High Tea, Italian Style
The Marriott Grand Universe Hotel, Lucca
Lucca is a small town. Unlike Florence or Rome it does not have a lot of high-end, super fancy hotels. There is however the Grand Universe, a Marriott branded hotel which was remodeled a few years ago from a classic though dated local hotel to a modern, upscale destination spot. The roof top Champagne bar has amazing views and drink prices that may make you think you are in Rome. It is a treat, but not my usual hangout.
What I did not know about the hotel is that they serve a lovely, and very reasonably priced, English-style afternoon tea. Who knew ! Luckily, a friend of mine did and invited me to tea on a rainy early winter afternoon. Fancy teas are one of my favorite special occasion things to do, a posh break from everyday life. There is a fabulous tearoom back in New Mexico, a must when I am there at Christmas time. I’ve enjoyed tea on many travels over the years – England (of course), Paris, Budapest. I have loved the high teas served on Viking Ocean cruises. How is it that I had no idea about the elegant high tea served right here in Lucca? A terrible miss on my part!
Without a doubt the Grand Universe serves the most bountiful tea I’ve ever been served. More like a 4 (or 5) course meal. Not that I am complaining! Now, if you are one of those people that really do not like reading about food, or seeing photos of food, I recommend skipping the rest of this post because from here on out it is all about the food.
The tea service began with the opportunity to select from a variety of teas. Darjeeling was my choice, loose tea leaves steeped in individual pots with slices of lemon or milk alongside. While we waited for the tea to steep, the food began to arrive. A classic 3 tier tray came first. On top, savories. There were 5 types of small tea sandwiches. Some classic – triangles of cucumber with a creamy cheese and one with ham and mustard.
There was a thinly sliced salmon on whole grain bread, one with bacon on a mini whole grain croissant, and an open faced avocado sandwich on a crispy sesame bread. Luckily these were small – but they could have been a lunch all by themselves. The next tier held some small pastries and the bottom tier was desserts.
On a return visit in December with a group of 4, platters took the place of the tiered serving dish and the selections were a bit different, but equally delicious.
Scones are a must a team so of course there were scones. They were served with cream and a house-made strawberry jam. Wonderful!
Next were a variety of sweets – bite sized tarts (lemon, berry, cream-filled, orange) and larger individual apple tarts.
Sounds like a full tea, right ? Not quite. The chef appeared with a plate full of house made shortbread. Not one or two pieces, more like a dozen and way too many to eat after an already abundant tea. Luckily the server offered to-go boxes and these perfect buttery cookies were tasty the next day alongside some coffee.
On my second visit I told the chef how much I had enjoyed his shortbread and he graciously shared a copy of the recipe. I hope mine turn out half as good!
And just when we thought we were finished, tea concluded with a final surprise - slices of a strawberry cream cake.
No way could we finish all the food served - but the leftovers meant a nice home tea the next day.
I was glad my friend warned me to skip lunch and arrive hungry! On my return visit I gave my group of friends the same advice. Each time we were glad to have those to-go boxes.
Whether as an escape from an otherwise dreary November day, to celebrate a special occasion, or as part of a holiday celebration, tea at the Grand Universe is a treat. And at €25 per person it is also an affordable luxury.