Tea & Sympathy

This place is really small! It’s literally the size of a shoebox! We ordered the scones and they did not have a variety of flavors just the original, which were pretty average. The food choices are limited. We ordered the avocado chicken sandwich and the bread was hard. The tea was good, nothing extraordinary.

I like how old English this place is — the food, the setting, and the people. The place is tiny, and gets filled up fast. you cannot seat until all your parties are in; but there is a lovely tea store next door you can always make some damages with cute tea cups/​pots/​teas while you wait. Love how tea pots and cups never match; and it’s a party on the table by themselves

Tea, scones, cake, sandwiches all pretty great for brunch. The atmosphere is also pretty nice on a slow day. The only reason it’s not five star is the price, 70 bucks for two people. I would’ve gave it five if it was around 40 bucks for «tea for two». It seems a more logical price for hot leaf juice and a few baked goods.

Tea time and brunch. Two things I can do all day and everyday. Why I have not been to This place is flabbergasting. I came here to do tea time with a friend and to get that real authentic British experience. I’ve lived in London and have family there so my tea time expectations are sometimes high. This place is quaint and small but the tea is amazing ! I had a black tea which was a mix of earl grey and English breakfast which was genius ! The actual sandwiches and scones with my oh so favorite clotted cream was no nonsense. The sandwiches were thick and filling. My friend had the black currant tea which was so crisp and delicious. They have Ribena Black currant which we both had iced !! Talk about throwback to my London days .
The owner nicely placed a store right next door where you can shop for all your Favorite goodies. I left with a bag of the black currant tea. I can’t even ! I’m going back to eat Sunday roast ! Thank you T&S for bringing London to the village !

food is great! I love the bean and the toast, also the jar of pickle they give you ;)
also got a Victorian sponge~ nothing to complain about.
only thing I hate is after sitting there for the meal my clothes smell like a cook… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Nice, small place with a lot of attitude! Pure British style tea in nice old tea cups and kettles. Quite pricey though for ‘tea time’ for one ($ 33). The ‘tea time’ comes with tea and a bunch of sandwiches, cake and cupcakes. It’s a nice experience overall … definitely worth a try.

I spent the first 15 years of my life pretty much with my best friend who, of course, is British. After moving to NYC I was seriously missing sausage rolls and beans and was ecstatic to discover that Tea and Sympathy was so close to me! Came here for dinner and was the only one — but I was so happy and satisfied with their food.

Chicken avo sandwich — the bestest thing ever!
Carrot soup — not bad at all.
Coffee — insanely flavorful.
Probably one the most delicious I had in NYC.
Rose petal black tea — out of this world.
The café is a bit small though and can use some renovation and furniture upgrade.

Normally, I don’t do tons of reviews on Unilocal mainly because I don’t end up frequenting too many places I visit, as I live in the city; however, I had to write a review on Tea and Sympathy. This little British joint is the best hidden gem in Greenwich Village. I go here way too often, but it is so relaxing and the perfect way to retreat from daily life in the city. Everything on the menu is wonderful and WORTH the price and wait.
Yes, it is a small joint, but that is what adds to its charm! It makes you feel at home and I love that. Whether you are going for breakfast or dinner, you won’t be disappointed! Everything is amazing and an experience worth having!

I’ve only been here once so far with some friends a while back. I’ve heard a lot of great things about it, so I was excited to try it out.
It’s quite pricey, but the offerings are wonderful! The food is great and very authentic to British cuisine. This is probably the best place to get proper high tea in the city, but it’s also a bit of a pain to get seated her. This place always has a wait (I know because every time I’ve tried to come back since the first time I went it’s been packed), and the owner doesn’t accept reservations nor does she have a waiting list. Now, I don’t mind the «no reservations» policy, plenty of other tea houses have that policy as well, but the no waitlist thing is a bit absurd. It’s just a bunch of people clustered around together with no one knowing how long the wait will be, and you have to hope no one cuts in front of you.
Between this and the cramped spacing inside, it’s a place I really stopped trying to go back to, which is a shame because the food and tea are great. So overall, I think if you want to experience a proper tea this place is an absolute MUST. At least once. I’d like to go back at some point, but it’s not somewhere I want to stand on line waiting with a crowd for an unknown block of time.

I would move in here if I could. I’d do dishes and sleep under the counter. The owner would adopt me and give me gentle but tough love and tell me to chin up when necessary. I would eat my weight in clotted cream daily.
The scones, oh the scones.

A well known establishment, this cozy little place is perfect for tea time. It’s only got a few tables, so you’ll likely encounter a wait or be a little cramped in this small space. Try to go during less trafficked times of the day to avoid it, if you’re so inclined.
In any case, it quintessentially British! Knick-​knacks decorate the walls, and you can see several unique tea pots and tea sets everywhere. Some of which are used, and some which just appear to be decoration.
I recommend the scones. The scones, oh the scones! A pot of tea, scones, clotted cream, jam, and definitely the treacle pudding.
Bangers and mash, the English classic is also served here, and the savory holds up well to the sweet. Worth a try!

