Our 11th Spot:

Linde Lane Tea Room

140 N. Jackson  Dixon, CA 95620

http://www.lindelane.com

When I first put this one on the Tour, I wasn’t quite sure my girls wanted to travel an hour + a half for tea…  If no one was interested, I would’ve taken it off the list and just went with the next place.  Surprisingly, a lot of em were super stoked to go!?  With scheduling however, it ended up being an intimate group this time around.  There were only 4 of us today, but we all appreciated the sweet road trip.  I am soooo glad I kept this one on the Tour though.  Definitely a sight to see!!  Everything was so LUXURIOUS.

When making reservations, UNLESS THEY ASK if there is any occasion, I don’t say anything about the Tour.  I want authentic + organic exchanges, when arriving to new tea houses.  With that being said, I didn’t care for the man I made reservations with nor the man at the front today (I’m not certain if this is the same person).  He was very matter-of-fact, and didn’t offer any warm smile or pleasantries.  That was definitely a turn off regarding my first impression of this place.  And if I may be frank, I thought he was very SNOOTY (there, I said it).

With that being said, the lady that sat us and our server that took care of us during our visit were very nice.

The menu was easy.  Only 3 tea services to choose from (1 being for children), and about 50 types of tea.  What I did NOT like was that there were no descriptions of what the teas were.  My OCD was very bothered by that.  You were left to guess.  Our server did make herself available for questions and she knew right away what was in each tea…but, I didn’t feel like asking her to describe 50 individual tea flavors.  We each ordered the Royal Tea tea service, which came with a scone (with fixings), soup + salad, 4 tea savories (which were tea sandwiches), and assorted desserts.  At the bottom of the menu, it says that we get sorbet and shortbread.  SORBET?

Apparently, sorbet is a palate cleanser.  Buuut, we didn’t have anything to eat yet!?  Was it preparing my palate??  Anyhow, in my opinion this tiny scoop of frozen fruit juice was the BEST part of tea today!  I believe it was peach flavor, if I remember correctly.  But (my mouth is totally watering as I type this), it was just so nice and icy and refreshing!!  We weren’t quite sure HOW to eat it, so we just used the shortbread cookie to scoop it up.  I could’ve had a whole bowl of that and just call it a day.

Since I didn’t know what to expect from any of these teas, I just ordered what I knew.  I took a Black Currant today.  I absolutely am infatuated with black currant iced tea, but never have had the pleasure trying it hot.  I was very happy with my choice.  My Earl Grey girlfriend was with us today, so of course of the 4 pots at our table that was one of them.  As many times as we’ve had tea together, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted her earl grey!?  (Oh now you guys are going to look back at my previous posts and call me out huh?  I don’t think I have!?)  I made sure to try some today, as she raved about the strength of the bergamot in this one.  Smelled like that spa, and the flavors were very rich!  I liked it!  My other girlfriend tried their Sunset tea.  I’m glad she did, ’cause that one intrigued me.  It was an herbal tea with lemon grass, orange peel + marigold flower.  (I know because I asked and made notes, okay!?)  Hers didn’t smell good AT ALL.  But hey, sometimes they stink + taste good; other times they smell wonderful + taste foul!  It was nice though!  Light + creamy almost.  My SIL had the Mocha Rocha, very her.  It was red tea with coffee beans + dark chocolate.  Meh, it smelled like Robitussin (my friend said Nyquil)!!?!  But it didn’t taste that way, thank goodness!  I’m not sure what it tasted like, actually.  But, it wasn’t bad.  I wasn’t impressed with the teas.  Moving along…  (Oh and P.S., the tea kettle’s were labeled with what looked like DOG TAGS!!?!  Cute, a little bit, but not appealing at all.  You could’ve at least chosen the bowtie or heart shape-  not the HYDRANT one!?  Yuck.)

Because that mouthful of sorbet was so appetizing, I was expecting the rest of the food to be spectacular.  When the salad came, I wasn’t disappointed.  You may be thinking-  ‘how do you mess up a salad?’  But, some salads are so plain dull…  This one was really good though!?  It was put together well, and the croutons were so flavorful!  I’m still not convinced of having soup at tea.  It’s just-  I think the only thing I want to be sipping at a tea party is well TEA…champagne (of course!)…and okay, water.  That’s it!  I don’t like any savory sort of liquids in my tea service.  That’s just me.  But soup came with ours, so I had some.  SOME.  It wasn’t bad.  Potato Chowder with Ham today.  I had half my bowl…to be nice!  Hehe.

