21 with the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup

One of the saddest “blows” of the pandemic for Bay Area tea room aficionados was the closure of the English Rose tea room in Pleasanton, California. I had judged it to be the best run of all the for-profit tea rooms in our area. However, on May 1st, while lunching with a friend in Pleasanton, I decided I wanted to walk by the former English Rose–just so I could feel even worse about its closure, I guess! I was totally mystified peeking through the front windows–the tables and chairs, the table settings, and much of the rest of the English Rose’s furnishings were still there! Better yet was the new sign on the front of the building! What became clear after a few stunned seconds is that the English Rose (or most of it anyway) had been sold! It took a few months of patient persistence, but finally I discovered that the Royal Tea Garden was open, so I scheduled a Meetup for this past Saturday!

THE BEST

The arrangement of the many tables needed to seat us all was soooo comfy! Many members commented how happy they were to NOT see the former couches that some guests had to be seated in. Also, during our many Meetups at the English Rose in past years, our tables were always separated from each other and up against one wall. So, having everyone together out in the center felt like we were indeed royal guests!
The desserts! There were three fabulous miniature desserts–a vanilla bean cheesecake, a pecan-pie bar, and a panna cotta in a tiny glass bowl.
The roll-up sandwich, which was placed with the two savories in the middle tier. There was a LOT of discussion at my three-person table over the ingredients. Two of us thought it was tuna salad and the third person didn’t like tuna salad. But the waitress said it was chicken salad! Whatever it was, all three of us judged it delicious!
The Royal Tea Garden management decided to retain the English Rose‘s policy of allowing guests to have as many different teas and fresh pots of tea as desired, as long as there were never more than 2 pots on a table. This policy was always a highlight of tea at the English Rose so it was great to experience it again in the new tea room.
The mini-quiche was colorful and tasty!

THE OKAY

All three traditional sandwiches were too large! Better to have had 5 tiny ones than 3 overly large ones.
The egg salad sandwich was particularly lacking in flavor, at least partly because the bread was a bun.
The scone was totally plain–no cinnamon chips, no blueberries, no raisins, no cranberries, etc. It tasted okay but it’s unusual to be served an unadorned scone in a tea room.

THE NOT SO GOOD

There were more flies buzzing around the table than I’ve ever seen at a tea room! I think the problem may have been that somebody forgot to close the lid on the large garbage bin which was in a high enclosure outside the tea room on one side. The enclosure was brand new, so I’m not sure what the English Rose did with respect to garbage disposal. It’s possible the new location simply won’t work.
The placement of the tiers on the tables was NOT well-planned. My table of 3 had a tier for only 2. The table of 2 that was 2 tables down from us had a tier for 3! This necessitated me to serve myself from a tier on the table next to me! And it required a woman at that table to serve herself from the tier for 3 from the next table. It was so obvious that the tier for 3 should have gone on the table for 3, and the tier for 2 should have gone on the table for 2, instead of vice versa! I’ve NEVER had to reach over to an adjacent table at a tea room!

But I’ve saved the very best for last! As the Organizer, I had collected payment in advance from all 9 members who had RSVP’ed, then paid the required deposit for all 10 of us. When the waitress brought me the check for the remainder of our bill, she explained that they had deducted the charge for the one member who was unable to be present due to having come down with something just the night before. I was sooooo surprised and pleased that the management did this. It allowed me to refund the 10th member’s prepayment in full, which undoubtedly lessened her disappointment in not being able to attend. Kudos to the Royal Tea Garden for this very unusual and compassionate response to a last-minute no-show!

As was the case with the English Rose, the Royal Tea Garden will definitely merit a yearly visit from the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup members!

