Cynthia’s Tea Garden

Love this place! The owner Cynthia is an awesome English lady. She makes everything from scratch! Love the tea sandwiches and the plate of desserts include a yummy combo of sweet delights! And although Im a coffee drinker usually, the tea here is divine! I have been here for a bridal shower and a little girls princess party with friends. This is REAL English tea house in every respect. Cynthia makes every guest feel welcome. Make sure you make reservations in advance. Always a great experience here.

I feel bad to give this lady a 2, but it’s really around 2 and 3.
It’s in a residential like house, where you go through the lobby where there is a big table hosting over 10 people, and the kitchen area where you see the bread from grocery store, the basket she use to decorate your tea sandwiches. The room we ended up with is very intimate and quiet. There are two tables. I am not sure how that is going to work if there is another group of people sitting next to us… we will definitely hear each other talking.
Also, the bathroom is next to the room we sat, I could hear girls talking when I was in the bathroom. I would imagine same thing happens the other way around.
For $ 29 after tax and tips, you pay for a cute cup of fruit salad, three different tea sandwiches (cucumber, spicy sauce and chicken), assorted desserts (5 kinds I guess). Also you get to enjoy different types of tea.
Taste wise, I can’t tell the difference between this place and other high tea places. I even think other high tea places serve you food that are more complicated to make so that you don’t feel like a rip off.
If you ask me if I am going to come back, answer is no.

Cute set-​up inside a residential home. Cynthia was great! The tea service went smoothly and we got to enjoy the tea room for ourselves :)

Cynthia’s kitchen is unusual: food service certified. She gets up every morning to bake her traditional recipes (usually from her grandmother!) fresh from scratch. Her eclairs are freshly filled, the shortbread is perfect, and the scones are exquisitely traditional. Heck, she even puts up her own jam. And the sandwiches! Combined with tea that she «brought back from the duty-​free», it’s a nom worth the travel.
The real reason to go is Cynthia herself. She’s been around the world three times and has the stories to prove it, all delivered in a magnificent Manchester accent. It’s like the best B&B. She runs her house how a proper English Tea Room is run, and her pride, satisfaction and happiness show in every room. Go. Enjoy. It is lovely!

I love tea and I have been to over a dozen tea houses. Although it was a good bag of tea — I was a little disappointed that it was Bigelow tea bags that were used. I like to see stuff I cannot just get a Safeway when I go to a tea house. Also she did not ask us what tea we wanted, just served us a tea and one tea for all of us. Also since it was Mother’s Day we did not get to choose what items off the menu or tea type we wanted.
The food was all fresh and tasted like traditional tea items. The lavender short bread and chocolate covered strawberries were my favorite.
Very important — cash only. I know other people put this, but I did not notice before going so it was a good thing that I had enough cash with me. The place was cute and there is a farmer’s market right out front on Sundays. It is close to public parking.

My husband and I went to Cynthia’s Tea Garden for our 14^th Wedding Anniversary (which is also on Valentine’s Day). Since we don’t like to deal with the Valentine’s Day crowds and prices… we went for a nice brunch…
It was lovely and made us feel special… We were in our own Victorian room… beautiful decorated. The little tea sandwiches were delicious and the rose tea was so good too… Cynthia pays attention to all the details…

This was the first time I had tea service so I wasn’t sure what to expect other than tea and scones. I made a last minute reservation around noon and was able to get a seat at 2pm since I had a small group (2 people). I suggest that you make your reservations early since the place is small.
There is plenty of parking around the area. Street parking is for two hours and there is a small parking lot that doesn’t have time restrictions in the day.
The service was really nice. The sandwiches were good. I didn’t care for the chicken and pineapple one but I enjoyed the other two sandwiches (cucumber and artichoke). The tea was great too. We had a raspberry tea. With a small cube of sugar, its perfect. Overall I enjoyed my experience and I think that this is a great place to try.

