Victorian Tea Parlor

I purchased a groupon to this establishment and decided to give it a go. The price was outrageous for what my husband and I had…$ 48 for a small tea cup full of soup each, four finger sandwiches each, four small pastries each, a small cup of fruit (shared) and a small pot of tea (shared). The entire establishment was jammed with a mess of tea related items… I felt like I was stuck in a hoarder’s basement. And, it was not clean! The redeeming quality was that the food was decent and the waitress was friendly. Won’t come back here again!

Visited here for the first time and had the Victorian High Tea menu with a good friend. My first impression was that the shop is incredibly overcrowded. My friend or I knocked stuff off the wall three different times, I saw another patron knocks something off, and the staff knocked some stuff off the wall too. DO NOT bring small children here or you will probably end up paying for a bunch of stuff they will inevitably break. It is extraordinarily crowded with furniture and teapots, teacups, etc. I also immediately wished it were lit better. The standard office building fluorescent lighting really kills the effect they’re going for. All the food (soup, quiche, finger sandwiches, scones, desserts) was good. The owner (I think it’s the owner) talks pretty loudly so that’s kind of distracting, but the other server was wonderful. Overall it was nice but seemed very expensive. They add 20% gratuity to the bill without telling you that they’ll do that (okay, fine, whatever) but for that price I could pay a tiny bit more and have a non-​cluttered, elegant experience at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. I realize this is a one-​off shop run by an individual, but the price kind of made it seem like a letdown at the end. Be forewarned if you are a person of size: all the chairs are antique or vintage and all are tiny.
With better lighting and less clutter it would rate another star.

My daughter and I went here for the high tea. It’s an eclectic décor with a very friendly owner and maybe her daughter/​niece. They were very knowledgable on tea service, the history and preparation. Their personalities brought the parlor to life. The food was plentiful and the food was good. We ate so much as not to be rude not wanting to be wasteful, it was more food than we needed. My daughter ate the fruit and sweets and I ate the sandwiches. The tea was splendid and plentiful. Honestly we couldn’t say we were not well fed and taken care of.
I did not read the reviews prior to going so did not know what to expect. The parlor has many teacups saucers pitchers aprons jewelry etc to look at. It’s part of the charm and ambience. The cushions on the chairs are also part of the charm.
They are very busy and seemed everyone enjoyed their experience. I was grateful for the time spent with my daughter loved talking, laughing over tea and the experience was a memory we have made

My BFF had a groupon for this little tea room.
My first impression was never bring my son here! Bull in a china shop, all the way.
This little place is head to toe teapots and tea cups and delicate wares.
There is a lot to look at.
We had the full meal thingy with soup, quiche, finger sandwiches, tea of our choice and the 3 tiered tray with pastries and sweets.
The soup and quiche were pretty good and the raspberry almond tea was quite yummy. The sandwiches were really good and were made with a vegetarian option.
The sweets varied from tasty to maybe a box mix. Not sure. We were told everything was fresh made.
The final cost was still a bit pricy even with the groupon.
For a girls afternoon it was nice. And for that purpose I might do it again. I cannot see bringing my whole family.
A special kind of day sort of experience.

I made reservations in late Feb for six, but to use the 2 Groupon I purchased $ 17 for $ 30.
To use them I was told I needed two separate reservations. Great one for two, one for 4. When I arrived my sister asked them to add us to her table. There was plenty of room at the table for six.
The place was put off by adding a 5^th, and a child to the 4 top set. The Chaos the hostess created was an embarrassment, and made the entire experience a stress feast to being there.
Who starts with cookies? The quiche was a sliver of stretching a pie pan to seave 12?
The tea was so light, we asked for more tea bags. The was a $ 120 lunch… Some respect much have been appreciated vs I was an inconvenience to their day

