Our 38th Spot:

Crown & Crumpet

22 Ross Common Ross, CA 94957

crownandcrumpet.com

If this tea room’s name looks familiar, it’s cuz we’ve visited them before…but in the City! Crown & Crumpet has been around for a long time!! Their first location was in Ghirardelli, that’s when my love affair with them started. Who remembers the story about the facebook pictures and my bedridden pregnancy!? Ahh, huh, ah-ha! So, our very first Spot on the Tour in 2014 was their next location (btw the Ghirardelli one closed) in Japantown. That’s when I met their cheeky owner, love her. Read about that visit here. When I opened the Tour again and started our 3rd Leg, she invited us to visit their Ross location. Of course we would!

Now it’s got its own Spot Number and Review, because they’re different! Just like Lovey’s is different from Lovejoy’s…

I didn’t get too much of the interior (1) cuz there were people eating in there, and (2) cuz I was already busy talking with the owner when we got there! But here’s a pic or two…

We had a bit of a drive to get there…a little over an hour. And it was such a rainy day. But we were still thrilled to have this adventure scheduled! In April of this year, I was so honored to be invited to a friend’s first time to C&C’s place in San Francisco. She had always wanted to go, and I had the privilege of attending with her. Since C&C was her JAM, I invited her to this tea party too! We took another cutie friend, and the 2 coolest gramma’s you will ever meet!! (too young to be my gramma’s, but happy to have them as friends!) I felt so flattered that they agreed to spend the afternoon with me. Just the ride over was already fantastic! Nothing like passing San Quentin and being in Pac’s hometown of Marin hehe. So. Many. Inside jokes… Such a cute little town, Ross is. We woulda loved to spend more time perusing the boutique shops around their main street feel!

When she walked us to the back to our table and it was OUTSIDE- (the ‘I can’t handle this’ emoji) let’s all say it together: “I love eating outside!!!” Since I don’t look at social media or websites too much before visits, I either didn’t know or had forgotten that they had an outdoor option. Even their tents were so cute with window details! They helped us feel so comfy back there. We had cozy blankets, heaters on (that later we even turned off), and even (guys) purse holders were offered! This elevated the experience for me already.

After we got settled in, we all took turns selecting our teas. Here’s what we ordered at our table: Alice Drink Me Tea (raspberry, white peach, strawberry black), Pretty in Pink (strawberry vanilla herbal), Earl Grey (bergamot black), Swamp Water (tropical rooibos), and my pick Lychee Congou (special reserve black). Everyone absolutely loved their choices! Especially my friend who ordered their Alice blend, she even purchased some on our way out. My Lychee was soo good (yall know I love me a lychee tea), it was like lychee but also creamy!? Happy they were happy!!

We’re sitting there enjoying our teas and the rain really starts pouring. Ugh, it was BEAUTUFUL. Hearing the pitter-patter of each of those chunky raindrops hit the canopy we were under… While sipping our hot drinks… I could’ve stayed under there forever. I JUST LOVED IT!!

I’m always saying this but I never do it… I need to record them when they’re explaining what’s on the tiers, especially when each item isn’t listed in detail on their menus! I legit got quiet when they were sharing with the table next to us, and told all my friends to ear hustle so we could get the deats again! Haha! I have some official names aand some I made up…hehe.

I always go for my Crumpet first. And they bring it out warm, so come on! Theirs is perfect, lemme just say that right here. It might not look like much in the picture…but I can assure you, each of those crannies are filled with buttery goodness. The edges are crispy, the middle is chewy. And their fixings aren’t pictured here, but they lovingly gave us EACH our own to use and (ugh I wanna cry) their clotted cream and house-made lemon curd + jam = gold standard, period.

Cucumber Sandwich – Okay so, their cucumber is a bit soggy. Yes, I admit. However. I love me some chewy soggy bread thooo!! This one almost melts in your mouth AND they put something a little different in theirs!? Like, I kinda tasted dill…but…it could be something different, I don’t know. It’s one of those tastes that make you go hmm.

Egg Salad on Croissant – You can see it in there, I know you can. There’s a big chunck of GREEN ONION. Right there! There! (whiny emoji) If you’re a longtime reader of this blog (thanks for still being here, love ya for that), you’ll know I hate me some green onions. (green nauseated emoji) Can’t stand em, won’t eat em, can’t do em. When I’m watching a cooking show with the Huz and they add that scallion business on anything, I have to obnoxiously + verbally take my stand on my hatred. BUT. I don’t know if I was feeling brave or didn’t wanna bother with the removal project… (takes a deep breath) I just freely took my bites out that sandwich. And you know what. I loved it. There, I said it.

Coronation Chicken Sandwich (lightly curried chicken with apricots, almonds, green onions & mango chutney) – Their menu says “lightly” but that didn’t taste ‘lightly’ to me. That joint was FULL of curry flavor. I’ve had a number of curry chicken sandwiches on this Tour in the last almost 10 years, and my friends, that is one SLAMMIN chicken curry sandwich!! (three clapping emojis) I couldn’t get enough. I woulda eaten a whole loaf mmkay, of those things!

Sausage Savory – This may not look like much (I know I said that already about something else huh), but don’t let this tiny bite fool you. It packs a smoky punch boyy!

Brie Tart – That’s a sturdy pastry!! Made this savory so much more fun, that crumbly crunch. The brie and jelly were a match made for each other! So yum.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry – Always a happy-maker. I could eat these all day!

Cinnamon Cake – Dense bread, subtle spice.

Lavendar Rosemary Shortbread – Crispy cookie, light flavor, the sugar crystals gave exciting texture!

Apricot Bar – I wanted a whole 9 by 13 of this!! I savored every morsel. Not too sweet, great textures (with the crunchy bottom, gooey center + crumbly topping). Absolutely delicious!

Cranberry (I think) Scone – And last but not least! Just a really good standard scone. Fluffy, nice flavor. Couldn’t say anything bad about it if I tried!

Honestly, I breezed through my pictures + notes! Even forgot to post on Threads for my ‘Real Time Thoughts’ hahah. (I mean, I did post…but not as well as I could’ve) I was just thoroughly enjoying myself with my guests, I wanted to join in on all that laughter that was being had!! The owner of C&C (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts + social media) is just such a riot, she always hosts us to such a good time. And as I told her verbatim, “I could never say anything bad about this place.” They know what they’re doing with tea and they do an exceptional job with it all. We browsed around their shop next door, met their sweet Shop Girl! Used the bathroom one last time before our long drive home, and took photos with their Queen cut-out on the wall hehe. Can’t wait to come back here! If yall find yourselves out that way, please stop by and have some Tea at the Crown & Crumpet. You won’t be sorry you did!

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