Review: Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab

Update, October 2026: the Burj Al Arab is closed until late 2027

The hotel closed in April 2026 for an 18-month restoration (The National), with the reopening expected in late 2027 (Time Out), and its restaurants and the “Inside Burj Al Arab” tour are paused too (La Revue des Hôtels). There’s no afternoon tea to book for now; the menu and prices below are from our 2016 visit. If you’d rather sleep there than just have tea once it reopens, I wrote up how to stay at the Burj Al Arab on points.

This post won’t be so much a review as it is just a bunch of pictures. I imagine only a small handful of you read my blog when I posted my original review of Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab over four years ago. Well, this time was MUCH different, and thankfully much better.

Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab – How to Get There

Sadly for us, we had an Uber problem and ended up getting to the Burj Al Arab late. Our reservation was for 4pm, and we got to the front gate at 4:03pm – not good. They let us in and we spent no time taking picture sin the lobby as we normally might, instead heading straight up the escalator and to the elevator up to our appointment. We were seated quickly, but got one of the “inner” seats as all the window seats were taken. Otherwise, the room was pretty much exactly the same as in my last review.

Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab – Menu

It wasn’t so much of a menu as it was a preview of what was coming. My pictures of the menu didn’t turn out that great so I typed the detailed menu below:

• Dates
• Sparkling Juice
• White Chocolate “Petit Pot”
• Mediterranean Tartlet Stuffed with Ratatouille, Olives, & Feta Cheese
• Finger Sandwiches
• Lychee & Rose Sorbet
• Homemade Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream and Homemade Jams
• Collection of Mini Patisseries

Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab – The Food

I feel like half the fun of coming for this far-too-expensive tea appointment is getting to look out at the view, something we didn’t get to enjoy this time since we got there late. The only silver lining was that the smog was enough that the view was limited anyway, so it wasn’t a huge loss.

The snacks came out one by one according to the menu. I don’t recall being handed a menu last time I came (except a tea menu), so it was nice to know what was coming our way this time. Since I’m not a tea drinker or alcohol drinker, I went with a good-old diet coke. Fancy, huh? They did have a date-fruit cider that I tried as well (it tasted like apple cider to me).

Most of the food was good. But, just like last time, the tower of snacks had some stuff that just didn’t cut it for me. Sophia, who is a tea drinker, also wasn’t so crazy about most of the snacks. They look appealing but just don’t taste that great, certainly not what you’d expect after paying hundreds of dollars.

I thought the best part of the meal was the first thing we had, the White Chocolate Petit Pot. It was pretty much a dessert, so looking back it was kind of funny that it came at the start.

They were aware that we were on our honeymoon (it was an option to make that known when booking), so they brought Sophia a rose, which was appreciated.

Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab – Hotel Lobby

Half the fun of having Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab is the fact that you actually get access to the hotel, something that is reserved only for hotel guests or people with restaurant/tea reservations. The iconic dancing fountains at the entrance, the many colors while looking up, and even the mosaic and chandeliers make for some good social media picture posting.

We took a stroll to the hotel next door to get some nice views of the Burj Al Arab as well.

Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab – Summary

The bottom line for me is that this is far too expensive for what it is. You have to look at it as an experience rather than a meal or a snack; you’re paying for the access to the hotel, the pictures you can take, and the story that you can tell. If you’re not into paying for something like that, then absolutely skip this.

I paid for it several years ago and thought I’d never do it again. Then I got married and since Dubai was a stop and Sophia expressed some interest, I thought it was worth it to splurge on the honeymoon. To be quite frank, despite the great pictures…I hope to never waste money on this experience again in my life!

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