I take tea service kinda seriously and would often go in my native So. Cali to a traditional Victorian Tea House, so after searching for a good week for a place that would meet my British tea service standards out here in MI, this was the best place I found that was close by. It’s also the oldest tea house in MI.
As you walk in you’re greeting by a thousand transfixed doll eyes and a copious amount of STUFF everywhere. It’s cluttered needless to say. We sat by the window and I had to move a few dolls out of the way so they weren’t poking me in the back, or staring at me during tea. Our hostess was nice and very informative regarding all the teas. She was also a very free spirited person because she sang (loudly) during the entire service often times causing us to lose our place in conversation — yeah it got rather distracting.
We had the High Tea, the highest option. The scones were terrible and I wish they had plain ones instead of the orange blueberry things we got. The Devonshire cream was extremely flat and more like coolwhip that had been out of the fridge for a while — it did not feel authentically made nor thick and creamy. The soup was fine, but I’ve never had soup with tea and I don’t like the combination. The quiche was small and nothing special — probably store bought. The sandwiches were fine, but I was very disappointed that for two High Teas ($ 25/​ea) we really only got one set of sandwiches that we had to split. The fruit was fine but there was sugar coated on everything. That’s honestly what I hated the most — all the powdered sugar. Had I known absolutely every dish, save the sandwiches and soup, would come out with copious amounts of sugar on top I would have asked for no sugar. Just look at the pics posted from other users — TONS OF SUGAR.
I would recommend this place for their GREAT tea options, but I would say save your money for tea service if you’re a more experienced tea go-​er and have maybe higher tea service standards on the whole — remember, I do Afternoon Tea Service often so I’m kinda snooty about it.
I’m also used to better pricing options that don’t automatically tack on the gratuity. There’s also no lower price option for just coming in for like a casual tea and some scones that should be maybe $ 10/​per person. If you’re not and have never really been, then I’d say go check it out because it’s at least the more authentic and will give you something to talk about (all the STUFF in the place) — just ask for them to hold the SUGAR when you make your reservation. It’s a good place for girly parties or baby and marriage stuffs and they often have the place closed for private parties — it’s not a huge place.
Don’t forget to check out the creepy dollhouse in the bathroom that’s rather uncomfortably close to the toilet! ;)

I purchased a groupon for this place, and thereafter read some of these low reviews. Based on these reviews, my husband and I dropped our expectations. Well, some of these reviews are flat out wrong. Sure, the place is decorated like a doll house and has lots of tea cups and other intricate items for purchase. Sure, the furniture is mismatched and dated, but it adds to the Victorian décor. The hostess (and owner) was lovely and made us feel right at home. The food was delightful, particularly the strawberry cream cheese tea sandwiches with fresh strawberries, the cucumber/​butter tea sandwiches, and the french macrons. Even our King tea was above par – raspberry with a hint of chocolate. Every table was full, so I highly recommend reservations. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our Victorian High Tea and will be back for more! We were also stuffed when we left. Try it for yourself! BTW, the tip is added to the price.

Very pricey for sub par food. Was NOT my cup of tea. Cramped, over stuffed space. Cold, watery soup. just okay finger sandwiches. Sticker shock when the bill came, plus automatic 20% added! Save your money.

I have to ditto the other reviewers who rated this below a 3 star. The place is quaint and it is full of chatel hard to move around if you have layers on so beware. Lots of delicate items throughout and pricey so if you bump into something you might end up buying the itme if it is broken. I too had a Groupon and was anticipating a great experience what a disappointment as compared to my wonderful experience at Jens Scone and Treat Company in Roseville. Be aware that when you receive the bill that a 20% gratuity is already tacked on the bill I had the misfortune not to realize this and the waitress recieved a hefty tip. I will not be going back the price of the food is too pricey for what you get. The owner was talking on the phone which was disruptive during my meal.

What a dump! This place is so packed with junk that you can’t move. It feels like you’re sitting in someone’s overcrowded basement on a rickety chair with stained cushions piled on. That’s not the worst of it, though. The food was abysmal. They try to pass it off as «homemade daily,» but all the treats were store bought and the bread for the tea sandwiches was stale… crunchy stale. Awful. Portions are less than skimpy.
This is not high tea, but highway robbery. My tea cup was dirty. The replacement was chipped at the bottom and stained inside. Nothing matched, not cups and saucers or flatware. My napkin was a stained handkerchief! Instead of being eclectic, it was just tacky. They constantly refill your teacups, interrupting your conversation.
For the price they charge, they could truly do a much better job. Please learn from my mistake and avoid this place. Save yourself the disappointment and the money.

