L.S. Ayres Tea Room

21 folks from our office had a wonderful Christmas luncheon at the Tea Room. Everyone loved the experience. A variety of ages were included. Some knew of Ayres. Others had never heard of it. Service was terrific.

This is more about website for information. You go to website for Tea Room… there is no menu listed as there is for the other dining area nor are there times listed on their website or Unilocal’s site. This is soooo unacceptable. At least add on a click on menu so we can review our options.

Very disappointing Christmas Eve lunch! Shortly after leaving the dining room, I had a pounding headache and felt super thirsty! Decided to call the restaurant to see if maybe I had eaten MSG! Sure enough! The dining room manager stated almost ALL deli meats have MSG and I should have been aware of this even though no warning was printed on the menu! The attitude with no apologies was it was my ignorance, not their fault as «Duh! Doesn’t almost ALL deli meats have MSG!» I am now suspecting the chicken velvet soup also had MSG! Will definitely avoid this place forever! Expensive for the quality and no refill on the coffee! Who needs nostalgia with this kind of reality?!

I’m one of the old timers who use to visit the original L.S. Ayres Tea Room OFTEN in its prime, with wonderful memories, and even since being in the museum. I loved the thought of retaining as much of the history as possible at the Museum. However, I’ve been here several times over the past few years and this last time left me wishing even more for the old days. The furniture and pictures will remind you of the old location however the ambience is truly missing. It STILL has a very barren feel as if they just moved furniture in and stopped. PLEASE add a few flowers or tea sets, something to add the old ambience we’re all missing. It does still appear to work for those who just need a blast from the past.
The menu still has most of the fan favorites although the Hot Brown is gone. The popular Chicken Velvet Soup, Chicken Salad, Pot Pie, Pumpkin Fingers along with many other fan favorites are still here. Several have mentioned prices and this is the current prices. Soup and Sandwiches are still reasonably priced at $ 8.00, hamburger $ 9, Salads are $ 7, and the entrees are now $ 12 — $ 14. Grilled Chicken, Pork Chops, Pot Roast $ 12, Pot Pie $ 9.50, and Market Fish of the Day is $ 14.
Our order and experience this trip; The Chicken Velvet Soup is as DELICIOUS as it’s always been with small chucks of chicken in a thick, rich cream base and still $ 3.00 for a cup. All three of us ordered our favorite, the Hawaiian Chicken Salad served in a Pineapple boat with a cup of fresh fruit and pumpkin fingers bread now $ 9.00. Check out photo on site. The Pineapple Boat is a pineapple Shell, no remaining pineapple as in past, Chicken Salad is not as flavorful, almost tart, from past experiences but a large portion. The major disappointment for me was the small pumpkin fingers (pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling) that comes with many of the meals. They appeared to be stale or recently removed from the freezer and after two bites, I left on my plate. They have around 10 hot tea selections and served in a silver tea pot with a coffee mug for $ 4.95. Waitress provided instructions to allow 2 minutes for steeping then pour. I left over half of my chicken salad but my lunch companions found nothing wrong with the chicken salad but disappointed in the stale pumpkin fingers. Our waitress couldn’t answer many of our questions, stated she was the newest of the crew, but provided decent service.
All three of us left disappointed with the quality of the food but hopeful it’s a one-​time experience. I will return with those needing to renew the historical value of The Tea Room experience but I’ll have to wait several months and try another sandwich or salad.
Suggestion if you’re a cook (or not) go to the gift shop and purchase the «L.S. Ayres Tea Room Recipes & Recollections» for $ 6.95 and make your own soup, chicken salad and pumpkin fingers. Surprise your mother, aunts or grandparents with a few of their favorites at home.

I’ve gone here a couple times for ‘ladies luncheons’ with coworkers. I thought the food was okay, nothing really spectacular. And I thought it was kind of expensive, though I guess that’s to be expected since it is located in the State Museum.
The menu is mostly soup, salad, and sandwiches. (Think cottage cheese and fruit for an idea of side dishes.) Ironically for it being a tea room when you actually order a cup of tea they bring you a coffee mug, a little pot of hot water, and tea bags. Lemon and or honey if you ask for it.
I wasn’t overly impressed with it.

I brought my mother, grandmother, and aunt for high tea on Mother’s Day. I have been on several occasions prior, and really enjoyed the experience. This time, however, I had the WORST service ever… the waiter was downright rude to us. It was absolutely unacceptable for an establishment with this history. Our hot water teapots were slammed on the table, and we were offered no tea. We were told our soup was no longer available, as well as the traditional finger sandwich assortment. This was strange, given that once we enlisted the help of the management our soups and finger sandwiches arrived. Though the managers attempted to fix the situation, I was ultimately very disappointed with the service. I really only wanted to take my mothers there for the experience, as the food is really only slightly better than average. Since the experience was so terrible, I don’t know that I will return. What a shame.

I had the same reaction and nearly the same experience as the previous review Allison. Perhaps it was the thrill of being little in a magical place. I remember when I was little (no laughs… almost 35 years ago) visiting the Tea Room at Christmas time, and they’d let children pick a small toy from a large chest. Do they still do this? I don’t know, but I do know that the re-​creation of the Tea Room just does not have the same ambiance as the former real thing. Is the new re-​creation a lot smaller than the original?
I would only trust what the Tea Room was known for: Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken Velvet soup. While the food was only fair, my waiter was pleasant.

My Grandmother and Mother used to both go to the original tea room when they were little. I thought it would be nice to take them here for lunch.
They both really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Are server was very nice but a little over the top. I had a cup of chicken velvet soup, which was great but very thick and a little salty. I then went with the classic chicken salad on a croissant with fresh fruit. The croissant was stale, as was the bread brought to the table.
I just think a historic Indianapolis location that has been recreated in a museum should have been done better. The menus were old and tattered, they were not the originals, just worn and dirty. I thought it would be great, I had made out the tea room to be this beautiful prestigious place and unfortunately it didn’t live up to my idealized standards.