J B.
Yelp
The good:
- The owners are so sweet and good at what they do. They were kind, accommodating, and lovely to talk to. Clearly, they put a lot of heart into what they do.
- The towers are fabulous! The food has a great mix of mild flavors (egg salad and cucumber sandwiches were classic and delicious) and bold and flavorful (salmon, coronation chicken salad, and spicy pimento cheese sandwiches). The scones were good but a little on the crumbly side. And the desserts were fantastic! So many options. Portion sizes were more than ample with plenty to take home.
- The gluten-free tea tower was a showstopper. I couldn't believe all of the options on one plate. At first I was disappointed that they didn't have GF scones because, after all, what is an afternoon tea without scones? But everything else was so spectacular, that I actually didn't find myself missing it.
- The building itself was beautiful. The owners told us it's the oldest building in Alpharetta, from 1859. There was plenty of close parking too, which isn't common for the area.
- It was decorated beautifully! The dishes were beautiful mismatched floral tea sets. I'm so grateful they did classic English tea ware instead of this modern plain white that so many people have switched to. There's a rich chandelier and a beautiful fireplace. The paint colors were gorgeous. They really, truly created a lovely environment.
The not-so-good:
- The tables are way too small. And I mean WAY too small. The server tried to say it was very European. (as if people in this area don't frequently visit Europe and have tea and know that's not the case). If the tables had just been square instead of round, that would have solved everything. But two tiny round tables pushed together to make seating for four was very cramped and uncomfortable. And each table felt very separated from the other because of the round shape.
- The service was not good. Other than the owners who came out in the middle and did a fantastic job taking care of everyone, the two servers were not good at what they did. They forgot two requests. They knew little to nothing about the teas they served. We almost walked out just based on the size of the tables and the servers. We were never offered refills on our tea. The tip was automatically applied, which is probably because many people weren't tipping well due to the poor service.
- The tea was weak and not hot. The sugar wouldn't dissolve because of the barely-warm temperature. It wasn't brewed correctly.
- The kids tea was not kid-friendly. When we made the reservation, I made sure to note that we wanted the kids tea. But all the sandwiches were very adult in flavor. Fortunately the owner came out and offered to make a turkey and cheese sandwich, which saved the day. Thankfully, my kid has grown up doing teas and loves tea, but I was surprised that they didn't offer hot chocolate or another drink in its place for the kids tea.
All in all, we would go back because the tea towers were so incredible. But I would make sure we reserved the one table in the parlor that's a rectangle, not the tiny circle tables squeezed together. And I would ask for hot water when they're brewing the tea. And I would try to go on a day with different servers hopefully.