Athena Dalrymple
User's reviews
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The Victorian Parlor
The place is one of the best I've been to for tea and I've been as far as the Victoria, Canada and the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong for high tea. The atmosphere is charming with a nice garden out back (though it does back to a waste management facility, unfortunately; while the stench was bad in town, the aroma inside the tea parlor was delightful, so don't let the surrounding smell deter you from this place) and hats hanging all around that people can wear while having tea (they will even sell some of them - ask if interested; I bought one and got lots of nice compliments on it later that day) and other nice gifts for sale in the place (not just in the front room). The servers were all pleasant, and the six courses we had included: 1. Fruit salad with a coconut glaze that was very tasty 2. Salad with lettuce on the outside edge and pasta in the center (a rare combination for a salad, and very nice with the dressing used) 3. One of each of six treats (Rice Krispee treat with banana slice and strawberry sauce on top that was much better than usual Rice Krispee treats; warm brownie cake that was very good; warm Monkey bread that was really delicious; raspberry scone that was too crumbly for the cream it was served with but still delicious; and one I've forgotten, but am pretty sure there were six) 4. Two little open-faced sandwiches: Cucumber and tomato was one and egg salad was the other; it seemed odd to still be eating after all the treats, and these little sandwiches were my least favorite of the six courses, but perhaps the most similar to what one thinks of when one thinks of food at high tea 5. A very tasty chicken and carrot cream soup (I was too full from the food before it to quite finish, but it was plenty good enough to finish for those with bigger stomachs) 6. A strawberry-pineapple cake that was the best of this kind of cake I've had anywhere in my life...I usually don't even like cakes with pineapple in them but this was so scrumptious that even completely full, I forced myself to enjoy almost the entire good-serving size of the dessert. There were only two teas to choose from (vanilla and decaf strawberry), but both were good, and they were refilled in fairly good time when empty. I would love to try the place for dinner if we lived closer (we live about 90 minutes away).