Chloe C.
Google
Queen Mary Tea House is a “refined” fine dining establishment claiming to deliver an elegant and formal British afternoon tea experience.
And certainly, you will get an experience, just one where you are deceived, scammed, and held hostage to your reservation.
When calling to make a reservation for Saturday at 2pm the employee on the line made no mention of crucial reservation policies such as:
-Full meal policy. Each person in the group must order a “full meal”.
-Cancellation fee. If you cancel your reservation within 72 hours of your reservation time OR if you decide to leave without ordering, you must pay a fee of $25 per person.
The employee also failed to mention that the only available “full meal” during our reservation time would cost over $90 per person, leaving my friends and I feeling deceived and frustrated. This made for one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had. As there was no escaping the situation without incurring a $100 cancellation fee, we decided to stay in hopes of high-quality service.
The food:
1/5: Miniscule portions, very dry baked goods, minimal ingredient sandwiches, and unwashed fruit. The scarce serving of fruit, especially the grapes, was literally covered in dust and dirt.
The tea:
The tea itself was a 3.5/5, and perhaps the only saving grace. We ordered the Alice in Wonderland Rooibos, Crème Brûlée, Darjeerling, and Raspberry Crème. My favorite was the Alice in Wonderland Rooibos; it was mellow, earthly, smooth, and a little sweet. Next would be the Crème Brûlée, with a delicious aroma and bold, rich flavor and an overall sweet profile.
The presentation:
The entire tea set was mismatched. In traditional, formal British afternoon tea it is customary for the porcelain saucers, teacups, and teapot to match each other.
In the high season of afternoon tea only a commoner would be caught with a non-porcelain tea set, let alone a mismatched set.
For such a “refined” tea house, being served a mismatched tea set and a metal tea pot was a slap in the face.
For a better tea experience per $, just go to Tea Republik, an establishment that makes no claims at fine tea experience, yet outperforms Queen Mary’s on all counts of business ethics and dignity.