We always get excited when the tier comes!!  Don’t you?!  On today’s: there was Cucumber, Turkey + Swiss, Chicken Salad in a Wheat Basket, and Strawberry Harvest.  For the desserts: a Chocolate Brownie Cake, Mini Lemon Cupcake, and Orange Meringue.  Today’s scone was Vanilla.

I like to go with the Cucumber tea sandwich first, because it’s usually my least favorite.  Love me a cucumber, but the ones we are served at tea are frequently bland.  I was sooo wrong today, so wrong!  That Cucumber flower sandwich was the best of the 4!!  It came open-faced (in a flower shape), so I folded mine over and ate it like a taco!  It had some sort of horseradish or wasabi kick to it!  Very mild, but you could tell it was there.  And the bread was nice + fluffy, but gave you a chewy feel at the end.  The cream was a nice consistency, and there wasn’t too much of it.  Very good, I was very happy with it.  Wanted more.

I went for the Turkey + Swiss next.  Booorrriiinnnggg.  It wasn’t a big piece, but I was really dragging my feet having to finish that thing.  It was just so plain and (I like a lot of lettuce in my sandwiches…but this one was just so) dry!  NEXT!!  (Later, my SIL almost died laughing…and crying…when she noticed my sad leftover piece of turkey sandwich off to the side just on the tablecloth while I was photographing my other foods!!)

Chicken Salad in a Wheat Basket.  Okay.  Looks better than it tastes.  I don’t really even want to review it, that’s how I feel about it.  The salad was good, a bit more creamy than I prefer.  My gf kept mentioning how messy it was.  I think if it was thicker, it might’ve been better; but, it was so runny.  And the basket part of it was this overly toasted biscuit/cookie that just crumbled all over the place.  (I’m making the sour face now.)  Wasn’t a fan.

I had overheard one of the girls at the table saying how they thought the Strawberry Harvest one was the best of the sandwiches.  Tried it, nice, but couldn’t finish that one either.  It was a bit sweeter than what I like.  It had some sort of honey cream cheese with it.  But-  They put it on raisin bread!?  Why?  Definitely an intriguing tea sandwich.  Sounded like a good idea…  Lol.  That’s all I can say about that.

Had more of my tea, then moved on to desserts.  I was happy to see the Meringue.  I like meringue!  It had an orange swirl.  I usually like it plain, but the orange was nice (There’s that word again.  Can you tell I’m not really motivated to rate this place?).  Meringue is always fun to eat though!  I made sure my girlfriends all tried theirs.  “She’s asking us to try the meringue!!”  Hehe.  Just tried a bite of the chocolate and didn’t even sniff the lemon.  Didn’t even take em to-go.

Service was good.  Our server, like I said, was really sweet + attentive.  But overall, I thought the staff was there to be there-  not necessarily to make our visit the best we can have.  It’s definitely a “must-see tea house!”  There are really cute things about the place, that I don’t want to mention because I want you to experience for yourself!  Please tell us if/when you visit!?  Hope you are treated with a bit more love than we were.  😉

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Our 10th Spot:

Dartealing Lounge

470 Third Street  San Francisco, CA 94107

http://www.dartealinglounge.com

We’ve been to quite a few tea houses in San Francisco already.  Even though we are interested in visiting each one and are sure they have their own individual special things about them, driving into or taking BART to the City gets kinda redundant.  That being said, we were satisfied with seeing this cute little corner tea house.  The inside is definitely not what you expect, from looking at the rather bland outside.  But, look how charming!!

It had a very ‘homey’ + intimate feel.  The décor was very inviting + intriguing!  My girls described it as being at Gramma’s house!  We decided we had the best seats in the house…

How comfy right!!?!  We were taken back a bit when they sat us here, because it was all so darling!!  The only downside was we were HUNCHED over the whole time while eating.    Maybe we weren’t doing it right (’cause aren’t you supposed to bring the tea saucer up to you!?), but we still thought our spot was super cute!

Because we pre-ordered, the only important decision that was asked of us were the pots of tea we’d like.  At our table, the choices were:

Memories of Provence (floral and fruity with lavender and berries notes) – This one smelled divine! I likened it to a Victoria’s Secret body spray!  It was a yummy comforting tea.

Island Kiss (green tea with tropical essence, bananas + coconut) – Sounded and smelled better than it tasted.  The aftertaste reminded me of B.O.!!  Meh.

