This post may contain affiliate links. Read the disclosure.
In the hustle and bustle of Dubai – a city on steroids if ever there was – enjoying afternoon tea on the QE2 offers a moment of calm, an opportunity to reflect on a time when ocean-going liners had a simple elegance far removed from the mega-ships of today.
Permanently docked in Dubai’s Port Rashid, the ship is fitted out as the Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel, managed by Accor, with 447 rooms and suites that have been carefully renovated with respect for the ship’s role in maritime history.
This historic gem is the only floating hotel in the United Arab Emirates, located close to the city’s main attractions yet a world away in its quiet ambience.
Arriving for afternoon tea, we are escorted from the hotel’s reception, purpose-built on the dock but fitted out with mementoes from the ship’s storied past, including lounge chairs and some of the 6,000 books from the QE2 library.
The gangway to the ship has us entering past one of the two revolving lifts that allowed wealthy passengers to bring their prestige cars on board. A vintage Rolls Royce completes the picture. Around 60 cars could be accommodated on board.
Taking the elevator to deck five, we step out in front of an enormous portrait of the Queen Mother and are pointed in the direction of the Queen’s Grill, once the first-class dining room where passengers glammed up in tuxedos and ballgowns.
Today, the restaurant serves afternoon tea every Friday and Saturday. For history buffs, lovers of afternoon tea, or indeed anyone who simply wants a quiet interlude, it’s one of the nicest ways to spend an afternoon in Dubai.
One of the things we appreciated most was that the restaurant is fitted out with its original furnishings, right down to all the crockery with the QE2 insignia. It’s like a time capsule from the ‘60s, when the ship set the standard for luxury afloat.
There are two different menus to choose from: the Cunard menu (AED 175) and the Britannia menu (225 AED), both with the same sandwiches, desserts and scones, the only difference being that the Britannia menu has the addition of hot pastries (dainty beef wellington, halibut roulade with romesco sauce, and King Charles Coronation quiche – which we tucked into before realizing its significance).
The sandwiches and cold pastries are innovative yet with a nod to the past: Cucumber with balsamic pearls on malt bread; Lobster carpaccio with orange gel on tomato bread; Truffle-scented egg and chive vol-au-vent; and Wild berry salmon gravlax on a brioche roll.
But it’s the sweet treats that truly hit the spot: dainty morsels of Mango and passionfruit mousse cake; Treacle tart with clotted cream; Coffee and hazelnut brownie; a single exquisite Rose and lychee macaron; and an artfully presented Pear and cassis panna cotta swan.
And let’s not forget the scones: one cranberry, one plain, served with jams and clotted cream. The cranberry scone is warm, delicious and nicely crumbly, but the plain scone was left on the plate, for no reason other than we were bursting at the seams.
The afternoon tea comes with Newby teas, a relatively limited selection but covering most popular tastes: English Breakfast, Chamomile, Earl Grey, Green Sencha and Peppermint. With its subtle taste of bergamot, the classic Earl Grey is my cup of choice, and it seems even more satisfying served in fine china that has long graced the QE2 tables.
For an additional cost, mocktails and cocktails are available, the signature mocktail being Sunset on the QE2, a Middle Eastern-inspired mix of pineapple juice, passionfruit, date syrup, cardamom, mint, rosewater and grenadine. The cocktails include a selection of gin-based drinks named for significant years in maritime history.
We highly recommend booking in for one of the ship’s heritage tours, which take visitors to the bridge, once the height of maritime sophistication but now a curiosity compared with the behemoths of today. From the top deck, there is a good view over Dubai Harbour, where some very swanky yachts are moored. The tour also includes a small museum, Travellers Cove, located in what was once the on-board jewellery shop.
In 2024, Princess Anne opened a gallery telling the story of a bomb threat that targeted the ship in 1972. It ultimately turned out to be a hoax but the dramatic operation around it – which saw British bomb disposal experts parachuting onto the ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – is relayed in news clippings in the gallery, also included in the tour.
You don’t get to see the ship’s staterooms – these are reserved for current hotel guests, with just one room maintained in original condition for public viewing. Nor does the heritage tour include the hotel’s dining outlets: Lido, an all-day dining restaurant; The Golden Lion pub; The Pavilion alfresco lounge; or the Queens Grill.
Yet the ship’s past is everywhere you turn – in pictures and memorabilia, in the corridors and on the decks — allowing moments of reflection for those who have had a connection, offering fascinating insights for those who don’t. And if you really want to feel like a queen for an afternoon, taking tea in Queen’s Grill is just the ticket.
If you go:
What? Afternoon tea in Queens Grill
Where? Queen Elizabeth 2
Mina Rashid, Bur Dubai
United Arab Emirates
When? Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm to 6.30pm
Contact: Tel: +971 4 526 8888
www.qe2.com
The Cunard Afternoon Tea is AED 175 per person, and the Britannia Afternoon Tea AED 225 per person.
With thanks to the QE2 for hosting us for afternoon tea and the heritage tour. It was a pleasure to experience this very special ship.
