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Lori Anne   

User's reviews

  • Belladonna Gift Boutique and Tea Room

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    Two friends and I had a lovely time at the Belladona. We had high expectations after reading previous reader reviews and were not disappointed. It was worth the drive from Torrance (drive time took 1 hr 40 minutes on a non-holiday weekend Saturday) and we are looking forward to visiting again. The atmosphere is a welcoming, whimsical mix of tea-related, vintage, and floral items. Loved the creative use of upside-down chairs to house the speakers. Hats of various colors and styles were available for patrons. We each found one which matched our outfits and enjoyed wearing them for our tea. There was a nice selection of loose leaf tea and tea-like drinks -- black, green, red, herbal. I was pleased to be able to try an African bush tea (red tea), which I read about in Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series. It was sweeter and milder than my favorite black teas. We each had our own tea pot with a tea cozy to keep the tea hot. We shared a ceramic strainer, small carafe of milk and bowl of sugar. The scones were moist and fluffy. Each of us had a different flavor. Each flavor was in a different shape - heart, star, angel. They arrived steaming warm and were absolutely delicious with the raspberry preserves and house-made clotted cream. We were served as much preserves and cream as we wanted. Our plate of food was tasty and artfully presented. We had a green salad, two different finger sandwiches, an open-faced sandwich, two toast quarters with pesto and ham, and a small tartlett thing for which I've forgotten the name. We finished our meal with a plate of scrumptious mini desserts -- raspberry bar, lemon tea cake with lemon curd, chocolate cup from France which has a fancy name that I can't remember, fruit tart, and blueberry muffin. The fruit on the tart was arranged to resemble a dragonfly and the top of the blueberry muffin was cut and arranged to look like a butterfly. Each course was served with a smile and explanation of the items. Service was friendly, warm, and personal. We enjoyed a relaxing time, never feeling rushed. One of the highlights for us was having a heartfelt conversation with Donna after we finished our tea and were browsing through the gift shop. She touched our souls and was an inspiration.

    Tearoom response:

    Dearest Lori Anne,

    WOW... Could I hire you as my advertising manager. Thank you so much for all your praises, but I don't know if we deserve all that. We just truly love sharing God's blessings with all who enter our little place. We are blessed even more when we know that we were able to bless you.

    Thank you for driving so far to visit us. We hope you get the chance to come again real soon. Donna