Review of the Tea Room at the Hotel St. Francis in Sante Fe, New Mexico

The lobby of the Hotel St. Francis is like an exclusive big city club: high ceilings, shaded lamps, comfortable armchairs upholstered in rich fabric. But you don't have to come from old money to sit there. Less than twenty bucks will buy you afternoon tea with scones and little sandwiches, more or less the same mini-meal served in England's stately homes and posh hotels.

When a pal and I arrived, the place was filled with well-dressed locals and tourists in shorts. There are two menus - both with your choice from among 20 green, black, and herbal teas (or coffee or espresso, if you prefer). St. Francis afternoon tea arrives on a three tiered stand: a scone with Devonshire cream and jam on one plate, finger sandwiches plus a demitasse of soup on another, a trio of miniature desserts on the third. The abbreviated version, Santa Fe afternoon tea, includes your pick of either the scone or the desserts. Or you can order a la cane.

My friend, who had tea plus the scone, was sorry he hadn't chosen dessert instead; 59 for a scone and a pot of tea struck him as high. He found his small scone bland; I found mine OK, though a little dry. Both he and I thought the Devonshire cream was regular butter, but I'm not prepared to argue.

Since he had to watch while I went through all three tiers, I gave him my finger sandwiches - diced cucumber on wheat bread. Unfortunately for him, they had been out too long and had dried out. There was also a puff-pastry shell filled with lettuce and cut-up crisp string beans, messy but good. The soup that day was really a small casserole of red peppers that I thought also might have been out too long, under a heat lamp or on a steam table. Dessert was a winner: a wonderful creme brulee, a very good white cocoa cake, and a not-too-sweet plain cake, just right for afternoon lea.

On another visit, my scone was moist and studded with bright-tasting cranberries. The Devonshire cream was really cream, whipped with sweet mascarpone. The soup was really soup - a cream of cauliflower - but it raised questions in my mind about why you'd want to drink soup and tea at the same time. Unfortunately, the finger sandwiches, this time crab-and-chicken salad, were on too-thick, still-dry bread. Dessert stayed a winner, especially the smooth chocolate mousse and an almondy coffee cake.

Both times, service was exceptionally caring and attentive, though the kitchen was not - or those sandwiches wouldn't have dried out. The Hotel St. Francis is located at 210 Don Caspar Avenue; 983-5700