Anonymous
User's reviews
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Camellia Tea Room
This is a great tea room and is one of my top 5 for the Bay Area. If you make a reservation at this tea room they have a place card with your name and the number in your party on your table. The pricing is very reasonable and their traditional afternoon tea is excellent. On my last visit we were served: 2 scones - 1 current, 1 lemon poppy seed served with strawberry preserves and whipped cream 4 tea sandwiches - 1 roast beef with horseradish on wheat, 1 egg salad with dill and celery on a sourdough round, 2 cucumber and herbed cream cheese 3 desserts - 1 oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, 1 slice of spice cake with chocolate chips, 1 cashew or almond tartlet pastry Fresh miniature roses and mint decorated the three tiered serving tray. The traditional afternoon tea was nearly perfect (with a minor exception, see below). The menu also offers lunch selections and salads. My tea partner and I also shared a salad made of sliced pears, gorgonzola cheese, candied pecans, butter leaf lettuce and a poppy seed dressing. The salad was excellent. A few suggestions for the owner, however... On my last visit to this tea room my tea selection was the jasmine pearls. The quality of the tea was excellent. However, there were too many tea leaves in my small pot and the second and third cup from the pot were much too strong (even after a refill). While I understand the wait staff moves around the room refilling tea pots with hot water, the tea would be better brewed with fewer leaves. I think that my pot contained enough tea to create a 8 cup pot to be refilled at least 2 times; my pot held ~3 cups. My second suggestion would be for the cream used on the scones. The scones were delicious but would be better served with a more traditional clotted or double devonshire cream. The cream that we were served was simply unsweetened heavy whipping cream. I think that changing the whipping cream to the clotted cream could really improve the taste of the scones and the overall experience of the traditional tea service. Please note that the menu says that 'devon cream' is served with the scones but I do not consider fresh whipped cream 'devon cream' I will definitely return to this tea room but hope that they are able to make a few minor changes that will allow for a more pleasant experience.
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Lovejoy's Tea Room
Excellent tea service. I got the Queens Tea which comes with a wonderful assortment of items (see their website for the menu). The tea sandwiches were excellent and the tea was brewed to perfection. Unlike previous reviews, I found the owner to be very accommodating and extremely polite over the phone and in person. I brought a vegan friend with me and although the menu does not specifically list vegan items, our server was more than happy to accommodate my friend’s needs. In fact, she was vegan herself, so that made the experience that much better! I love the decor. It's eclectic and fun and nearly everything is for sale. Before we went to tea we walked across the street to Lovejoy's Attic and tried on old-time hats. I thought about purchasing the loose mango tea, but decided to save that purchase for another time. Keep in mind, they have a discount coupon for 20% off loose teas right now. In short, great time. I didn't have a problem with waiting in line for the single bathroom or with the service. In fact, our tea and meal came out very quickly and we were not rushed out of the tea house after we were done. They are definitely busy and it can be noisy... but aren't all tea houses like that? We're not in a library. You go to tea to chat and that's what people are doing. Also, this tea house was unique because on both occasions there were many men enjoying tea as well. Every other tea house I have visited has had few to no men in the room. In short, excellent tea house. Worth the trek. Will go back again.