I had a groupon for this place and invited my grandmother to lunch with me for high tea. I had a dreamy thought that it would be something like Downton Abbey, but it wasn’t. It was however lovely and an experience. There were tea cups and antiques everywhere. The staff was very friendly. We ordered a pot of jasmine orange almond tea that was very nice, but got very strong tasting after it steeped longer in the pot.
The luncheon started with pepper squash soup which was average. The tea sandwiches made me feel dainty, like a princess. I enjoyed the chicken salad and the strawberries and cream sandwiches, the cucumber one’s were just ok and I didn’t like the egg salad sandwiches, but that is because I don’t like pumpernickel bread. The staff overheard me stating my dislike of the egg salad and told me if I return to the restaurant I could call ahead and let them know and they can make the egg salad on a different bread. The quiche was delicious and cheesy. The scones with devonshire cream were my favorite part of the meal and I even contemplated putting the devonshire cream in my tea! By the time we made it to the 3^rd tier which was the dessert, we were full and only managed to sample a few pieces of fresh fruit and the lemon bars. Our second pot of tea was a bing cherry almond and it was a very nice compliment to the desserts.
I think this would be a cute place the have a baby shower!

I would not recommend this place. We called a couple of days prior to our reservation to add another person to our party and they never picked up the message so they had to rush to add extra sandwiches to our order. I told them we could not have nuts or seeds due to a medical condition and they gave us strawberries and tomatoes, both of which have seeds. Bathroom floor was dirty and had ants crawling on it. The tablecloth was dirty. Food was sparse and we were told the desserts were homemade and when I went to the bathroom looked into the kitchen and saw them taking desserts out of plastic grocery store containers. The desserts didn’t taste homemade, and clearly were not! The place was very crowded and seats were uncomfortable. We were only allowed one kind of tea per table and there were four adults, and the kids meals did not include a beverage other than tea. Try sweet Afton’s in Plymouth. It is lovely.

The only thing I can say about this place is that the tea was good. It is so jammed packed with crap you can’t even walk. The chair are dirty and loaded with cushion to cover up old cushions. You would think with all the great local bakeries and candy places in Berkley they would use them, no they provide store bought treats. I have had plenty of tea sandwiches in my day and let me tell you, I would never serve the sandwiches the owner has created. The soup was from a can and wasn’t even hot.
The scones were stale. We arrived 15 minutes early and the man working was put out by the fact were early, this was at 11:15 in the morning and we were the only ones in the place. The cookies and fruit bowls were sitting out on tables for a good hour before other customers came in. There is a back room and it looks like a office I would feel sorry for anyone who would it placed back there for tea. Oh I forgot to tell all that the quiche was very watery and was warm not hot. The ceiling ties are all water marked and looks like they will fall down soon. Did I tell you that it cost over $ 23.00 per person and they automatically added 20% to our bill. I have to stop because the more I write the more upset I get and how I threw good money down the drain.

First time i came here I was with my friend. We were just there for some tea but instead, they’d just finished having a tea party and had extra sandwiches and they gave them to us. We were floored by their generosity! since then we’ve been going back!
Just yesterday we went to their Holiday tea, 3 of my friends and I, and it was just perfect! It’s a nice cozy, friendly atmosphere. We were served their special holiday tea which was a cinnamon type. We were then treated to some roasted pepper soup which was fabulous!
The goodies we were treated to were cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, chicken tomato sandwiches and strawberry sandwiches. The plate above was decorated with lovely blueberry scones with devonshire cream, and the plate above that included cookies, brownies and fruits all dusted with powdered sugar.
As a side dish we were treated to a wonderful fruit salad with a sweet home made dressing and a few chocolate pieces. It had blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, pomegranate chocolate covered, orange slices and spinach.
When we arrived at the parlor itself we were greeted by a lovely little mouse cookie, it was the cutest thing! LOVE IT!
Edit — by the way to the one person, There is a DOOR behind the CURTAIN… For the bathroom, Always has been! =p