Somewhere My Love (black tea with oranges, sweet citrus, vanilla notes + white chocolate) – This was my first choice, but since my girlfriend wanted it I went for my second.  A very nice mix of flavors.  The citrus lightly scented the creaminess of the vanilla + white chocolate flavors.

Snickerdoodle (black tea with vanilla + cinnamon) – My choice.  I loved this one.  They were right, it WAS just like the cookie!

Pre-ordering has its pros + cons, in my opinion.  If you do it, it’s nice to have a decision already made and food ready for you.  But sometimes, you may not be feeling what you thought you wanted at the time you chose it when it’s time to have it.  (Did you get that!?)  I have mixed feelings about it.  When tea houses ask me of it, I don’t whine about it.  I ask my girls, they respond with their choices, and I call them in.  No biggie.  But sometimes-  I want that element of surprise!  I purposely do not look up any tea house menus before we visit the spot, ’cause I like the shock value!!  Hehe.

This place had a lot of tea sandwiches to choose from.  And on the website, they ALL sounded sooo good!!  Of the selection, we chose:

Dartealing Curried Chicken – WHAT A SURPRISE!!?!  For such a tiny sandwich, we did NOT expect so much flavor!?  I’m at a loss for words how to even explain it.  Do I dare attempt??  It was the richest quarter of a sandwich I’ve ever put in my mouth.  There, I said it.

Smoked Salmon Mousse & Dill – After having that last tea sandwich, I anticipated it was only going to get better… I assumed this one was going to be a smooth consistency throughout.  Boy, was I wrong!  It had pieces of smoked salmon that gave this sandwich such a scrumptious personality!

Brie, Pepper Jelly, Green Apple – I’m a total brie fan.  When I read this on the menu, I was so happy!  And with pepper jelly!!?!  YES!  It was just as good as I thought it should be.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp – I do like spicy, but I can’t handle a lot of it.  I had to try this one though, because-  shrimp in a sandwich, come on!  The flavors complimented each other well.  Lots of different, yummy textures.  But, I could only take a bite.

Honey Lavender Cream – I read this one on the menu, and was intrigued for sure.  But there are so many good ones, this couldn’t make my cut.  It’s a WONDERFUL thing that it was 2 of my girlfriends’ choices, because I would’ve been really sad having not ever tried this in my life…  Ugh, it was absolutely delightful!!  The honey is lavish, lavender is only in the background, and then there’s this cream!  We couldn’t quite place it, maybe it was mascarpone?!  Whatever it was it made this tea sandwich addicting.

Spicy Hummus Mediterranean – Delicious flavors for sure.  Again, it was spicy so I only had a bite.  But, that one bite packed so much punch!

The sweets tier came just in time!

I went for the scone.

It was Chocolate + Cardamom.  Interesting!  I loved the round shape, ’cause-  so cute right!?  But then, I didn’t know where I wanted to cut it.  Hehe.  Sliced it horizontally, and spread some Royal Cream.  It was nice + warm still, which I adore because the cream gets melty!  Took a bite…  Very heavy + cakey!  And I was wondering where the other fixings were??  It was okay.  There wasn’t much to em, not that flavorful.  And the cream was rather bland.  And, I can’t stress enough just how HEAVY they were.  It was a lot of chews + a lot of saliva needed before you could swallow these.  I was halfway done with mine, when one of my girlfriend’s thought to ask our server for some jam.  DUH!?  I did think about asking, but I wanted to try the scone with what they gave us.  OH, sooo muuuuch better with the raspberry (?) jam!!  Still, I think it could’ve used more chocolate chips.

I was pretty much done after having that substantial scone.  I was about to ask our server for a to-go box…  But, I decided to at least have a bite of each of these.  The Raspberry Cream in Filo Tart wasn’t bad.  I think the crunch of the filo was much more exciting than the overall taste of this sweet.  The Lavender Cookie – eh.  It was waaay too lavendery to me.  The Chocolate S’more was okay.  Very decadent.  I did really like the roasted marshmallow + graham cracker pieces on top.  (I’m a sucker for anything marshmallow!)  I was satisfied with my bites, couldn’t have any more.

