Dishin': Warming Up with Polar Bar's Tea Service

Welcome to winter. If the wild weather has got you down, a wonderful way to combat the cold is to warm up with tea service at Polar Bar in the Arctic Club Hotel.

While tea service is steep at $39 per person, it’s a great way to wile away a lunchtime or early afternoon. We like the nice selection of teas, particularly the flowering balls: rainbow jasmine, yellow peach, seven jasmine fairies, white jasmine, and jasmine red.

The sweets, breads, and sandwiches that come (and keep coming until you say "stop") are adorable, like the earl grey and chocolate truffle cupcake, rabbit pate with pickled beets and spiced butter on a petite baguette, and grape and onion chutney with gorgonzola on rosemary focaccia. They’re not stellar, but they’re good, fun, and cute—and you can stuff yourself silly on them.

And tea service ain’t just for the girls. Guys, don’t be afraid to sip tea and eat the dainty goodies. Didn’t most of us play house as kids? This is a grown-up version, though you can also get kid sandwiches with the crust already removed. (We liked the peanut butter and pomegranate jelly better than the ham and cheese.)

Grab a newspaper, read a book, play cards, chat with a companion, or just sit back and relax on one of the comfortable couches. Stay long enough, and you might just slide into their happy hour service—another chance to kick back and relax.