Afternoon Tea at Ballantyne - Charlotte

The Easter buffet was great. Mother's day wasn't so great. Definitely scaled by Easter; most “hot” food was not hot. Beef roast was hard, and the turkey had no taste. Please go back to shrimps on ice instead of a shrimp in a “**** Mary” mixture with bacon. Service? What service? Called FOREVER to get the check, and it was wrong. Does not have the deposit I had to make to secure the reservation. I had to raise my AMX account to prove that I paid the deposit. I wouldn't return to Mother's Day there. Sure not worth $270 for two people!

Overall I wouldn’t recommend the Christmas brunch. They make the room really nice but it’s way overpriced for the options. They have both breakfast options and lunch, I had lunch. The prime rib was ok. Little overcooked and not seasoned enough. Sides I tried we’re average buffet food. No drinks are included, for $85/pp you can include a mimosa or something!!! We got their holiday drinks which were really good. The desserts options were great. We tried several, most again were average buffet tasting though presentation was awesome. The French macaroons were great, probably the best thing I had. But for what you get definitely doesn’t meet the shy of $300 bill.

Overpriced for what is offered. We must have been last seating because we got about 10 minutes of music then they turned it off so we ate in silence. They started cleaning up around us. 85$ for a meal that we felt we were being rushed out of. Food choices were slim, but what was there was good.

The large buffet from previous years was gone. That was a lavish display and value. This time there were 3 or 4 small buffets with the same quality as last time, but not anywhere near the variety or quantity. One big disappointment, no bananas foster station. The first cup of coffee I had was luke-warm and bitter. The next one was hot and bitter.

The food was wonderful but our meal was $367 for 3 people. Granted it was Christmas Day but a $66 tip for average service was too much and it was included in the bill. There was a place left for a tip so others might not have noticed it was included.. While the food was very good, it was a LOT more than we anticipated when $85 per person was the advertised price.