We really appreciated the service at this spot.  We came it a bit early, and they were happy to seat us right away.  She says “The sooner you get to have tea!!”  My girlfriend, who has a special spot for vintage china, wondered if she could have a cuter teacup (because the one at her setting just had gold stripes).  The staff member TOTALLY got where she was coming from, and went out of her way to bring back this gorgeous floral cup!  Our reservation was at 3:30p; they close at 6:00p.  We were so into our conversation, we stayed well over 6!?  They didn’t rush us (and we noticed other parties around us still enjoying themselves), and even came by to make sure all our teapots were still full.  LOVED that.

I would come back for the sandwiches alone.

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Our 8th Spot:

Tal-Y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe

6439 California Street  San Francisco, CA 94121

http://www.talytara.com

“Oh. You have more people in your party??”  That’s how we were greeted.  Apparently, a couple had walked in right behind us…  But let’s not forget the awkward 90-second stare down we received from the ENTIRE establishment (YES, including all the wait staff) as soon as we walked in, where you can hear the crickets just like in the movies!?  No welcome, no warmth.  That right there, was the discouraging foreshadow of what our future meal was about to entail.

The menus were suuuuper confusing.  It seems they have 3 levels of tea service, but are all ‘for two.’  If you want a single serving of anything, it must be à la carte.  No one offered us any explanations either, so we were left to figure this for ourselves.  We did ask, and our assumptions were then confirmed.

How are you a tea house when you discourage your customers from ordering any tea??  Since we couldn’t figure out how or what to order, our server wanted to know if she could get any pots started for us.  She says for our party of SEVEN, that she recommends maybe only 2 pots of tea (get this) “because any more wouldn’t fit on our table”!?  What in the world is that!!?!  Since we had such a limitation, we told her we’d have to discuss these important choices.  She did say we could switch em out during the course of our meal…but still-  really?  Plus, we still needed to figure out HOW to order and WHAT to order.  We were so sorry we asked, since she kept insisting we order this tea sandwich “platter” (wait for it) that they ALREADY MADE FOR US!!?!  They’re supposedly known for this motorloaf bread (we know, we were thinking about ‘motorboating‘ the whole time too!), that she talked up saying it was a hearty bread filled with walnuts, etc.  Welp, they must’ve been unable to be seen with the naked eye as my girlfriend pointed out there wasn’t anything in there!?  The “platter” (there goes that word again) suppooooosedly served two people “maybe even 3” she says.  We so badly wanted to order single servings of tea sandwiches as opposed to this ALREADY PREPARED infamous platter just to be rebellious, ’cause-  who does that??  Whyyy would we want something that was sitting out for who knows how long and nooo one wants anything that’s being pushed on them.  Even still, the “platter” was the better choice since we didn’t want to pay for any more of what they had to offer in support of a tea house we were ready to walk out of as soon as we were seated.  So it was decided: we were ordering the 2 stale “platters” they thoughtfully (insert sarcasm here) prepared for us.

That took care of the tea sandwich selections, now for the scones.  At 6 bucks for ONE scone, we wanted to make sure not to over-order.  (No we’re not cheap, but trust me-  you wouldn’t feel like you’d wanna give this place any of your money either.)  They had 5 kinds to choose from today: Lemon, Blueberry, Black Currant, Orange Ghirardelli Chocolate, and a savory Bacon Cheddar.  We ordered 1-2 of each flavor except the blueberry.  Okay, that choice = made.

Now the teas…  My earl grey gf who’s on the hunt for the perfect one, wanted an earl grey selection.  But, there were 2 listed on the menu.  I guess they had 2 types from different vendors.  When she asked what the difference was between the 2, our server said she’d have to get her manager to explain that to us.  Ohhh…kaaay…  Of course, the manager never came.  Our server finally comes back with a container in her hands, and says that they’re out of one so my gf can smell the loose leaf tea of the one that they do have.  This particular one had lavender in it, so my girlfriend said she’d try it.  My girl had really good things to say about it.  And, although I didn’t get a chance to taste it, I could smell it and it reminded me of the spa!  It smelled really good.  We also ordered the Wild Strawberries black tea and Vanilla Bean Creme black tea.  Lots of good comments from my dolls about the strawberry, and I liked (not loved) the vanilla.  How-  ever-  when they refilled the vanilla, they made it SO strong it poured out BLACK girrrl!?  I joked that they were mad at us, and my other gf said that they wanted us to be up all night thinking about their bad service!  Lol.