The food was good. The lady gave us a extra treat because we were celebrating something, and threw on a few more things because a guy was part of the party. Sometimes she visited the table too much, others not enough.
What really left a bad taste in our mouths was we went to book the Groupon towards the end of the promo period. We could not find a time because everyone was using them at the last minute. On top of that, some of the days that it was allowed she marked the store as being closed. She did open a brief window, but it doesn’t help that the person I was taking was out of town as this ran into Labor Day vacations. She would not honor the promo code for when this person got back as we attempted to book within the time frame. I was back and forth with Groupon how kept saying it was ok and the owner back tracked saying she contacted Groupon and they told her she did not have to honor the Groupon promo part. She could not handle the amount of Groupons out there, and she then won’t make exceptions. I am not in a hurry to run back.

People, be warned. This is not the classy high tea you may aspire to while watching Downton. This is a pink and pastel and lace and creepy porcelain doll and the feeling of there being cats everywhere high tea. Unfortunately it had been so hard to get a reservation that even after I entered my intuition took a back seat to «well, how weird can it be, people are clamoring to eat here.» In case you’re wondering, the boom in business is probably explained by a recent Groupon offering.
Quarters are tight. And it is much too warm. And when asked if we may sit outside (tjhere is a table outside) we are told «Oh dear no, it is much too cold outside. Maybe later in the season.» This on a day where we are all wearing sleeveless sundresses and drove here with the car top down.
There was poorly salted vegetable stock with some vegetables floating around. There was a tower of finger snacks. Petit fours, random pastries, and small cold sandwiches — four types (cucumber, strawberry, egg salad, and chicken), just one of each of everything for four of us. All of these were very good. After we finished eating all this, a sloppily made and falling apart slice of quiche was made available — 3 of the slices were broccoli, one was mushroom, or so it seemed on taste. No introduction was given to the quiches or to the odd assortment of them on our table. We had two teapots available to the table. The Paris tea was excellent, the Irish breakfast tea was middling. I really appreciated that the tea was constantly refilled/​freshened, but the over vigilant ladies checking on our table made it very hard to talk.
There is mismatched teaware which while adorable really is not very Victorian at all. In fact, nothing about this tea was proper. This was called high tea, which is traditionally somewhat heavier food, but it was just a light afternoon tea at best. It felt shabby and an experience not to be repeated at $ 24 plus tax and gratuity (20% gratuity was just added on for our group of 4! No warnings or anything!) per person. I felt embarrassed that I’d brought my friends here. Having done high tea before, I found this particular experience to be a strain on my patience and my wallet.