It was a generally mild February weekend in New York when my husband and I were in town but the evenings were still chilly. We had about 40 minutes to kill after to dinner before a show we were going to at the Village Vanguard. We tossed out the idea of going somewhere for a cocktail but then my husband said, «you know, hot tea sounds really good right now.» I agreed and plugged in tea into the ol’ Unilocal app and up jumped Tea & Sympathy, a short .2 miles from where we had been.
We went down there and were happy to see that they had some seating available so we had the very lovely lady running the joint that night grab us a table. The space is very small and not exactly shiny and new but it has so much character and feels so cozy. It was the perfect spot for us to stop.
While they do serve food we decided to have some tea and dessert. I went for the sticky toffee pudding and a special tea of the day (orange spice) while my husband went for the ginger cake with chamomile. The teas were served in these delightful fun teapots (mine was adorned with paintings of, I think, Queen Elizabeth the 1^st while my husbands was of traditional British town-​homes lined up) and the desserts came smothered in warm custard. With the custard neither dessert was particularly photogenic but man were they exactly what we needed. Warm, sweet, perfectly paired with the teas. By husband’s, with the ginger, had a nice spice that was perfect with his chamomile and my spiced tea went well with the milder toffee.
The whole time we were there we remarked how great the experience was. From the awesome lady helping us out to the cozy spot, to the warm teas and treats. We had a limited amount of time in New York but I remarked that I’d like to come back there sometime for their full tea service. Husband agreed. So hopefully we’ll be by again on our next visit out there. I just love a full tea service!

Food: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Ambience: Very Good
I have been wanting to stop by here for a few months now. I wanted to try the whole English tea experience to remind me of my time growing up.
Walked in one late afternoon because it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner so I figured tea time it is :).
It was a near perfect experience we had scones with cream and jam and the curried chicken salad sandwich and off course a pot of tea.
Everything was very good the scones were outstanding, the sandwich was a very pleasant twist on a classic. Overall we had a delightful experience. Will I be back? For sure.

I really wanted to like this place and there were some things that I did enjoy, but overall I felt the experience was overpriced, fussy and mediocre. The restaurant is super small and they don’t take reservations so we had to wait to be seated. They quoted 20 minutes, but we were seated in under 10 minutes so I was happy about that. I loved the ambiance of the place and the displays of British-​themed knick knacks, portraits of the Royal family, the tea pots and tea cups. It seemed like the place was authentically British, down to the British staff.
When we were first seated, there was a little confusion about which seat I should sit in. The waitress made a big deal about me being seated in a particular seat, which I was already planning to sit in. It turns out, the waitress was actually speaking to my friend, but she didn’t make it clear and when I asked her to repeat herself, she spoke to me as if I was stupid. Not cool at all.
I decided to try the Afternoon Tea for One which cost $ 36 and consisted of finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, cakes and a pot of tea. It was stated that this cannot be shared between 2 people, even though it was definitely enough for 2 people.
For my tea, I chose Coco Loco, which was a lovely blend of chocolate, vanilla and rooibos. The tea was wonderful… Creamy, delicate and perfect with some milk. There was a lot of tea so that was really nice. Also, the tea came with a cute little strainer.
Then came my two-​tiered afternoon tea service. There were 10 small pieces of sandwich: Egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad. The sandwiches tasted okay but not particularly flavorful or anything to write home about. I think it would have been nice to have several different options of sandwiches to choose from.
The strawberry shortcake was decent. The cake part was moist and not too sweet, though the thin layer of strawberries and cream wasn’t enough. And the cupcake was not very good. I thought it was chocolate cake, but it turned out to be what tasted like carrot cake and the frosting tasted really plain, even though it looked good.
I did like the scones, which were perfectly flaky, slightly crumbly, nice and warm. They were especially delicious with the clotted cream and raspberry jam… How can you go wrong with that combination?
After our lunch, we had a bit of an issue paying the bill because they would only take ALL cash or ALL credit card and couldn’t split it between cash and card, but they can split the bill between 2 – 3 cards. We finally figured out how to pay the bill and I ended up paying $ 46 with tax and tip, which is a lot especially for a meal that I was not completely satisfied with.
One visit was enough for me… I definitely will not be coming back, especially since there are so many better tea houses in NYC.

I am a regular here because this place is classy and authentic and it serves actual TEA. Not those sorry excuse for a tea (read tea bag dipped in lukewarm water)
Aoife Williamson is a rockstar along with other tea and sympathy ladies and I love them as much as I love T&S’s chocolate cake.
Also their extraordinary rules sets them apart because then there is no room for entitled customers and their idiotic demands.

One of my favorite places on earth. Can’t rave about it enough. I moved from the city almost five years ago and I miss it every single day. HOW DO THEY GET THE SOUP SO CREAMY TASTING AND ITS NON-​FAT AND VEGAN?!?

It’s cute, but tiny. Having grown up with English grandparents, I came to expect some formality with tea, but the owner comes off as downright boorish. Luckily we didn’t see her again after we were seated and our waitress took fine care of us. The tea and food were pretty good, tho I have my doubts on the scones being freshly made in house. The fellows in the little shop next door were very nice and they carry all sorts of English items. The restaurant has weird hours, so check first.