This is what the “platters” looked like:

WHAT ARE THESE??  And did they really think these 2 lousy things were gonna fit 7 whole people!?  I was livid.  How were we even supposed to eat it?  It’s like they concentrated so hard on trying to make their presentation stylish + cute with all this wax paper, when it really makes you think “where are my sandwiches?!”  We had.  To.  CUT.  These little things.  In FOUR!!?!  20 bucks for each of these plates and we only get a BITE!?  What is that??  How are you a restaurant??  You don’t even FEED your customers!!  You demand they eat something you already made for them and there’s nothing to eat!?  Ooh, I was hot.

At one point, I asked my girlfriend how she liked a certain sandwich and she says to me “Oh, I haven’t tried any yet.   They’re still being distributed.”   What kind of mess is that?!

Here’s the egg and cucumber:

The egg was bland + dry, and tasted like it had been sitting out ‘CAUSE IT WAS!  The cucumber bite I had (I feel like my reviews aren’t even complete, ’cause I didn’t even have a whole sandwich to base em off of!?) was a dollop of cream cheese (no dill or anything) and a soggy piece of cucumber.

This is the ham and smoked salmon:

I liked the mustard that was made with the ham, but that’s about it.  And the salmon (again) tasted like it had been out for awhile.  Again, with a chunk of cream cheese, but the capers made it better.

When she brought out the scones, she told us which flavors were which the says “SOME of which were made today.” EW!!!

This is all the piece of scone I got to have:

The orange chocolate was pretty good.  I have to say, I did really like the cream + preserves that were served.  And, the scones had good crunchy edges + nice soft centers.  I ate as much scone as I could to fill my sad tummy.

Here’s what the place looked like, in case you’re interested…

We basically left that tea house STARVING.  We were scared to ask to use the bathrooms, because the place looked creepy + we were just treated so COLDLY.  So, we all had full bladders upon our exit.  The customer service was really just terrible.  We had very little food, then felt like we were being rushed out.  They quickly bussed our table, and we got stares + hands on hips as we tried to enjoy the last of our limited pots of teas while girl-chatting. Not only will we not be returning, but I will be going a notch further to tell my readers NOT to visit this tea house.  They do not deserve service from any sweethearts as yourselves looking to enjoy some afternoon tea.

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Our 6th Spot:

Secret Garden Tea House

721 Lincoln Way  San Francisco, CA 94122

http://www.secretgardenteahouse.com

Ugh.  I’m so not excited to review this place…  This is basically how I felt about it:

Period.  But…you know I will ALWAYS give you my honest opinion, and I think it’s only fair that owners know what their business is putting out there.  And hopefully, in some way, my blog posts (and Yelp reviews) help them to better their service.  As a business owner myself, I would welcome the same treatment.

Let’s start with their website.  It wasn’t inviting or appealing to me, so already my anticipation for this spot was lowered.  They communicated very well, when making arrangements for reservations.  The owner (I believe she was), called me within a reasonable amount of time to acknowledge my voicemail message.  She even left her personal cell phone number, and assured me she was available to confirm my reservation whenever I was ready.  We exchanged emails regarding my head count number, and our preordered tea service selections.  I liked that email was an option for corresponding, as being a busy mom a quick email is sometimes preferred than a telephone conversation.

Okay-  this is why they are getting a negative review from me.  Their tea room was F-I-L-T-H-Y.  We are all well aware of those local restaurants that are too dirty to be in business.  This tea house reminded me of one of them.  Décor was cute.  Reminiscent of all the shabby chic elements with that vintage floral print.  The china was right, and the chandeliers were gorgeous.  BUT-  the curtains were disgusting!!  Not just dingy, but outright soiled + offensive.  I WISH I got a good picture of them, but I do not want to remember those.  It was bad enough, they were my view for the afternoon that contributed to my ruined appetite.  They brought our tea kettles with USED labels on them!!?!  Whooo knoooows how many people have put their gubby hands on those!?  It was sickening.  Forreal.

The teas were okay, not the best.  At our table, we had Jasmine Blossom (green tea layered with jasmine blossoms), Cherries in the Snow (cherry flavored), Mango Moon (black tea from India with mango pieces + marigold flowers), Chocolate Raspberry Truffle (chocolate raspberry flavor), Mid-Summer Night Dream (creamy overtones with vanilla + orange flavor), and Victorian Vanilla (black tea + natural vanilla).  Since I’m on this black vanilla kick, I had to order that option.  I was hoping it would be similar to the one I had at the last spot, but not even close.  First of all, it had a ‘curry’ smell to it.  (Yes, I said “curry.”)  It didn’t carry over into the flavor, but it was nothing to rave about either.  I thought it was rather bland.    The others I tried were the chocolate raspberry [very disappointing], and mango [I hurried to finish that one, so I could move on].

