Madison Tea Room and Gardens

The Madison Tea Room was a beautiful setting for the recent Rehearsal Dinner. We could not have been more pleased with the location, the decor, and the professional manner in which all details were attended to by the owner and staff.

Don't be sucked in by the lovely venue because the owner is anything but. She refused to provide a contract, changed the price and deposit requirements 2 weeks before the event. Waited over 30 days to refund the deposit. Initially said 200.00 deposit, then 2 wks before said 750.00 or event cancelled. But here's my favorite part. The Madison tea room didn't have tea or hot water post dinner. Just coffee. Owner demanded ages of people attending because "she doesn't allow children". Then she charged 40.00 because gravy ended up on 2 table cloths. We have the photos. If you don't want to clean table cloths, don't allow food. Extremely rude, bait and switch practices, and acts as if being in business is a bother.

Now under new management and goes by "Society Hall". Per the new owner this was the original name and he wanted to bring back the authenticity. The Shrimp Bisque is AMAZING. The Parmesan Cheese on the salads is quite delicious as well. They have a limited sandwich/soup/salad menu for weekday lunch. However, the lovely new owner expressed they have Sunday lunch with a wider variety. Anticipating trying that out.

If you want to host a shower go elsewhere. Worst customer service I've ever experienced. The owner stated she didn't know kids were in our party although we discussed this with her the day prior. Refused to bring the kids pink lemonade stating,"I didn't know kids would be here." Pink lemonade is listed as a choice on her menu. She also refused to bring more tea which the menu states was unlimited. The portions were small. We left hungry and ate lunch down the road. The list goes on and on about our horror of an experience. The owner is not accommodating. Take your business elsewhere

I wished you could give a 0 star review. This lady, Kathy, is absolutely horrendous to do business with. It started out pleasant when we viewed the venue and set up a date for our rehearsal dinner. We tried keeping in touch with her to have our catering vendor take a look and make sure she could cater there. After weeks of phone tag, we finally set up a date. Apparently Kathy had spoke with our catering vendor (who is absolutely phenomenal by the way) and had an unpleasant conversation. So, we finally get to our date, May 14 to do a walkthrough with our catering vendor and Kathy had something up her sleeve. We get there all for her to say, "I have some unfortunate news. I have chosen to no longer do business with you all, especially your caterer." We kind of assumed this would happen but maybe she could have saved us a 2 hour round trip and told us over the phone. Apparently she wad upset because we chose to do an upscale Mexican dinner, which isn't quite the tea room style. Im unsure as to why she didnt tell us that to begin with because we surely mentioned that was the plan . Also, if she had an unpleasant conversation with the catering vendor, she could have simply asked us to pick another catering vendor. She was a pain and completely rude and honestly I'm glad we got our deposit back and aren't doing business with her. She's a snooty ,stuck up, and rude lady.

Our tea was lovely as was the luncheon selection. Unfortunately, that's where the positive experience ended. I booked a field trip for my British and World Literature students--so they could experience a taste of the culture of Pride and Prejudice. Upon inquiry as to price, I received the following on August 3: Great idea! Any Wednesday in January is available as of today.. So you can let me know and I will pencil you in. The cost for a full Afternoon Tea Luncheon is 10.95 per student and 16.95 per adult. Let me know! Thanks! Kathi Madison Tea Room There were numerous emails in December as I attempted to finalize plans so I could inform my students of the details, such as what time we would need to meet. Many questions went unanswered, and I finally decided noon would suit us best. Finally, the awaited day arrived. We wore hats. We took pictures. We laughed and enjoyed tea and delicacies. Then came time for the bill. Students were charged the adult price. Kathi's response was,"But they're older than 6!" Well... most British Literature students ARE! And in addition to that we were charged more than the 7% tax rate, AND gratuity--to the tune of $22 per person. My students had prepaid the school the expected $10.95. When trying on our hats, we were instructed to put on the "Madison Style." Madison is my hometown, and the end result is not MY Madison style. That's just not how you do business. You honor your word. Edited 1/28/2017 By the way, I have the entire chain of emails. Only on 1/16 was I asked "if everyone is over the age of 12" having no clue that was considered "adult."

Lovely venue. Horrible experience with owner, Kathy Russell. Not only is she unreliable (multiple unreturned calls), disorganized (did not recognize my name as a paid client and couldn’t find my paid deposit), she is extremely rude and condescending. She had us travel over 1.5 hours to meet our caterer at her venue only to verbally attack the caterer (who is extremely reputable and has catered hundreds of weddings) and tell me that she will not work with her as she handed me a refund check. Ms. Russell could have called me directly to communicate this message. Clearly this horrid woman was seeking some kind of twisted revenge and wanted to embarrass our caterer. Fortunately we were able to find another beautiful venue well before our event. WITH OUR AWESOME CATERER!! Needless to say, we are quite happy to see NOW what an awful business partner Ms. Russell is and she is no longer able to ruin our special event!!

Only open for special events now. This is not mentioned anywhere online. We drove all the way down to Madison from Athens and were disappointed. The tea room looks lovely from outside, though. Not sure how they get special events without a website in this day & age! The kind shopkeeper next door let us know what was up though.

We had a lovely experience! The teas were delicious and the food looked and tasted amazing. Our tea server, Betsy, was kind and extremely accommodating! The interior is classy and beautiful as well.

Now under new management and goes by "Society Hall". Per the new owner this was the original name and he wanted to bring back the authenticity. The Shrimp Bisque is AMAZING. The Parmesan Cheese on the salads is quite delicious as well. They have a limited sandwich/soup/salad menu for weekday lunch. However, the lovely new owner expressed they have Sunday lunch with a wider variety. Anticipating trying that out.

August 4, 2016. Had lunch there today, so disappointing! One of the finger sandwiches was all bread, we couldn't find the filling! Beautiful setting, but lacking in so many ways! Staff never spoke! Took close friend and we won't be back! Good luck if you try this place!

Went to a baby shower for a dear friend of mine. The owner was passive aggressive anytime someone had a question. The venue is beautiful and should totally serve as a great place for special events but at $23 per adult for 1/2 a cup of tea and a snack and no lemon aid for the kids... I would never go back ... What's really sad is that everytime someone comes its an opportunity for her to get the word out... I truly would not waste my time... The bar-b-que shack down the street had wonderful service and terrific food!