High Tea at Harvey | A Delightful Afternoon at The Williamsburg Hotel
A stylish newcomer has made its way to Brooklyn in the most colorful and delightful way possible... Harvey at The Williamsburg Hotel! This new hotspot not only emphasizes its fresh seasonal fare, but also features something truly unique to the area. It's the only high tea in Brooklyn, making Harvey the talk of the town. Since high tea is basically a cousin to brunch, I knew I had to stop by on my recent trip to NYC to check it out!
Upon entering the space, I was so blown away at the beauty - it was filled with color, natural light, and abstract design! I loved that there were cool, mod hanging lights dangling from the ceiling, too.
There was a DJ playing upbeat music to enhance the overall positive, bright and youthful vibe. I came in with my best friend Shakira and couldn't wait to dive right into some yummy tea and sweet treats.
One of the things I really loved about high tea at Harvey (and high tea in general!) is that you really can have a taste of everything - from sweet to savory. The best part of course is the tea, which comes in its own tea pot which I love because I have to say I am always a little greedy with my tea when I love it - I always want more! All of the teas sounded refreshing, but Shakira and I went with Wild Persimmon (of Hadong, Korea - slight sweet with a nutty after taste as well as notes of flowers and green herbs) and Wild Pear (of Hadong, Korea - a tisane made from wild pears grown deep in the forest, with a slight sweetness, relaxing aroma, and slightly bitter yet fresh finish).
These were so light, unique and flavorful! You could just taste the quality of the tea and I loved how we had never tried this flavor of tea before, nevertheless seen it on a restaurant menu! I was definitely impressed. The teas came in beautifully designed tea pots too which made for some really fun photos!
After a few sips, it was time to indulge! Out came a three-layer tier of both sweet and savories. It was so perfect and pretty, almost too gorgeous to eat.
Avocado toast, carrot cake, Persian cucumber & salmon toast, pizza (!!!!), a lemon meringue tart, little almandine tarts and scones were beautifully perched on the tiers calling our names. Everything had a very distinct taste, and a melt-in-your mouth texture.
It was hard not to eat it all in one bite! I loved that even just looking at our entire spread, the food and set up was not so traditional, but had a super fun and edgy Brooklyn spin on it. This really stood out to me and it made the experience that more enjoyable because it was much more light-hearted and modern!
It was so hard to choose, but hands down my favorite bites were the carrot cake (literally THE most amazing carrot cake you'll ever have - spiced with a rich, sweet flavor) and the avocado toast! I have seen a lot of avocado toasts in my day, and this one is definitely up there. It was so fresh and tasty, probably because the bread is made by the Brooklyn Bread Lab!
Although there was such a wide range of flavors and aromas within the tier, they went together so cohesively! Who would have thought at a high tea you could eat pepperoni pizza (like, LEGIT NY pizza) alongside a pastry? I don't know, but I am so into it!!
I loved that the high tea at Harvey really captured with eccentric vibe and atmosphere of Brooklyn. High tea at Harvey is simply a place you want to be and what you want to be doing on the weekend - seriously, I was there on a Saturday and it was packed with high tea-goers. As a native New Jersian/New Yorker, it's always so exciting to come back home every once in a while and see what new places pop up and the cool things they have to offer. As a brunch lover, this truly was such a treat for me to see a concept that is deemed traditional, be re-worked into a way that all people will enjoy, whether they're natives or are visitors... and in a way that only Brooklyn could do!
High tea at Harvey can be enjoyed with a friend or two, or even on your own. Even though there are a lot of people there on the weekends, the space is big enough for you to just enjoy on your own and zone out with your tea. And hey, if you do a tea for one, you don't have to share all the goodies.. hehe!
I will definitely be back to Harvey in future trips back home. Considering that this is the only spot in Brooklyn to offer high tea, Harvey is a total destination. I can't wait to see what they've got in store for the future, but until then I am going to just be dreaming about my Wild Pear tea and carrot cake from all the way in California!
Photography by Sarah Peterson
