Hotel de L'Europe

Lush interior and a classic Amsterdam view. 

An alternative étagère.

Finger sandwiches with gouda/tomato, smoked salmon/cucumber, and smoked ham/arugula.

Miniature pastries.

Warm scones, fig and abricot preserves, and whipped butter.

Seven Sons Congratulating.

Hotel de L'Europe
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-14
1012 CP Amsterdam

Notes:
Before my departure back to Copenhagen, JC and I managed to squeeze in an opulent afternoon tea in the newly renovated Hotel de L'Europe, placed right in central Amsterdam. We went for the basic option, priced at 32 euros, including a choice of tea from American Harney & Sons. I went with an herbal lavender infusion, while JC opted for the more beautifully presented Seven Sons Congratulating, where a red jasmin flowers unfolds once the hot water is poured over. Both lovely choices. Soon we were presented an alternative étagère in form a cage, presenting three layers of delicacies. We started out with classic finger sandwiches. The smoked salmon was very rich and obviously of very high quality but the other choices of smoked ham and gouda/tomato failed to impress - in fact we left the majority behind (probably because we already knew what was ahead of us). Next up (and not on the étagère) we had warm scones of the plain and raisin variety. They were served along with little jars of abricot and fig preserves as well as whipped butter. Honestly, the texture was too crumbly for me, and they were hard to cut and eat without falling apart, which also made us leave a large portion of these behind. The taste was fine though. On a brighter note, the little patisseries on the second layer were a much better experience with the fruit tartlets as the clear standouts. On the top floor we found a marzipan fruit cake of which we had a slice - we were getting rather stuffed at this point. All in all, we did not have an overwhelming experience at Hotel de L'Europe. The place lives up to its presumed image of delivering classic high tea fare in opulent surrounding, but in total I missed something that stood out, while I am sorry to say that the service in the lounge was not sufficiently trained. For this price I think there are much better ways to spend your hard-earned money in Amsterdam.