twins, heard exactly how I wanted to help celebrate, made suggestions, and set everything up. They even let me order and pay for a bottle of Proseco without having to fax in my charge signature, something they all seem to require in LA when ordering over the phone.
The late afternoon tea for the twins with my wife and their friends was perfect. They brought a plate of truffles and a small cake with a candle for each. I’d wanted the violinist to play something from ‘Phantom of the Opera’, one of their favorites, but he only played them Happy Birthday. But done well I heard!
I know we’ll be back!

Do you want someone to say ‘thank you, sir or madam’ when you hand them your coat to hang up?
If so, go take a shower.
The tea was good. The desserts ranged from good to kind of waxy. Make yourself a nice Christmas-​spice cake at home and save your money.

This place is in a nice hotel. The guitarist plays nice music. Other than that, I am disappointed. The food, the tea set and the ambience aren’t worth the amount I pay at all. I’ve been to much cuter smaller tea rooms and other nice tea lounges affiliated to hotels. This one is the one I like the least so far. I would not come back and would not recommend it to my friends.

Boston Tea Party? Come on, I had to do it. We visited Taj for afternoon tea service, and it was an elegant experience from start to finish. Something about tea and scones just makes me feel sophisticated and want to talk with a British accent.
There was a guitarist playing soothing music– plus 1 point. Our server moved so swiftly and gracefully that I barely even noticed his presence– plus 1 point. I was seated by a window overlooking the Chanel boutique on Newbury– plus 3500 points (the cost of one Chanel bag).
The quality of the tea is incredible. I LOVED the vanilla earl grey, and the peach green tea and Shanghai rose were amazing as well. I didn’t need a single sugar cube because the fragrance and flavors were so potent.
The sandwiches and pastries were served on a three-​tiered tray. I particularly liked the egg salad and smoked salmon sandwiches. The scones and clotted cream were delicious, although most of the desserts were too sweet even for me.
$ 45 per person is standard. You’re really paying for a relaxing afternoon to socialize with your friends, which I believe is worth it.

Came here for afternoon tea one sunday afternoon with my mother. The waiters were very nice, even pulling out my chair for me. We both had the Taj tea and my mother chose the Shanghai rose tea while I had the vanilla earl grey. There was a violinist playing and the atmosphere was really relaxing. The tea itself is absolutely wonderful, very fragrant and very unique tasting.
The sandwiches were delicious and included salmon, egg salad, cucumber and one more that I can’t recall right now. The best part by far was the scones though, especially with the lemon spread they give you. The cream was very airy and light too but didn’t skimp out on the creamy taste.
Overall a unique experience that is worth the price!

I give this place 4 stars because of atmosphere, 3 stars for service. The waiter we had was very non-​talkative and rolled his eyes at me upon entry. NOt to mention, I had a wobbly table and when I got my cocktail, I adjusted myself in the seat and knocked the table and my cocktail was spilled a little. He just walked away and my hubby gave me a look and him a look. I was embarrassed. Meanwhile, we ordered dessert too, in addition to cocktails. A different waiter brought us our dessert. He was super pleasant.
The dessert was super good. I had a trio of Crème Brulee… chocolate, vanilla and raspberry… yummmmmy! Hubby had Boston Crème Pie and really enjoyed it.
lets just say, I think the wait staff here may be treated like servants. They are in the service business, but hospitality is key and the wait staff at the lounge was not to my liking. I am not a queen, but these guys weren’t too gracious
Loved the café wait staff better