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	★★★★★

Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Los Altos, CA: 07/31/21 with a friend

My tea pal Joanne and I hadn’t been to the Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Los Altos in years, so we decided to close out July with a return visit. We didn’t care for the description of the special tea plate for the month so decided to go with the Tea for Two from their regular menu. The tea tiers included:

Four different sandwiches each, which we were allowed to select from a long list of sandwich types
Two different savories each
Two different scones, which we cut in half so we could each try both
Four different miniature desserts: cream puff; eclair, cheesecake, and macaron
A few grapes and strawberries sharing the dessert tier

I was particularly impressed by the desserts. I do not like ANY of the four desserts served. However, the desserts were so miniaturized that they were actually tasty, taken as a whole! And it was fun to have such a variety!

Overall, this tea was not spectacular. However! It was perfectly executed! I couldn’t find a single thing to criticize in the service, food, or tea! (Okay, I didn’t like the walnut-fig spread in the brie and apple sandwich, but I agreed to that sandwich, knowing that I didn’t like figs!)

All in all, our luncheon at the Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Los Altos was a PERFECT ending to our July!

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	★★★★★

Afternoon Tea at the Malaya Tea Room in Alameda, CA: 06/12/21 with friends

A couple friends and I trekked up to Alameda, California, this afternoon to try a new (for us!) tea venue–the Malaya Tea Room.

We were seated at a lovely window table soon after we arrived. Our order was taken, followed by the arrival of our teapots, and then the delivery of our delicacy-laden tiers, all within a few minutes of time. This was literally the fastest tea room service I’ve ever experienced!

For $33 (plus tax and tip), we were each allowed to choose two sandwiches from a list of British flavors and another list of Malayan flavors. Each order included a scone, savory, three mini desserts, and of course, a pot of tea!

Tastewise, the sandwiches and savory were the best. The savory was a thin cracker topped by a decorative green dollop consisting of pureed peas, mashed potatoes and herbs. Definitely a unique savory for afternoon tea.

The scones were very plain and not super fresh. Their most interesting aspect was the curd served (along with cream) with them. It was lime curd instead of lemon (!), and rather runny compared to the typical lemon curd served at tea rooms. I wound up dunking pieces of my scone into the curd instead of spreading the curd onto the scone.

The three sweets were pretty ho-hum, although the vaguely coconut flavored Pride-themed one was apropos for a June tea.

My friends were quite pleased with their Golden Monkey tea, but being an aficionado of flavored teas, I chose the No. 14 Grapefruit and Cocoa Nibs. Seriously weird! Some sips tasted entirely of grapefruit and others tasted entirely of cocoa nibs, i.e., the tea was somehow NOT a blend!

All of us concurred that the tea service would have been improved if we were each allowed to pick four types of sandwiches instead of two. Each of us received four “finger” sandwiches of each of the two types we ordered. This was plenty, quantity-wise, but we would have liked to have had more variety, i.e., two fingers each of four types.

Besides the absolutely stellar service, the other outstanding characteristic of this tea room experience was the charming look of the tea room, inside and outside! The pineapple chandelier was gorgeous! And a couple of wall hangings were literally a variety of tea china glued to a backing so that one was looking “down” at a tea table while viewing them! Super clever and attractive!!!

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	★★★★

High Tea at Cafe Wisteria in Menlo Park, CA: 09/26/20 with the San José Tea Room Lovers Meetup

Nine stalwarts from the San José Tea Room Lovers Meetup met this past Saturday at the Allied Arts Guild‘s Cafe Wisteria for our first “sit down” tea since February! The AAG’s beautiful patio was all ours for two hours! Our tables were 5-foot round ones set many feet apart to minimize the possibility of any COVID-19 transmission amongst us as we dined. Each linen-covered table had an umbrella over it which did a fairly good job of keeping us in shade. And of course, our server was mask-clad throughout our time.

In a further nod to the pandemic, each guest’s food was served on an individual 3-plate tier and each guest had her own teapot of hot water to pour over a teabag in her cup.

The temperature was in the high 70s with a gentle breeze. Given the great weather, the fabulous setting, and the reassuring safety precautions, this should have been a memorable tea! However, the food quality and quantity were particularly mediocre! The sandwiches were attractive and tasty but they were so dainty in size that there should have been several more of them on each guest’s tier. The scones were heavy and baked sometime yesterday (or earlier still)! And the two desserts (of three) that I tried were not remotely good.

