Our 40th Spot:

Claremont Hotel

41 Tunnel Road Berkeley, CA 94705

claremontresortandclub.com

Have you ever been driving around the East Bay and notice this big beautiful white building in the hills?! Being from Richmond, we would see it all the time. I would hear about it all the time too. My bio mom worked for this really generous boss and she would get sent on weekend retreats there for spa treatments. She would come back telling us all about the food and the glamour of being there. So, I always viewed it as this ‘untouchable’ place that I would never have any business stepping foot in.

Well, that place is the Claremont. And, I had business to tend to in there!

Check out this view, too!

Yes, this was a new Spot I squished in on the Tour again! Tho the Claremont has been serving afternoon tea for decades, this is the first since the Pandemic that they’ve opened their doors for their seasonal offering. I booked the soonest day we had available. Because we were so starstruck just being INSIDE, we wanted to make sure we looked like we knew what we were doing and were important enough to have a reason to be there!! LOL. We passed by an area we thought Tea would be at, but there was a sign on an easel in the front that said “PRIVATE EVENT”. Yeah, that’s not us! So we kept on walking…

Still walking…and nothing. I approached the Concierge to ask where Afternoon Tea was being held, and she directed us to where that sign was. I reiterated- where it says Private Event?? She responds, “You are the Private Event!” (about to cry emoji) THE SWEETEST!!

Just look-

So luxurious right?! Are you excited?? I’m excited to tell you!

Organic Bella Coola Punch (A warming sip for cold winter nights with notes of creamy orange & pineapple) – Very tart, with a slight cream undertone…a punch for sure!

Ontario Icewine (Smooth and silky with light Riesling and berry notes) – I’ve had an icewine before that I really liked. But what caught my attention was the Riesling part! I used to love me some Riesling. My favorites were Pacific Rim and Chateau Ste Michelle… Anyway, I chose good!

There were too many good shots of this tier, I couldn’t choose just one! So enjoy all three!

Our server beautifully explained each carefully prepared piece. Everything was made in-house. From the bread, to that amazing honey. From the looks alone, you could tell attention to detail was important to them. The bottom tier of sweets had desserts themed from all over the world! I loved that part.

Sweet Potato Cheddar Biscuit (Apple Spiced Butter, Claremont Gold Honey) – I’m not really a fan of cheddar, but I had an open mind when trying this one. I put it all together with its designated fixings. Man oh man!! That thing was incredible! The combination was so complex, I didn’t even know how to describe it!? It became my favorite, fast. And I think it was all because of that honey!!

Cranberry Orange Scone (Blood Orange Preserve, Devonshire Cream) – Ugh, the crispiest edges! Again with the complex. The texture was on point sure, but the flavors were so so good together.

Truffled Egg Salad (Chive, Pain au Lait) – Speechless. I’m learning I really like egg and truffle together!

Honeynut Squash Tartine (Whipped Burrata, Toasted Hazelnuts, Smoked Honey) – There was quite a bite to the squash that was unexpected…thought it was gonna be more mushy, but I welcomed it! The herby flavor gave it much depth.

Smoked Mary’s Chicken Salad (Blistered Grapes, Compressed Celery, Croissant) – That meat was so tender!! Love the grapes, and lots of celery yay! It’s kinda like the chicken salad I make for the kids at home, but a much elevated version of course haha. Just saying that I loved the simplicity of it…especially because it’s like the version I like! Didn’t realize til I was typing it out now, that that was croissant bread!? Um, yum! When I got to the crust part of it, I was so happy about the bread! It’s a good bread.

Lobster Roll (Fermented Chili, Shaved Fennel, Brioche) – Loooved the crunch of that fennel so much! There was a little tiny aftertaste of spice from the lobster, that was nice. It was a little too much bread for me. I would’ve liked more lobster filling for a better ratio.

Shaved Prime Rib (Horseradish Aioli, Mizuna, Chive Parker House Roll) – With all that green poking out, I already knew I was gonna like this one. Didn’t know it was mizuna, but it so closely resembled arugula and the arugula-lover that I am appreciated that so much! The rib was so thinly sliced, rare, and buttery. Made for an easy bite, score points.

There was so much to try in this tea service, and everything was so hearty! It was a nice + welcome change from some services that have the tiniest mouthfuls of things. I took another bite or two of my sandwiches before I moved on to the sweets.

Citrus Cheesecake – Subtle cheese flavor, nice crust, the rind was fun to chew.

Matcha Cake – Very moist cake. That jello center was an interesting surprise. The matcha flavor was really mild.

Chocolate Hazelnut Financier – Sooo chewy! For the bottom and corners of this, think of brownie texture. I loved that part of this sweet so much. And it wasn’t rich at all.

Vanilla Panna Cotta – Since panna cotta is my all-time favorite kind of dessert, I always get excited when I see it on a menu. I wish I would’ve gotten to this sooner, cuz it was melty by the time I had it. Still good flavor, and the raspberry made it better.

Macarons – Our server didn’t know what flavors these were… My best guess would be pistachio and birthday cake. Either way, they were very good! I said I coulda had the whole bottom tier just be these macarons and woulda been fine with that!

The service here was very noteworthy. Everyone treated us with so much kindness. Our server had been in the hospitality industry for some time and you could tell. He was informative about the building and history of the hotel and had a nice conversation with us at the end of our meal. That alone will change my whole tone of my review. If you serve me a step above mediocre food BUT THEN show me some genuine personal interest on top of that, you just raised my experience.

I’m so glad we got to have tea here. Being able to say I went inside the Claremont was worth it alone! The amount of food they present is definitely the value for what you’re paying. As high class of an establishment, no one makes you feel like you don’t belong there. At the end of our party, we were met with the most STUNNING Bay Area sunset. I kinda went crazy with my shots between the DSLR and iPhone! Here’s just a couple… Enjoy!

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