Lara W.
User's reviews
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The English Rose Tea Room and Gifts
I used to be a regular customer at the English Rose but on the last visit I was treated so rudely that I vowed never to go back. When I called to make a reservation for a workday luncheon, they only offered the times of 11:00am and 1:00pm as the seating times, and would not allow me to make a noon reservation, so I went with 1pm. I figured that if I got there a little early, they would seat me as long as there was an open table. I was taking my boss there, and it was a very important luncheon. We arrived at 12:30pm, and I had called ahead and said we were going to be early and if it was possible to get a table sooner than 1:00pm. When I arrived, I was mortified to find that they could not find my reservation, and they would not seat us, even though there were 4 open tables. No apologies, nothing, they almost completely ignored me! I would have thought that given the fact that I went there so often they knew me by name, that they would try to work it out. Finally they said that they would seat us at 1pm if we wanted to wait. I figured at this point that by the time it would take us to find a new location, park etc it would just about 1pm anyway, so we decided to wait. However, as they had 4 open tables and everyone else was finshing up, I didnt understand whay we had to wait. Finally they found my reservation-they had written my name down incorrectly-and I was horrified to see in the reservation book that I was the only resevation for 1:00pm!!!! Once they found my reservation they went ahead and seated us a few minutes early. I could understand all this if they were packed solid and trying to work it out, but given the fact they had no other reservations and they treated us like we were a big inconvience to be there. I would have expected better period, but considering the fact that I was a regular customer and I was bringing a new person there, I would have expected to be treated with more respect. As far as the food, I have always found it to be filling. The teas are not very good though-they all seem to have a smoky, cheap flavor to them.
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Teatime
Teatime is a casual cafe in downtown Palo Alto where you can stop in for a cup of tea or purchase teas to take home. They have many, many varieties of tea for sale behind the counter (green teas, oolongs, black teas, herbals etc) , as well as sweets such as brownies, lemon squares, scones etc. Everything is a la carte, and you can also get a selection of small sandwiches. It's very casual (no frills) and the sort of place you might go to read a book and enjoy a quiet, peaceful afternoon. The lemon squares are generous and tasty, and the black currant tea was excellent. They also offer some tea acessories such as tea pots, tea cups, strainers, etc.
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Lisa's Tea Treasures
Lisa's Tea Treasures at Santana Row is a lovely place to combine an afernoon of shopping with tea. The front palor is filled with gifts and tea related items for sale, and there are 2 rooms, all set with beautiful matching Royal Doulton tea sets. There are a number of creative teas to choose from, including a French tea, an Italian tea and so forth. There are good choices of tea to choose from, which you can purchase in the store if you like. The servers are dressed in period costume, like serving maids for a palace or something, and seem to educated about proper tea and provide quiet, graceful service. After you've given your order, you can enjoy cookies with lemon curd while you wait. As I went alone, they brought out some magazines for me to enjoy, which was a very thoughtful touch. There was a nice variety of tea sandwiches and savories, and after I had finished they brought out the warm scone. Finally came a plate of several petit fours. Lisa's Tea Treasures is a chain although there are different owners, you can expect a very similar experience at the others.
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I just had tea at the Fairmont recently with a few friends. What a delightful experience! Tea was served on the left side of Laurel Court, and they had small tables with white tablecloths set up, as well as a few small couches with tables. There was a harpist playing the entire time, which added wonderful ambience to the experience. The menu was set, but you could choose from a number of teas, and the waiter gave background on each of the teas to help us with our selection. The tea included several scones served with lemon curd, devonshire cream and preserves. The sandwiches included egg salad, salmon, cucumber and a few others. Desserts were a selection of mini pastries which appeared to all be made in-house, and included a fruit tart, a chocolate shell filled with mousse, a pastry, a lemon custard. Apparently the selections change often. Everything was absolutely wonderful, and the food was delicious. In fact, the waiter brought us out more sandwiches and scones, as the men weren't full initially. He also offered to change our tea if we didnt enjoy our selection, and made sure everything was perfect for us. While we sat and visited for over 2 hours, we never felt rushed or hurried. The price came out to be quite expensive, just over $150 (with tax and tip) for the 4 of us, so something to be saved for a special occasion. However, the entire experience was wonderful, and definitely a place to enjoy a leisurely & luxurious afternoon tea.