The selection of mostly Numi individually packaged tea bags was similarly ho-hum.

All in all, this was one of the most mixed-bag teas I’ve ever attended! A 5-star setting with 2-star food and drink! So much potential but such a disappointment!

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★
Food Quantity	★★
Tea Quality	★★
Value for Money	★★
Overall	★★

Winter Wonderland Tea at the English Rose in Pleasanton, CA: 02/01/20 with the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup

Twenty-two members of the San Jose Tea Room Lovers filled over half of Pleasanton’s English Rose Tea Room on February 1st for a Winter Wonderland Tea. Little did we imagine at the time that it was our last indoor tea for quite some time, and our very last tea at the English Rose. Sadly, after 16 years in business and 5 months of pandemic-forced closure, the English Rose closed permanently in mid-August. It had been a yearly venue for our Meetup for several years.

While the thematic nature of the English Rose’s afternoon teas was not as good as at some other tea rooms, their customer service was the very best of all the Bay Area tea rooms! A bevy of young female servers rushed back and forth from the tiny kitchen to the tables of guests, doing their best to keep everyone happy. Each table was allowed an unlimited quantity of pots of tea of any flavor desired; the only restriction was that a table could have only a small number of pots at a time, due to the dainty size of the tea tables. If a tea was found objectionable, the servers simply took it away and replaced it with a new flavor, without batting an eye! Between the plethora of servers and the uncommonly generous tea policy, afternoon tea at the English Rose was always a charmingly pleasant experience. We will greatly miss this jewel amongst Bay Area tea rooms!

Afternoon Tea at Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Campbell, CA: 11/16/19 with the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup

The San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup began in November 2014 with just three of us at the Lisa’s Tea Treasures located in Campbell, California. So, it was fitting that we celebrate our 5th anniversary at Lisa’s Tea Treasures, still located in Campbell, albeit at a different location.

Fifteen of us were seated at three tables all by ourselves in the new Lisa’s middle tea room, where we enjoyed Celebrations of Blessings–the monthly tea plate. The butternut squash soup, “seasonal” scone served with Devonshire cream and cranberry curd, and turkey/stuffing/cranberry mini-croissant sandwich were all in the “out of this world” category! The remainder of the plated main course–a cucumber mint sandwich quarter and two autumn fruit and nut quarters–were unremarkable. But everything went very well with the Butter Truffle tea selected by Lisa’s for the Celebrations of Blessings.

Dessert was an individual pumpkin praline cheesecake, which was yummy, although I prefer the more typical selection of 3-6 tiny desserts rather than a large serving of a single one.

Our Meetup’s August tea had been at this same Lisa’s, on what was only the second weekend of business at the new location. As might be expected, things were a bit bumpy then. We had been seated at two round banquet tables and a rectangular table; the former proved unsuitable as we raised our voices trying to be heard across them. This time, I specifically requested that we NOT be seated at the round banquet tables. The rectangular tables at which we were seated instead proved a big help in lowering our chatter volume!

The most outstanding aspect of the Campbell Lisa’s Tea Treasures is the fact that there is a unique monthly tea plate virtually every month! This is what kept us returning a couple times a year for the first two years of our Meetup’s existence. Now that Lisa’s has reopened in their new location, we’ll be doing the same! Each monthly plate is a combination of food and beverage, carefully selected to fulfill the plate’s theme, and guaranteed to keep “regulars” like us returning!

Ambiance	★★★★
Service	★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	4.5/5

Afternoon Tea at the Tea List in Davis, CA: 09/15/19

A friend and I recently spent a Sunday on a train-and-tea outing! We rode California Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor out to Davis to have afternoon tea at the Tea List, a tiny but charming restaurant located just a few blocks from the Amtrak station.