Came here twice, once with one other person on a whim and once with a party of five.
The experience was overall excellent, but a few minor changes would make it five-​star. I’ll start with the needed improvements.
First, it’s essential to make a reservation. Unlike other tea places I’ve seen, there are no «timed seatings.» While this allows you to be flexible with your time and stay as long as you want, it also means that you can’t just drop in for tea, although if you call first, Cynthia will accommodate you if she has space.
Second, you can’t use your credit card here, so make sure you bring enough cash to accommodate at least $ 30 per person. I don’t know what her party limit is, but when I was there with just one other person she did not automatically add a gratuity to the bill; with five people she added 20% automatically. While my party of five was there, there was another party of five ladies next to us who tried to pay their check with two $ 100 bills, Cynthia immediately said sorry, but she could not change the bills. They were lucky that we paid our check in smaller denominations so that they could be accommodated, but as a person who runs a cash-​only business, it really should be her responsibility to be sure that she has enough change on hand to accommodate payments like this which should be expected. Also, our bill totalled $ 143, we paid her $ 145 and she didn’t give us any change. I realize that’s a pittance (in all honesty, her level of service was worth it so I didn’t press the issue), but a good business person makes sure that even pittances are setlled, especially after already adding a generous gratuity.
There is also no website, so you need to just know by word of mouth or review sites about this place.
Now for the good. The tea, sandwiches, and sweets were excellently prepared, elegant, and tasty. We ate chicken pineapple, cucumber dill, and garlic spread sandwiches. Sweets were light, fluffy scones the size or Oreos topped with jam and whipped cream, a chocolate strawberry, and a lemon tart which was curd in phyllo dough (my favorite.)
She was very attentive and made sure our pots were filled as needed. We were given a special «winter blend» tea that was lovely, and some pomegranate as well. Between the five of us I think we polished off four pots. The décor of the place is quaint, homey, and quiet. The food is worth the price and she will bring you more if you want it without charging extra.
So despite the few business flaws, I’d definitely come here again.
And one last note: If you reserve on a Sunday, be aware that the street is closed off for the Farmer’s market and you will probably have to park a minimum of a block away, so be prepared to walk a bit if the weather is bad.

A friend and I traveled to the East Bay to preview a location for a tea in April. Another place that I wanted to try was all filled up for the day so we called to see if Cynthia could accommodate us and she said she could. Since we did not have a reservation we could not have the high tea but that was ok. We both ordered the lunch tea which was a huge spinach salad with strawberries and Mandarin oranges and Quiche Lorraine. The quiche was a very small slice and was missing the bacon and did not have much flavor.
We did get a strawberry dipped in chocolate and three little bites of something that had whipped cream on the top. I asked if we were supposed to get a scone and was told that Cynthia does not make the larger scones, that was what the three little bites were. She does not use clotted cream but makes her own heavy whipping cream to go on the mini scone.
For the price we did get a lot of food but it was not what we had expected. The inside of the house and the rooms look tired and could use a fresh coat of paint to refresh it. In the room where we ate lunch was another party of three college aged girls enjoying their lunch out. Cynthia did remind them to use their «tea voices» when they got a little loud… hum, would she do that to adults?
I am glad that we went and had lunch because it makes it easier for me to choose the other place to take my group in April.

Reservations ONLY!
It would be best to go early (around 11am) since you get the whole day there to chat and such. If you go later, I think she closes at 4pm so you wouldn’t get much time.
I went for «lunch» and there were a lot of stuff. Probably best idea to see pictures.
Cynthia is the only person that is there so she would have to make everything (probably why reservation is needed)
Overall its a good afternoon tea experience. Definitely something to check out for Fremont residents.