The food…  You saw my first photo, right??  I couldn’t handle more than a bite of ANYTHING!?  Yuck, yuck, and more yuck.  I tasted em based purely on having to tell you guys about it.  Took photos, but those wouldn’t be helping anybody.  I had the Smoke Turkey with Baby Dill and Lemon Capers Cream first.  It tasted like turkey with margarita mix!!?!  I would not do that again to myself!  Next, I had the Egg + Chives.  Egg = yum.  Chives = yum.  Theirs = eh.  Even though it was eh, that was the only sandwich I finished to have some savory breaks in my mouth from all the sweetness.  They must love sugar.  They had a Sweet Orange Cranberry Cream sandwich.  (Yeah, who told you to make a diabetic tea sandwich option?!)  My girlfriend really liked it, but I thought it was really sweet.  Cucumber + Hummus, was my next choice.  I like both of those, they shouldn’t be bad together right?  Right??  “What the mother of crap is up with this stuff?!” -Phoebe.  Uhh, the hummus was oh so wrong.  Please, please add garlic or something to your hummus recipe.  I went for the Sweet (uh-huh, sweet again) Curry Chicken with Raisins.  Not bad, this is the second one I had to finish to ease all the sugar.  Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla Cheese (also had slices of green apple), wasn’t a half bad sandwich.  But, it was just PACKED with the cream cheese…picture a dog eating peanut butter.  Mm-hm.  The Tuna Salad (I was very unhappy I saved that for last, let alone put it in my mouth) tasted like it’s been left out ALL DAY.  It was so fishy, forreal.  Probably should not have been served.  After all this disapproval, my SIL persuaded me to try (their answer to a savory) this spicy curry mixture on a crostini.  It was good, but still something was off about it.  I wanted to have more of the crostini BY ITSELF, then have to eat any more of what was served to me this afternoon.

The service was remarkable.  Each of the ladies that came to our table were very sweet.  The price point wasn’t bad.  We left a good tip, since they were kind.  However, I will NOT be coming back to this spot.

Ohh, the scone!!  The scone was delightful!!  It was Apple Cinnamon, our server said “she thinks.”  At first, they felt so hard!?  I had to saw it open with my butter knife, crumbs everywhere.  The clotted cream was fine, but whatever the preserves were-  it reminded me of slices of tuna sashimi!!?!  It was so gelatinous, you couldn’t even spread it?!  Funny thing though…it was good!  Best part of the tea service was that darn crispy scone that we “think” was apple cinnamon.  Thanks for the scone guys!

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Our 5th Spot:

Lovejoy’s Tea Room

1351 Church Street  San Francisco, CA 94114

http://www.lovejoystearoom.com

For having a 4.5 stars Yelp rating, I expected a lot from this place.  Off the bat, I NEVER got a live person on the phone when I called in.  I didn’t like that.  From wanting to place my reservation, to wanting to change my headcount, to wanting to ask where the nearest Bart station was, to how parking was out there-  every time I called, no one ever picked up my call.  So, I was stuck having to wait for their call back or get tired of waiting + find the info myself somehow.  Are you that busy that you can’t pick up a phone and say “Thank you for calling Lovejoy’s Tea Room, may I please put you on hold?”, before you get a free minute to answer a simple question??  To me, this already speaks volumes about your customer service…

The ambiance was okay.  I thought it was more “old” than “vintage.”  It didn’t have all the cutesie things I wanted from a Tea Room or Tea House.  Their website says “in a most unique and unpretentious setting.  We believe our tea room reflects the diversity if San Francisco, blending together the traditions of tea service with an eclectic, quirky, and playful spirit.”  I wasn’t impressed.  See for yourself…

There was a lot to read when you order.  Front and back!?  (If you watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you know what I’m referring to there!)  There are 8 tea service selections to choose from.  I like that we got to choose the tea sandwiches that were included.  We weren’t just given the 4 kinds they made that day, like other tea rooms typically do.  Again, a lot though.  There are 17 options of tea sandwiches, including their Special of the day.  They also have a Pub Fare column of foods, like Shepherd’s Pie + Quiche, etc.  They have a good selection of teas, too.  I enjoyed that part.  Not too many, but a good enough amount that you have the excitement of choosing which one you will enjoy for the afternoon…and not feel like you have homework!

