Review: At.Mosphere Dubai High Tea (world’s highest afternoon tea)

Being a Londoner now, I’ve grown to love a little afternoon tea. I usually don’t try it in any other country but since At.mosphere at Burj Khalifa holds the record of the world’s highest afternoon tea, I had it on my foodie bucket list to do a At.Mosphere Dubai High Tea Review! Before going, we knew the view wasn’t going to disappoint but the question was, is the high tea (literally) worth the high price?

Its easiest to get to At.Mosphere via the Armani Hotel though their lobby. Stepping into the lift itself is quite a thrilling experience as it goes up so fast with no transparency and suddenly you’re in another world. We arrived at the 123rd floor of Burj Khalifa and the view was as stunning as I had remembered from my stay the year prior . Before entering the lounge there are lots of photo opportunities!

The lounge is beautifully laid out on the 122nd floor with a 180 degree, floor to ceiling, view of Dubai. At.mosphere’s interior is very elegant and cosy, nothing less than what you’d expect from the highest located restaurant in the world. We went for the most “basic tea” with a window view which cost 380 AED (£80). If you’re already paying a high price like that, I think you may as well get a window table for around £10 more for the full experience. Without a window seat the price is 320 AED (£71).

As we visited during ramadan the restaurant was very empty. The afternoon tea started at 4PM and the last seating was at 6.30. We took the last seating because we wanted to see the sunset and water show from above.

The afternoon tea started off great. We started with their home made ice tea with sour apple bits which was so refreshing and perfect for that heat. As an appetiser we were served a glass containing merengue, berries and cream.

Next up was the classic stand with mini sandwiches, beautiful pastries and scones. The presentation was absolutely spot on. However, this is the part where we were left disappointed. Although they weren’t anything out of the ordinary, there was nothing wrong with the pastries and the finger sandwiches were actually very nice.

Looking at the stand in the pictures below you’ll find that there were 6 pieces of savoury only i.e three each – a roast beef and rocket sandwich, a tuna sandwich and a chicken caesar sandwich. This means that the first appetiser was sweet, so were two out of the three plates, the second appetiser, the scones as well as the chocolate treat when paying the bill. There were just too many sweets/desserts for my liking and this comes from a person who loves desserts! The range of teas was extensive with lots of nice options. I went with my personal favourite, jasmine tea, which tasted great. You’re also allowed a choice of a non alcoholic cocktail in addition to your tea. I chose the coffee cocktail as per the waiter’s recommendation which again was sweet.

Normally in London, the mini sandwhiches are refillable to balance out the stand. Considering that they’re charging £80 / 380 AED for afternoon tea, its quite unacceptable that they strictly won’t refill the only 3 pieces of mini sandwiches. The manager was accomodating enough to provide extra sandwiches on this one occasion but I still stand by my opinion. Normally they only make enough mini sandwiches to cater to the number of bookings for the day.

  At.Mosphere Dubai High Tea Review summary
In terms of flavours of the afternoon tea, everything was alright! Especially the appetiser and finger sandwiches. You obviously pay for the view and ambience but I personally don’t think its worth the high price as there’s no refill on the sandwiches and the pastries were nothing extraordinary. The prices start at 320 AED (£71). From what I’ve read, the luxury tea which includes a main course and a bottle of Brut is more worth the experience. The luxury tea costs AED 620 (£139), if you’re truly happy to pay that much that is. See reviews here and here. Alternatively without the Brut you’re looking at 420 AED (£94) or 490 AED for a window seat (£110).

Useful Lounge info
Dress code at At.mosphere – a smart/casual dress code applies at the lounge. Dress items not allowed in the venue include trainers, caps, t-shirts, sport clothing, shorts and sandals.
Prices & minimum spend at At.mosphere – AED 490 per person for a window lunch table, AED 320 per person for a window dinner table and AED 250 per person for a non-window dinner table.

At.mosphere at Burj Khalifa
122nd Floor, Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai
Phone: +971 4 888 3828

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