I have to say this was the most disappointing experience going out to tea I’ve ever had. I called ahead and made a reservation for a Saturday at 12 for high tea. I came with a couple of my lady friends. Parking was pretty easy since there’s a public lot more or less across the street from the tea house. On the outside, the house was pretty cute. When we got to the front door I wasn’t sure if we should just walk in or ring the bell so I rang the bell and Cynthia greeted us right away. She seemed taken aback by us… somehow surprised. Right away I got a really strange vibe from her… like we were teenagers interrupting her peace. She told us to come right in. There was a room directly to the left with a medium sized table which seemed set up for tea so I hesitated here… I wasn’t sure where to go. She said to go down the hall… down the hall there was another room with a large table which seemed set up so I hesitated again when I got to this room. Cynthia said to keep going… so we continued through the kitchen and into another hall and got to another room with two large to medium tables set up. Here I hesitated again until Cynthia finally said which table to sit at. Right away this was strange to me… why not just show us to our table and walk us through the house rather than have us go through the scavenger hunt? Also, it seemed strange to me that all the tables were larger tables. I didn’t see any tables for smaller groups. There was only three of us and we sat at a table which would have been better for seating 6. The décor in the house was set up to be a cute country vintage style but it seemed really run down and dirty and dusty to me. I noticed the lace cover on the table was very badly stained… overall it seemed a little drab and depressing.
As soon as we sat down Cynthia brought us huge fruit and cottage cheese parfaits which were very pretty and it was nice to be served something right away but I thought this was weird since fruit and cottage cheese doesn’t seem to me something that a lot of people would like. Anyhow, Cynthia then asked what tea we would like… She didn’t have very many choices… I think there was something like 5 to choose from. Also, the only non-​caffeinated/​decaffeinated option was a pomegranate tea. No decaf blacks or anything. The food selection was also very disappointing and the set up strange. After bringing us our tea Cynthia came by with a three tiered plate of huge piles of tea sandwiches. There was three kinds of sandwiches: chicken with pineapple, salmon, and cucumber and cream cheese. All of these sandwiches had the same bread. While I liked having so many sandwiches I didn’t know how much to eat since I didn’t have any idea what else we were going to be getting. There was no menu to look at or to choose our options from. It was also strange to me that Cynthia was bringing out one thing at a time. I’m so used to seeing the whole tea spread in front of me served all at once. It turned out the sandwiches were it for savories. After we were done with the sandwiches Cynthia served us a plate each of small sweets. There was two of the smallest pieces of scone topped with jam and cream (the diameter was about as big as an oreo cookie), two pieces of chocolate dipped short bread cookies, two chocolate dipped strawberries, and an apricot filo crusted tart. The sweets were alright. I really liked how the scones seemed to be an English style scone (soft and not so sweet) rather than an American style scone (hard and sweet) but I didn’t like that they were so small and that the jam and cream were already on top. We did not get served jam, lemon curd, or clotted cream to top the scone as we pleased :(Overall the food was pretty disappointing both in variety and taste.
After the sweets Cynthia came back with the check and after paying, while we were leisurely getting ready to leave, I got the impression she was surprised we were not leaving yet. Finally she started to open up a little bit and talked a little bit more with us which was the first and only time I really felt welcome into this tea house… a short lived moment. Previous to this, she seemed to not really be around at all. Throughout the tea, I could hear a tv in the background and we seemed to be other only ones there the whole time which made it even stranger that Cynthia was so absent and unfriendly with us.
The best part of the whole tea was the bathroom which was huge and had old fashioned toilet with a pull chain.

Cynthia is in business and what a sweet business it is! I hope Christina P gets a chance to re-​review soon.
Came here on Sunday with 2 of my sisters and 2 nieces and enjoyed high tea in an adorable victorian home (after walking around the farmer’s market first). My sister and I shared a pot of Blue Eyes (?) tea which was so good that she bought 2 packs to take home. I’m not a fancy tea person. I drink tea at home once in a while and I hardly ever eat scones. And yes, this was my first time to have high tea so I’m really happy with my first official tea outing. My favorite: the homemade scones with jam and whipped cream. And I do have a weakness for shortbread which was delicious (and half dipped in chocolate!). My nieces loved the salmon sandwiches and the chocolate covered strawberries.
Cynthia was SO NICE and had a pleasant chat with us at the end of our visit and did explain why she was closed for a time recently. It was so nice of her to share her stories with us. Service was very good and we enjoyed all of the courses. Thanks again for the warm hospitality and a lovely afternoon tea, Cynthia!