The food was good!  Nothing spectacular (that’s the phrase I kept saying all afternoon), but good.  For my two tea sandwich selections, I chose the Special which was a turkey with cranberry chardonnay (I THINK?? It was some kind of wine, that made it sound too good to pass up!) mustard and the chicken + asparagus.  I reeeeally liked my asparagus sandwich!!  I’m a sucker for all things asparagus anyway, but I was not expecting how they prepared it!?  At first, it looked like avocado.  Then, I realized the asparagus was sort of smooshed (that’s the best word I could describe it with sorry!) in there!  I loved it.  I was not a fan, however, of how they served it to us.  So-  3 of us at our table ordered the Queen’s Tea.  We had 1 tier for all of our orders.  Top tier was fruit for 3, middle tier were our scones with fixings, then the bottom-  I mean, look at it!  Can YOU make sense of it??  The server was nice enough to explain who’s was who’s, but once he left we wondered again.  It seemed they put each of our two tea sandwich selections on top of each other, cut that in four, then lined em next to each other on the bottom tier!!?!  VERY confusing.  I thought 2 slices were one sandwich…it was hard.  Once we figured it out, we still had to guess again every time we went back for another slice.  We did get a complete 2 sandwiches, which was nice.  So at least nobody was left hungry.  The scones-  eh.  I couldn’t tell if they were blueberry or currant, but whatever they were there were a ton of em!!  I cut mine open, and barely saw any batter?!  It was speckled everywhere.  I took a few bites, but that was all I could handle.  Could not wait for my crumpet though!!  Since my first time having the perfect one at Crown & Crumpet, that’s what I look for on the menu.  Was happy to see em on this one’s.  They came later in our tea service, and were served fresh.  Even better right?!  Um, they got soggy!  I was so disappointed.  It was like eating an eggy piece of bread.  (Insert sad face here.)  At the end of your tea service, they come with a tray of petit fours, tell you what flavors each are, then you are allowed to choose ONE.  I think for the price we pay, we coulda got two more each!  Just sayin…  And there are no other sweets, just those.

My tea choice was F A N T A S T I C !!  I chose the Black Vanilla (vanilla oil and pieces of vanilla pod give this mellow tea its light, sweet taste).  I love me some black tea.  And the vanilla part of it sounded intriguing + comforting.  SO GLAD I chose what I did!  It smelled heavenly!!  I joked to my girls that I just wanted to set my nostrils on the rim of my teacup and stay like that forever!  But-  sometimes teas smell delicious, then taste horrible.  Nope!  Not this one!  I got a two-fer.  I think I was the only one at our table that asked to be topped off (meaning they add hot water to your loose leaf pot of tea) 3 times!  I didn’t even taste anyone else’s, for the simple fact that I felt I would be missing out of more of my precious Black Vanilla tea selection!  Let’s see, the other girls chose their: Passion Fruit (dried passion fruit gives this tea its tropical flavor), Mango (Ceylon tea and pieces of ripe mango merge to create this fruity treat), Strawberry (black tea, flavored with pieces of dried strawberry), Decaf Chocolate Truffle (this rich and creamy decaffeinated tea contains actual bits of chocolate truffle), and Earl Grey (its unique flavor comes from the natural oil of Bergamot).  All my girls were happy with their choices!  They came to top off anytime you wanted, and each pot of tea came with strainers.

*Note: tea descriptions are taken directly from Lovejoy’s menu.

Customer service was good.  Not bad, but not fantastic either.  I mean, they did their job.  But, I didn’t see any extra efforts made for my enjoyment or for a better experience.  Maybe I’ve had better treatment at other tea houses, I don’t know.  But for a 4.5 star place, I thought they could have been a bit warmer.  Our server did take several shots, from each of our cameras (I know, and there were 6 of us!).  But not without making a snarky remark “Maybe you all should exchange phone numbers…”  He. He. He.  #jokingnotjoking  So what, we each asked you to take our group picture?  “Photographer” may not be in your job description, but we asked nicely + thanked you nicely.  Coulda done with out that comment babe.

Overall = nice experience.  Would I come back?  Maybe not.  Would DEFINITELY visit their sister antique shop across the street again though!  And for sure pick up some of that loose leaf Black Vanilla tea!!