What is billed as High Tea on the Tea List menu provides impressively more “protein” than most afternoon teas. Each of was served a curried chicken mini-slider, three tiny cucumber and cream cheese triangles, a salmon sandwich, two veggie sandwiches, and two turkey/cheese/pesto sandwiches.

The cranberry scones were delicious although not quite traditional–I believe they were made with more butter than most, which made them much less dense.

The desserts were pretty forgettable. Given that the restaurant has a small display area of pastries, I was a bit surprised by this.

The tea itself was outstanding! Whenever either of us had emptied our individual tea “carafe,” we could get a new one of the same tea OR a totally new tea! I had a fabulous strawberry green tea with my sandwiches and an equally fabulous vanilla black tea with my desserts. Each carafe came with a timer for black, green, or white tea, as appropriate. This was a nice touch seldom seen in tea rooms in my experience.

The noise level was probably the biggest drawback at this venue. There was only one other occupied table while we were having tea, but it was a group of seven who talked very loudly, making it almost impossible for my friend and me to hear each other. We were relieved when their food was served so we could chat again!

Regardless, the tea, sandwiches, and scones at Tea List were outstanding! It’s well worth a visit!

Ambiance	★★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	★★★★

Afternoon Tea at Pardee Home Museum in Oakland, CA: 09/22/19 with the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup

Fourteen of us in the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup enjoyed a Garden Tea today in the lovely backyard of Pardee Home Museum in Oakland, California. It was a heavenly experience! The temperature hovered in the high 70s, the food was plentiful and tasty, and the teacups were kept filled.

The first tier included homemade cheese crackers, mushroom savories, chicken salad in phyllo shells, and three different small sandwiches. Once everyone had finished, the Pardee volunteers cleared away those tiers, replacing each with a plate containing a scone for each guest. These were notable for their dainty size, their straight-from-the-oven warmth, and the generous quantities of clotted cream and strawberry jam in attractive crystal servers.

The meal was completed with a tier of tiny desserts. There were a couple I did not care for, which was probably best since there were FIVE different ones for each guest!

Although Pardee Home Museum is located adjacent to a freeway, this Meetup seemed much quieter and more relaxing than most of our tea venues. After we had finished the tea service, a volunteer tour guide joined us for an introduction to the history of the house, followed by a tour of the main floor, several rooms on the second floor, and best of all–the cupola!

I first discovered Pardee Home Museum several years back during a “tea and tour” at three historic houses in Oakland. I then led my San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup group there in November 2017 for a tea in the Pardee dining room, followed by our first Garden Tea there in August 2018. After today’s superb tea, I’m confident we’ll be returning again in 2020! The Pardee Home Museum afternoon tea is simply the very best there is in the Bay Area….

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	★★★★★

Afternoon Tea at the Hidden Tea Room in Lodi, CA: 06/08/19 with the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup

Fourteen of us from the San Jose Tea Room Lovers Meetup trekked out to Lodi, California this past Saturday, so we could try out the new-to-us Hidden Tea Room. We had been warned by another member who visited a few weeks before to expect slow service. And that was indeed the case for the first hour–we were served only tea, scones, and sorbet. But things sped up during the second hour of our two-hour seating. And some of us found the slow pace more relaxing, and conducive to chatting with each other.

The highlights of this tea experience were the ambiance, food quality (literally, every item was tasty!), and the completely superb tea!

The inside seating area, which we had requested, is a single medium-sized room with attractive decor, well-spaced tables, and fairly good acoustics. We were comfortably seated at two large round tables with plenty of elbow room in-between us.

After our first two pots of tea were served, the scones arrived still warm, with blackberry jam, lemon curd, and homemade whipped butter. The latter was an unusual choice of scone condiment, but seemed popular with those members who tried it.

A teensy serving of very lemony sorbet appeared at each place after the scones had been consumed.

Two warm and somewhat oversized savories with a few berries started off our second hour. One of the savories was a Quiche Lorraine, which didn’t seem like a good choice since bacon is not an appropriate ingredient to serve a diverse group. The other savory was an excellent Spinach-Feta Puff.