I went to high tea with a group of friends and was DELIGHTED at the amount of loving care Cynthia has put into every aspect of Cynthia’s Tea Garden. In addition to Cynthia’s culinary and tea blending skills, she is a consummate host who really knows how to do authentic high tea in style. We were all STUFFED from the delicious, fresh-​made sandwiches and pastries — made from farm-​fresh local produce and served with a genuine, broad smile. The prices are extremely reasonable, the building is a California Registered Historic Landmark beau arts craftsman bungalow perfect for photo shoots, and the table settings are the most beautiful of any tea house I have attended. Every single one of us is eager for the next trip!

Cynthia is quite a lovely person with obviously many wonderful attributes.. ;)
+: love the tea house itself, historic and authentic.. having high tea in one of the wallpapered rooms made it feel like play; not to mention, Cynthia’s tea accoutrements and touches.. so sweet to be personally attended by Cynthia.. her welcome of fresh fruit salad with a little bit of cottage cheese was a parfait of healthy delicious sweetness.. her fresh homemade creations: scones with jelly and whipped cream, shortbread dipped in chocolate, lemon curd tartlet were sumptuous.. and of course, the teas were perfectly brewed.. umm.. also, loved the fresh pansies. .
—: n/​a
had a marvelous experience.. thank Ü, Cynthia! =))

Hungry?
You would be surprised how fully satisfying a traditional English High Tea is (typically served around 5−6pm in England), especially when you have ROUNDS of food:
Picture a fresh fruit salad (persimmons, apples and pears) mixed with a raspberry vinaigrette and a dollop of cottage cheese on top. SO GOOD…
Next, imagine a plate of small sandwiches of fresh bread with the crust cut-​off and three variations of filling: Cucumber w/​cream cheese and dill, chicken salad w/​pineapple and cream cheese and garlic/​herb cream cheese… very tasty!
Desserts (which is «stressed» spelled backwards, ironically…), are served on a small plate and come in bite-​size portions (a true lady NEVER inhales her food). You can indulge in a chocolate dipped strawberry or shortbread cookies (2), lemon curd tarts (2) and scones with strawberry-​fig jam (3) and whip cream on top.
We had the pleasure of experiencing Cynthia’s signature «Christmas Tea» blend. Very delicious, one lump of sugar made it even better…
The service was great, Cynthia was very attentive and friendly-​she made every effort to ensure that we had plenty of hot water and that we enjoyed the food.
The setting, in a word «adorable»! The house is over 120 years old and still contains much of it’s original amenities, both High Tea and the house are over a century old. Very unique experience.
*Reservations are required for High Tea service but it’s the best deal for the $.
TIP: bring plenty of cash (no credit cards), your manners and your appetite!

Cynthia’s Tea Garden is good for the afternoon tea novice, however, their options are pretty simple.
$ 14 comes with a tiny scone cut in half with jam and cream on top, as well as a butter cookie, a strawberry dipped in chocolate, and another little cracker.
You can also get additional mini sandwiches if you go with the more expensive menu.
The place is really cute located in a little Victorian-​ish house. The home is very quaint and cute.
No big scones though or unique pastries and just a simple variety of teas, cash only, too. But — certainly a decent option for Fremont! Easy parking in the lot across the street.