Took my two daughters (ages 11 and 12) and my mom here for high tea. We dressed up in our finest and headed out to what we hoped would be a wonderful Saturday afternoon lunch in «proper fashion.»
This is the longest running tea parlor in Michigan, so there’s some history. We were greeted by two lovely ladies who run the parlor. The restaurant is very Victorian, as you would expect: lace everywhere, tea sets, porcelain dolls, lady’s hats (that you can wear) etc. It’s nice; a little cluttered, but nice.
We had the Groupon, which required a reservation. the girls were served hot chocolate and my mom and I were required to agree on one tea (of 72 available varieties) to share. A tiered plate holder was in the middle of our table with a plate on the top tier that held cookies, fruit and cupcakes. Our hostess explained that high tea protocol includes eating what’s served on the bottom tray first and making your way up, thereby «earning» the dessert at the top.
We were served several types of finger sandwiches: cucumber, grilled cheese (cold), tomato, turkey, and egg salad. Sandwiches were served with a vegetable soup. Also, quiche and scones.
The food was average at best. The hot chocolate was not creamy at all — no one at the table liked it. In fact, the server suggested adding sugar (to hot chocolate???) The rose tea was ok. The sandwiches were extremely small — the grilled cheese looked like it had been shaped with a shot glass.
Our hostess excited my girls by telling them about a dollhouse that she’d been working on for 17 years — and told them to go to the bathroom area to play with it. But when they got back there, there was a sign that said «Look but do not touch.» Fair enough, but she kind of built it up with my girls.
Additionally, the «bathroom area» was just that — an area. As in — NO DOOR. There’s just a sheer curtain that gets pulled to the side, but there’s absolutely no privacy for the bathroom. It’s kind of weird.
Here’s the worst part: Our experience cost $ 98!!! For tea and sandwiches!!! I’m still in shock. I had the $ 30 Groupon (which I paid $ 15 for) so our total was $ 68 (plus $ 15 = $ 83), and I still had to leave gratuity. I keep trying to justify it by telling myself you pay for the experience, but cold sandwiches, no door on the bathroom, and watery «hot» chocolate… Im almost angry at having spent the money.
This is a cute place that you should walk through as you’re shopping around downtown Berkley. Maybe even get yourself a cup of tea. But skip the exorbitant «High Tea» experience and send me a donation!

We had a $ 30 groupon and easily spent that (and $ 20 more) on the delicious teas, egg sandwiches, pepper squash soup, lorraine/​asparagus quiche, and desserts for two (chocolate raspberry and lemon tort) that are handmade daily at the Victorian Tea Room. Everything tasted amazing and the atmosphere is über feminine and quaint. The owner was very friendly on a rainy Tuesday afternoon… be sure to make a reservation for lunch!

There’s an old lady that lives inside me, and she’s really into tea time. One day this inner old lady told me she wanted to go out to tea instead of drinking it out of old coffee mugs at home. She’s kind of a nag, but I did her bidding and found Victorian Tea Parlor.
They offer a satisfying array of loose leaf tea and bags, a menu page full of each. A pot of tea for two is $ 4.95, with each pot equaling 3 – 4 cups per person. They also have a small but quality lunch menu. Choices include classic lunch options like soup du jour, sandwiches, salads, and quiche. I opted for the chicken spinach salad, which was remarkably fresh and decievingly large. Crisp spinach, bell peppers, tomato, strawberries, grapes, and seasoned chicken with a honey-​raspberry vinaigrette. Healthy and tasty! Served on the side was chocolate chip pumpkin bread, which was very moist and delicous.
So there’s also this little child that lives inside me, and this child was very scared to break something. This place is like hoarders for tea cups. There are tea cups, saucers, and pots on every square inch of surface space. A good analogy (or bad, if you’re into analogies being clever) might be: Tea cups are to Victorian Tea Parlor what freckles are to Lindsay Lohan. Is Lindsay still relevant to pop culture? I’m not sure anymore.
Despite the tea cup chaos, I left feeling very relaxed. Tea tends to do that, but I think the addition of the classical piano they had playing and a healthy lunch helped. What a great place for a break in a hectic day to slow down and enjoy a cup of tea. Bring your inner old ladies out!

Wow what an adorable place! This is the type of tea parlor you bring your daughter for special mommy daughter days or where you meet that special best friend to talk over high tea together. It is so cute in here with old antiques and trinkets that any little girl would adore. This is a place to build memories. They have different specials like «high tea time» and menu items for different occasions. The food is more geared toward little kids in my opinion. Nothing sophisticated, they have things like peanut butter and jelly sandwich type stuff. The tea is English type of teas. Lots of raspberry peach this or Earl Grey Breakfast Tea that. The kind of tea you add milk to. They have cute little homemade cup cake type desserts. All of there food is homemade which i really like. The service was excellent. The owners appear to be a family and you will see their daughters there helping out which I find even more charming. The lady who owns the place is just so sweet and made my experience wonderful.
This is the kind of place I really want to see stay open in these hard times. It is reasonably priced, a place to build lasting memories, and just too darn cute for words. Its like a living doll house in there!