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Every month or so, my SIL + I have a date.  After visiting The English Rose Tea Room last month, we couldn’t wait to go back.  Why not for our date!?  I’m SO GLAD we did!!  We got to try more of the teas we were curious about the last time, but didn’t get to have.  And I starved myself, so I had an appetite ready for ALL the tea sandwiches + savories this time!  🙂

[Disclosure:  I wondered if I should bring my professional camera for this visit, even though it was an off-Tour stop.  My husband discouraged me from bringing it, since it was just going to be a casual date with my sister.  So-  SORRY in advance!!  These pics are all taken with just my iPhone 4!]

Our server was a sweetheart!  She had just started working there a month ago.  She was very swift with her service and tended to us so lovingly throughout our visit.  I forgot to mention in my last post about this spot: an OCDers dream!!  They bring you hot towels!!?!  So nice huh?  During the month of November, this tea room was celebrating their 10 year anniversary.  She brought us a complimentary celebratory sparkling cider and offered us the Tea of the Day.  Today’s was Lisa’s Sweetheart Tea (I think??), it was a chocolate raspberry rose tea.  Smelled delicious and tasted wonderful.  We ordered the Pumpkin (again OF COURSE, pumpkin-freaks we both are) + Birthday Blend first.  The Pumpkin obviously was just as perfect as it was when we had it first.  In heaven with that one.  We were so happy with our decision in ordering the Birthday Blend.  It was so nice!!  It was what you would expect a ‘birthday cake’ flavored tea to taste like.  It was so creamy + comforting.  I could have had that one exclusively for the rest of the afternoon and would have been content.  But, we had more teas to try!  The other 2 pots we exchanged for were my sister’s choice, the Almond Joy (I absolutely adore the creamer, so I thought this one would be similar), and my pick the Lavender Lace (I’m fond of lavender, and then “lace” makes it just sound so pretty!?).  The Almond Joy was a fail!  It smelled like playdough!!?!  I mean, it wasn’t BAD.  We just didn’t like it.  I even told my sister to pour the rest of hers back into the teapot, since we knew we wouldn’t be having any more of it.    The Lavender Lace was just delightful!  It smelled like the spa and you were about to get a massage!?  Hehe.  But it tasted incredible.  Perfect for our finishing tea.

Okay, the food…  I was stuffed!!

This was the stuffing roll.  Yes, I said STUFFING!!  It was remarkable!  I’m a stuffing FAN, so when she described this one I knew I was going to have it first.  It was interesting + delicious.  Wrapped with a spinach tortilla (I’m guessing), and -BONUS- the stuffing had cranberry in it!

When our server said “sweet potato tart,” my eyes became big like that one emoji with the huge circle eyes!?  I looove sweet potato.  This was as yummy as it sounds.  A nice mix of sweet potato in there, with a nice flakey tart.

This was their salad sandwich.  A perfect mix.  Very filling + a wonderful addition to the tier of tea sandwiches.

There was also an egg + black olive on wheat.  Awesome combo right?!  Tried it, but only had a bite.  I thought it was bland.  And the cucumber option had green onion in it.  I don’t do green onion, so I stayed faaar away from that one.  My sister liked both of hers though!

I of course had my scone.  Plain scone with clotted cream, lemon curd + strawberry preserves.  The crispy edges of their scone makes it addicting!  The sweets tier had so many GOOD THINGS!  I liked everything I had.  Ate em so fast, no picture!!  I started with the French macaron that was staring at me the whole time.  I believe it was lavender flavored.  I joked with my sister that it smelled/tasted like shampoo!?  It did!!  But, even so, I ate the whole thing!!  The texture + filling was perfect for a French macaron.  Then, the petit four was calling me!  I have these things once a month, at every tea party.  They’re pretty much all the same, in my book.  But this one, this one was terrific!!  I inhaaaaled it.  Ugh-  so they had this pecan bar.  So chewy + crunchy + gooey!!  I made out with that thing!!?!  I was sad that my sister didn’t have hers, but so happy that I had another opportunity to relive that pecan goodness!  🙂

They sent us home with these lovely lemon curd cupcakes!  (We coulda had em there, but we didn’t have anymore room!?)  Another complimentary celebratory treat!  Oh these were good!  Not too sweet + not too lemony.  The sprinkles on top were nice too!  😉

All-in-all, a SPECTAULAR AFTERNOON!  They got all A+’s from me.  Still maaaaany more teas to try (I mean, they have over a hundred of em), so I’m sure we’ll be back again.  Just 2 more weeks and I get to have Tea again!!  Check back for our thoughts on Spot #5…

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