I took my daughter and her friend for a nice lunch today, and we had a great time. Cynthia was very nice, and the house itself was adorable. I made a reservation a few hours before our requested tea time, and Cynthia was friendly and cheerful. When we arrived, I parked in the lot next door, as I wasn’t sure if there was customer parking available (and I forgot to ask… sorry, guys!). We rang the doorbell and were led to a lovely room with two tables behind the kitchen. We were handed menus and made our selections, going with a pot of mango tea. The girls started with fruit salad with cottage cheese, with generous portions coming on plates and decorated with flowers. I got the ceasar salad, which was very flavorful with yummy green olives. Next came the tea sandwiches; cucumber, chicken salad with mandarin orange, and spinach. All were very good. The spinach sandwich was actually made with something similar to spinach dip, and was VERY good, considering I am not a spinach fan. Finally, we absolutely ADORED the apricot scones, which were topped with fresh cream. They were, hands down, the best scones I have ever had. I don’t think I will ever be able to eat another American-​style scone again. Cynthia was nice enough to make us each two chocolate strawberries when she heard the girls drooling over them on the menu :) They were divine… I have to go back and ask what kind of chocolate she uses! The only (very small) dent in the experience was that I didn’t realize that she offers iced tea. It was very warm today and iced tea would have been great… though it would admittedly take away from the «tea party» experience.
All in all, we enjoyed ourselves and would definitely go back. Oh, she doesn’t take cards, so be sure to bring some cash. Other than that, it was very relaxing and we loved it :)

I made a reservation through voicemail, and when I didn’t receive a callback confirming the reservation, I called during working hours and spoke with Cynthia personally. She had the reservation noted, and there was no problem.
I went with my sisters, and for the very reasonable price of $ 22 ea. for a prix fixe menu, we had a great time!
The food, while somewhat familiar, was either presented in a refreshing manner, or just really tasty and fresh!
First off, one sister ran 20 minutes late but it was no problem, as Cynthia explained to us: I run this like a European Tea House. Once you book the space it’s yours, and you may stay here as long as you like. So, my other sister and I relaxed and toured the premises. Cynthia has at least 2 rooms available for seatings, with a possible third room. She can seat parties up to 25 people, and said that she’s hosted showers and parties without a problem.
So, once we were all collected, we started off with a fresh fruit salad, served in a cut glass goblet. Very refreshing-​topped with cottage cheese, and orange slice and edible geraniums.
The next course was a caddy of sandwiches, triangularly cut, of course! We had cucumber, artichoke, and chicken with cut pineapple options. My favorite was the artichoke, because it was the most unusual.
The final course were individually plated dessert selections. We each got a lemon tart, 2 scones with jam and cream, chocolate-​dipped shortbread cookies and a chocolate-​dipped strawberry. All very delicious.
As to the tea, well, we aren’t very well-​versed in tea, so, with Cynthia’s advice, we selected a raspberry herbal tea, and she would pop in to make sure the flavor was okay, refill the pot, etc. Otherwise, we had the cozy room to ourselves for two hours.
While waiting for the missing sister, I asked about dining outside. Cynthia said that during hot weather, she serves iced tea and scones on the porch. How lovely is that!!!
And, before you ask me, yes we wore hats, but no gloves were worn. Pictures are available upon request.
I will definitely go back, and I’m sorry to say that I’ve missed out on 5 years’ worth of opportunity to partake of this charming establishment a mile from my house.

So my cousin & I wanted to do tea, & though I have been to more Asian inspired tea houses, this was my first traditional English tea experience. I must say, I was very impressed.
It’s located in a little Victorian house that is all decorated for tea and goodies. The tea was sweet and perfect. The goodies were lovely looking. The scones especially were DELICIOUS.
Perfect place to go with a good friend, family member or loved one.
btw: cash or check, no credit cards!

They are actually located on BAY ST.
Hours: Tues-​Sun 11am-​4pm
Unfortunately I dont have much to review about this place. I called several times today to make a reservation and find out their hours. I got the voice mail each time. I decided to drive by on my way back from Kaiser. They have horrible street construction going on outside of Bay St so I had to park around the corner and walk through the construction! I arrived at the front door at 3:30pm to find they were CLOSED. Right next to the CLOSED sign were there posted hours, clearly stating they should be open until 4pm.
I dont know if they were closed due to the construction, because I can see that business would be slower with that riot going on outside, but I dont enjoy walking into a business when they close early.
I guess I will have to give this place another try when the construction is all cleaned up, but I recommend avoiding this place until then. Try Tyme for Tea in Niles instead.