The Dome is a great place for a meal with a great atmosphere. The building is lovely with high ceilings and intricate stained-glass. Unfortunately, the focus at this establishment is not on the actual tea and more towards the fancy dining experience. The tea room itself is quite grand with high ceilings, fancy carpeting, exquisite drapes and a lovely view of downtown Edinburgh through the window. When I asked to smell a sample of the teas on the menu for the afternoon the server told me politely that they didn’t offer that. I really wanted a green tea but I was informed that it was served with boiling water but that I would be able to have a flask of cold water if I wanted an infusion at a lower temperature. The tea was served in very very hot metal kettles which were exceedingly difficult to pour, even with the paper towels offered to wrap around the handle. I was disheartened to see that my leaves were already in the kettle with the boiling water and had a flask of ice water delivered to me a little while later. Needless to say, the tea was very bitter. The metal kettles also didn’t provide a way to stop the infusion so I was made to drink a green tea throughout my meal that had been infusing the entire time. However, this did necessitate me trying this tea with milk and a bit of sugar, which was a unique experience but I much rather have a tea with no additives. Adding sugar give my tea an unpleasant aftertaste, I find. The food offered was pretty standard afternoon tea fare with nothing too fancy. Sandwich types included egg, salmon, beef, and sliced ham- nothing that I wouldn’t be able to easily put together at home myself. The server was not able to tell me what all the desserts were because one was “too difficult to pronounce”. I found that the scones were too cakey for my liking. Overall, I am disappointed that I paid a premium afternoon tea price (18 pounds per person) for a very standard afternoon tea experience and ruined tea. The atmosphere makes “The Dome” worth checking out but I would not recommend staying for the full afternoon tea.

The Dome is a great place for a meal with a great atmosphere. The building is lovely with high ceilings and intricate stained-glass. Unfortunately, the focus at this establishment is not on the actual tea and more towards the fancy dining experience. The tea room itself is quite grand with high ceilings, fancy carpeting, exquisite drapes and a lovely view of downtown Edinburgh through the window. When I asked to smell a sample of the teas on the menu for the afternoon the server told me politely that they didn’t offer that. I really wanted a green tea but I was informed that it was served with boiling water but that I would be able to have a flask of cold water if I wanted an infusion at a lower temperature. The tea was served in very very hot metal kettles which were exceedingly difficult to pour, even with the paper towels offered to wrap around the handle. I was disheartened to see that my leaves were already in the kettle with the boiling water and had a flask of ice water delivered to me a little while later. Needless to say, the tea was very bitter. The metal kettles also didn’t provide a way to stop the infusion so I was made to drink a green tea throughout my meal that had been infusing the entire time. However, this did necessitate me trying this tea with milk and a bit of sugar, which was a unique experience but I much rather have a tea with no additives. Adding sugar give my tea an unpleasant aftertaste, I find. The food offered was pretty standard afternoon tea fare with nothing too fancy. Sandwich types included egg, salmon, beef, and sliced ham- nothing that I wouldn’t be able to easily put together at home myself. The server was not able to tell me what all the desserts were because one was “too difficult to pronounce”. I found that the scones were too cakey for my liking. Overall, I am disappointed that I paid a premium afternoon tea price (18 pounds per person) for a very standard afternoon tea experience and ruined tea. The atmosphere makes “The Dome” worth checking out but I would not recommend staying for the full afternoon tea.