tea junkie
User's reviews
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TownHouse Tea Shoppe
I live about 20-30 minutes from this tea room, and I found it online. I thought it would be a great place to take my mom for Mother's Day. I called a day before, and the person answering the phone said she only had room at 11 am on Saturday. I told her that would be perfect. She said we could have tea service or the lunch service, since she would have plenty of all. She even said my mom could decide. I told her we would be having tea for sure. We arrived promptly at 11 on Saturday. When I told her my name (she appeared to be one of the owners), she said she thought we were coming at 12. That was weird since they told me I had to come at 11. And rude -- already we are feeling unwelcome. We were then shown to our table. There were no teacups or plates, as there were on the other tables. Weird. There was a BIG menu waiting. Before we could open them, she quickly took them from us and said she would be back. Weird (and rude). She then brought back a half sheet of paper with a small lunch menu (2 entree selections) and three or four teas. We were confused as she mentioned lunch and a three-tier tea service. She then said they were 'paring down.' We were not sure what that meant. She then left to help a three-person table nearby. They and another two-person table had the BIG menu and were offered a huge selection of teas. Weird. She even sat down at the table and whispered some other options for them, although we could hear it. Again, weird and rude. We could not figure out why we were not being treated the same as the other two tables. I realize we should have left at this point, but this was for my mom, and I wanted her to enjoy the day. When she finally returned, my mom asked about the three-tier tea service and we ordered that. At that point, I did tell her that I was a little frustrated since the reason we chose the tea shoppe was so that we would have a large selection of teas. She rudely walked off and got the BIG menu and brought it back and sat it down and walked off again. Not sure how we were putting her out, as we did come to a tea room. When she came back, she asked what we wanted. My mom asked her about one of the teas, and she reluctantly explained what was in it. I thought that was weird, as most owners of tea shops are enthusiastic about the different types of teas and want to educate you on what they have and are excited about it. They usually suggest teas if you are not familiar as well. Usually very friendly too. We ordered a tea pot for two and the three-tier service. She returned eventually with a tea pot that looked like the 'reject' pot. It was plain and chipped, unlike the beautiful pots we saw on other tables. She delivered our scones, and we felt a cold air every time she came by. My mom asked if she could get some sugar. She started to walk off and then asked if we wanted cream. I said 'Yes, please.' I wondered why we had to ask for sugar and cream at a tea room. When we got our three-tier service, the person who delivered it was much more friendly. Apparently it was the other owner who was preparing food in the kitchen. She described what each sandwich and dessert were, and she wished us a Happy Mother's Day. We were so delighted to get a kind word and thanked her very much. After we finished eating and drinking our pot of tea, we eventually got our bill. She stood talking to several people at other tables for quite some time while we waited for her to return with our change. She returned our change without even looking us in the eyes. Again, weird. I was sad that the Tea Shoppe did not meet our expectations. I had been hoping to find a good replacement for Rosemarie's tea room, which was our favorite. Great tea and even better service! This is no replacement for Rosemarie's. I will keep looking.