About The Peter Rabbit Tea

As if afternoon tea alone wouldn’t tempt the children sufficiently, the genius team at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner have created a Peter Rabbit Tea, just for our younger friends. Served on Friday – Sundays 12pm-4pm, the under 12’s can delight in a selection of sandwiches: nutella, peanut butter and jelly and turkey and American cheese. This is followed by our personal favorite – chocolate dipped strawberries, brownie, teddy bear cookie and fruit tart, all served on Peter Rabbit plates.

The Food

This feast didn’t stop them dipping into the adult’s tea, not through any suggestion of hunger, just pure unadulterated gluttony! There’s something for every age at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner tea service. Adults enjoy more sophisticated tastes of poached asparagus and sun-dried tomato confit, smoked salmon and herb cream cheese tea sandwiches.

The finest French patisserie couldn’t beat their cinnamon palmier and lemon berry tart, so delicate in flavor yet light enough to leave you wanting more. Sadly for me, the tiramisu mousse was too much for tiny fingers to resist! I am reliably informed that they tasted something like “heaven!”

The Sweet Life

The beautifully dressed table at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner tea room hinted at the treats to come. Small pots of lemon curd, cream and jelly were placed temptingly on display. The currant scones were sugar-coated and baked to perfection – fluffy on the inside with a slightly toasted exterior. With the indulgent whipped cream and jelly they were ‘melt in the mouth’ delicious. The kind of treat you don’t want to eat too quickly for fear that then it’s gone!

Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner Tea Service: The Verdict

As you’d expect at the Ritz Carlton, the service is so much more than a smile. Utter graciousness, in an ambiance of sophistication. This is a great opportunity to exercise those fine table manners we wax lyrical to our children about, and a wonderful moment to feast on all the treats we try to resist the rest of the year. This tea comes highly recommended!
Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner tea service: $36 per Person (for our guests under age 12) / $46 per adult. Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd, McLean, Virginia. Website. 

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The Scene

The diners at We, the Pizza are greeted with a colorful, mouthwatering display of pizzas upon arrival. Ready prepared and sliced there is an array ready for consumption, from honey ham, to spinach and artichoke and Cajun chicken – something for every taste. We, the Pizza advertises their suppliers, by listing them on their menu. It is made clear that the food source is important to the team. Opting for local and free range, you can tell that you are consuming quality ingredients.

The Food

We chose a selection of sliced pies and roasted garlic knots. The forest shroomin’ pie, spinach and artichoke and pepperoni were our first choices. Served by the slice, you can mix and match or devour a whole pie yourself, if your appetite allows. Although I love mushrooms, I don’t normally opt for a mushroom pizza but this one was a hit. Deliciously creamy, yet served on a crispy base, this was a taste sensation.

The cast iron pie is thicker than the others and we chose “For the Greeks in the US’ a pie containing feta, mozzarella, tomato, red onion, fresh oregano and Spike’s Keffalonian olive oil with Kalamata olives. Although filling, it felt light, the freshness of the ingredients apparent.

The secret is apparently all in the dough. Made fresh and cold proofed in house for 24 hours this improves the elasticity making the base crispier and improving the texture and taste. My daughter appreciated this. “The topping stays on top” she commented. “Not like the pizzas we get at school.”

The garlic knots were a winner too. Knotted dough balls dusted in parmesan and served with a marinara sauce were soft, melting in the mouth.

The Drinks

To accompany the food, We, the Pizza owner Spike Mendelsohn and his team have created a selection of their own craft sodas which they comically call their professional Fizzietans! The soda jerks are made with spring soda and a flash of fresh crushed fruit and homemade syrups. We chose orange, lemon and lime and cream soda and although they were still a little too sugary for us, you can ask your server to go light on the syrup. The idea of an alternative to regular fizzy drinks, particularly when dining with kids, is very welcome.

We, the Pizza: The Verdict

With 80’s music playing in the background, who wouldn’t want to sing along to Queen’s “Under Pressure” while feasting on these delicious fresh pies? A bonus is always watching the pizza chef shape his dough, whirling it over his head. A spectacle for the eyes and a feast for your belly, I would go out of my way to dine at We, the Pizza again.

We, the Pizza, Crystal City Shops, 2100 Crystal Dr, Arlington, VA 22202, Website 

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