After spending the morning shopping and exploring San Francisco I wandered into the luxurious department store Neiman Marcus to a bit more shopping and have a light lunch. On the 4th floor of Neiman Marcus is the Rotunda a chic restaurant under the stained glass dome, where you can dine and have a prime view of Union Square. Every day starting from 2:30 pm until 4:00 pm (Sun-Th) or 5:00 pm (Fri-Sat) you can delight in some post-shopping afternoon tea for $45-60.
The afternoon tea comes with a variety of mini sandwiches, sweet petit fours, popover bread, and flaky scones with lemon curd, strawberry jam, and clotted cream. As to be expected, with afternoon tea there was a wonderful selection of teas to pick from and I selected yellow lemon tea which was a nice mellow blend of green sencha tea and lemongrass. For the grand tea or royal tea which costs $55-60, you will also get a glass of champagne either Gloria Ferrer Private Cuvée Brut NV with the grand tea or Etoile Brut Rosé NV with the royal tea.
While it was my first visit to Neiman Marcus for in San Fransico, it certainly won’t be my last. The service was wonderful, but being able to share the beautiful setting while sipping a glass of champagne and spending the afternoon catching up with a dear friend made for a picture-perfect day.