To be honest I’m not much of a food reviewer (boba is a different story!!!) but then again the dining experience is so much more than food tasting. The ambience, service, who you’re with, the presentation of the food, they all factor into the way we enjoy our meal. I’ve always been known to like restaurants for their ambience over their food when it comes to special occasions, and I assumed it was because of some shallow inclination towards pretty looking things, but it turns out that indirect sensory experience plays a role into the quality and taste of the food as well!
I have a tendency to ramble, BUT this will all connect in some way eventually!!
When I heard about this cafe that opened up inside the New York Tiffany’s, I immediately threw it onto my bucket list.
Of course the whole concept behind it is that you can now literally have Breakfast at Tiffany’s; otherwise I wonder if it had just been a random cafe inside a jewelry store there would have been such a hype around it that causes every month-long reservation to fill up in seconds.
Bringing me to my next point, if you want to dine here, you MUST book in advance. Reservations are only made online through Resy, and the spots only become available thirty days in advance. You have to be careful though, because thirty days does not necessarily equate to exactly one month — for instance, I had to book for January 16 either on December 14 or 15. Spots become available 9am thirty days prior Eastern Time, which means for West Coast people you have to be up at 6 in the morning that day to make the reservation.
And yes, you have to make it exactly when the times become available because the spots close almost immediately. In order to reserve my spot at 6am (California time) on the dot, I made sure I had a Resy account created with my credit card info copied onto my clipboard. I was so excited to receive my confirmation! and to go back to sleep.
I wouldn’t lose hope though. It seems that people cancel somewhat frequently since some of these reservations could also have been made on impulse due to time pressure. In that case, you can put your name onto the waiting list which would notify you if a spot becomes available. There was another mom and daughter pair sitting next to us at the cafe celebrating the girl’s birthday, and that’s how they got their spot!
The place itself is pretty small, which would account for the limited reservation times and demand. The interior follows the Tiffany Blue color scheme and is laid out into a cozy little square room, hence, the Blue Box. So cute, simple, and classy! 
Upon entering, the host (during the cold months) will check in your coat. Because the restaurant is completely reservation based, service was warm and friendly. As a result the atmosphere was pleasant for such a touristy spot.
Since we had arrived early, I was able to request the table in front of the window that faces out onto Fifth Avenue and Central Park. I don’t know why but I love views of the city streets and urban life!
For drinks we ordered the standard coffee and tea, and entrees included the “tea time” set, which is assembled into a traditional afternoon tea three tier plate of sweet pastries, finger sandwhiches, and scones, as well as a plate of avocado toast + fruit bowl. The tea that we ordered was the Tiffany Blend, which was a black tea with notes of lychee, rose buds, lavander, and vanilla (doesn’t that sound lovely??). The floral notes might scare some people, but flavor-wise I found the tea to be pretty mild and pleasant, and I loved it! On the other hand, the tea pastries were not particularly exceptional in my opinion– it was good but not anything to rave about or to exclusively come back for. The layout was cute, but not necessarily unique –you can have the afternoon tea experience in any other tea parlor. I really liked the avocado toast though– the toast was cut up in little square pieces, which made sharing easy! Then again I live in the city where there is probably at least one place within a mile radius that serves Avocado toast– when did this become such a big trend?
Overall, considering the difficulty reserving the spot and the fact that you’re surrounded by endless choices of cute brunch places in New York, I’d say The Blue Box is a one time visit for me. I’m really happy I got to experience it though! The Fifth Ave Tiffany & Co is a special place in itself. Walking through the gorgeous boutique after brunch wrapped up the experience nicely. I don’t think that there is a official dress policy, but given the upscale ambience that the store aims to provide, I would suggest putting some effort into dressing nicely for the occasion.
I ended up walking out with a new Tiffany tea set!