Scone with condiments
Savories

There were just two sandwiches for the next course, which is the smallest number I’ve encountered at an afternoon tea. They were both delicious but a third one would have been a nice-to-have.

One oddity about the service is that the scones arrived on a serving plate, the savories arrived individually plated, and then the sandwiches were on a serving plate again. Our tables were a bit too large for us to be able to comfortably reach the serving plates or the dessert tiers that came later, so I think the overall experience for large groups could be improved by the staff plating the entire meal.

Individual two-sandwich stacks
Snickerdoodles, lemon bars, mini cupcakes

This tea room did a fabulous job with the tea itself! We must have gotten to sample half a dozen different teas at each table. Each pot arrived with the tea leaves removed, after having been carefully steeped with a timer. No warnings to “let it steep for a few minutes.” No teapot refills with hot water. No over-steeping due to the tea leaves having been left in the pot. Every tea was ordered by us, made fresh, and there didn’t seem to be a limit to how many different ones we could try! And the teapots themselves were gorgeous eye candy!

All in all, our Hidden Tea Room afternoon tea was a very good experience, especially for the low price of $29.50, which included tax and gratuity. And for many of us, the trip was our first visit to Lodi. Several members headed to the Historic Lodi Downtown area afterwards, for wine-tasting, shopping, or both!

Ambiance	★★★★★
Service	★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	4/5

Officers’ Summer Tea Aboard the USS Hornet in Alameda, CA: 06/02/19

A friend and I attended the 11:00 seating of today’s Officers’ Summer Tea aboard the USS Hornet docked in Alameda, California. This was my first ever afternoon tea on board a ship!

I almost didn’t make it to the tea though! Everyone enters the Hornet via the Hangar Deck but the Summer Tea was located one level below on the Lower Deck. On my way there, I suddenly found myself in a tight little hallway with a line of guests in front of me, another line of guests behind me, and my claustrophobia starting to kick in! The slow movement was due to the single file and seriously steep steps with rope railings, which were pretty tricky to navigate. And once I finally made it to the Lower Deck and into the room where the tea was to be served, I was seriously uncomfortable with the low ceilings, total lack of portholes/windows, and general feel of being in a basement, despite the fact that I was still well above the water line. So! My advice to the mobility-challenged is to skip this tea! And my advice to the claustrophobic is to prepare yourself mentally OR with anti-anxiety medication!

Teapots of hot water were the first item to be brought to our table by the cheerful and efficient trio of volunteer waitresses. They then walked around to each guest, presenting a box of assorted tea bags from which one could select the tea desired. The waitresses repeated this process throughout the meal, so one could have more than one type of tea if desired.

Three types of sandwiches were available. Each guest was asked if they wanted one of each, two of one type and one of another type, etc. This was a pleasant attention to diner satisfaction not usually found at large fundraising afternoon teas! The Cucumber Dill sandwich was good; the Tomato & Pesto one, of which I’d had the foresight to order TWO, was fabulous!

The sandwiches were accompanied by a small bowl of a very nice Summer Salad, and a so-so Miniature Asparagus & Peas Quiche.

After all the sandwiches, salad, and quiche had been consumed, a plate of three mini desserts was delivered to each table. The Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cupcake and Strawberry Cream Puff were both outstanding! I’ve rarely encountered a Macaron to my liking and today’s Peach & Elderflower one was no exception, but two desserts were plenty anyway.

Guests for this Summer Tea were welcome to wander around the entire ship, looking at the exhibits, going on docent-led tours, and watching videos about the Hornet’s history. This made the Summer Tea a particularly good value for the $32 price!

Menu on one side, table number on the reverse
Macarons, mini cupcakes, and strawberry cream puffs

Ambiance	★★
Service	★★★★★
Food Quality	★★★★
Food Quantity	★★★★
Tea Quality	★★★★
Value for Money	★★★★★
Overall	4/5