We are aficionados of the high tea, and run straight to the Goring hotel or Fortnum & Mason for its touristy and ridiculous but nevertheless delightful Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon whenever we’re in London (which, granted, isn’t all that often). If a crossing on the Queen Mary II isn’t on your calendar this winter, either, you will be pleased to know you can have a Ritz-in-Mayfair-y experience right on East Hampton’s Main Street, at the Baker House 1650, which offers afternoon tea dates — upcoming on Sunday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Jan. 4 — with all the small sandwiches and sweet treats to make your heart sing.
Afternoon tea with a glass of the house champagne from Casa Ferrari (!) is $85 per person, or you can up the decadent ante with a “reserve” tea that includes sturgeon caviar for $135. You can choose Jasmine Phoenix Pearls, Formosa Ti Oolong, or Earl Grey Royal Darjeeling — or another specialty tea from Plain-T, the tea importer of Southampton, like Silver Needles or Finest Sencha. Hint, hint: If anyone wants to take us out to the Baker House for scones and clotted cream, well, to quote the late Diane Keaton, lah-dee-dah, lah-dee dah. By which we mean, yes, please, and pass the cucumber sandwiches.