Love this little spot! Went with the sis with her 9 month old. Even in the tight dining room, just a handful of tables, they had space for a highchair and we made our Tea For Two work.
Scones, cream and jam were delicious! I highly recommend. That was tier two. Tier one was a delightful array of finger sandwiches. My favorite was the egg salad which is something I never get a chance to eat nowadays (who still serves good old fashioned egg salad?). The chicken salad was good too. Cucumber sandwiches and tuna were pretty good but not my favorite. I like, compared to other tea houses, they are straightforward recipes and not fancied up in some attempt to impress.
The top tier was desserts and by this point I was full. So I brought home a cupcake with what seemed like strawberry buttercream (ok) a Victoria Sponge (yummy) and what seemed like a lemon coconut cake (very yummy). I had to take them to go.
The tea itself was great. I ordered a red rooibos which is naturally decaf since I was preggers at the time. My sis ordered the decaf English breakfast.
The tables are small so there was some bit of clutter and bumping, but it was also charming, warm and inviting. We got there at opening during the week so there was no wait and wasn’t crowded. The service was sweet and they were chatty and friendly with the baby.
And there’s an awesome, if not a bit expensive, British shop attached.
I definitely want to make a trip there again!

Love this place! Other tea parlors in the area had an hour plus wait whereas this one had no wait whatsoever. The décor is very cozy and adorable.
Ordered the apple and mango tea (a bit tart so ask for honey!) and my friend had the ginger tea (very strong but it is good for your throat). We each ordered different sandwiches, which were great. The place was affordable, as far as tea places go. Service was okay (I would agree that the staff can be a bit rude but you don’t really need service when you’re pouring your own tea and whatnot) and we didn’t feel rushed or anything when it was starting to get busy.
They have a $ 12.50 minimum per person, so I would go in a bit hungry so you can eat and drink tea.
Definitely recommend!

The waitresses here are very rude, the tea room is tiny and cold, you have to wait outside the door in the cold wind until they call your name. They had empty table when we walked in, but we couldn’t sit there because that is a table for three… BTW all the table is about the same size… tiny AF. The 66 dollar afternoon tea for two is just over priced, the tea is tasteless. Some of the pastries are not fresh.

Very British — think bangers and intimate dining with Irish ham and afternoon tea options too. Place has heritage and is worthy of eating but provided mostly anthropological value for me.
Oh, store of theirs next door is awesome for buying imports. You’ll get poppers there for sure this time of year!

Yummy and delicious but really expensive. Very crowded and you MAY NOT be seated unless all your party is present (its not fun sitting outside in the windy cold on a bench when you’d rather be inside with a cup of tea!!).
Best sausage rolls ever!

It was amazing to see such an English style tea house in NYC. We had full Monty, scone and Victoria sponge cake! Even thought the scone is not «Betty’s Tea House» standard, it’s almost there. It did remind me the beautiful old time when I was a student in England! Btw, don’t expect too much on their service.

I love it. The inside décor just reminded me my vacation times at London! Pictures hanging on the wall with the queen, tea pots, post cards, stamps, so British! People inside were also having strong British accent, impressive!
I was not coming here hungry, so too bad cannot do the afternoon tea set; instead, we shared the treacle pudding with custard and the scone. I definitely love their fluffy scone accompanied with their special cream and jam, so delicious.
This place does not take reservation, so either come in early or be prepared for a little wait.

Loud & obnoxious diners ruin our lunch
It’s tight quarters here anyway, but no way we could even talk.
Chicken salad was tasteless.
Tea is too expensive., and I will never go again to this too cozy restaurant.

Since moving to NYC we had been to the Tea and Sympathy shop next to the restaurant a few times, which we love and been told about the Sunday roast. This is one thing we miss from home and so wanted to try it. We headed down, excited for our afternoon with some friends and had a short wait of 30mins for a table. In the meantime we went into the shop and bought some supplies for the apartment.
The restaurant is small, with a lot of ‘rules’ curtly written on the menu and door and although the food is nice, is overpriced. The portion of the roast chicken and beef was large but not worth the $ 28 price tag. A standard pot of English breakfast tea is also $ 6 which is pretty steep.
I hate to leave a bad review but my low score is due to the extreme rudeness of the staff. We felt quite rushed through the whole meal and could not relax. At the end we were told that we couldn’t pay with a mixture of cash and card as ‘that’s just how it was’ which makes it difficult for larger parties when splitting the bill. The owner was pretty rude letting us know this, just saying no loudly and walking off. When we were leaving the restaurant, the waitress ran after us and shouted at us outside for apparently (wrongly) not tipping. After explaining the misunderstanding that we did tip (in fact more than 20%, we would never not tip!) she went back inside with no apology leaving us feeling confused and embarrassed, as the whole restaurant and the waiting customers outside had heard. Mortifying, especially as we hadn’t done anything wrong.
We were so excited to go for our Sunday roast and left sad, disappointed and embarrassed by the way we were treated. The staff are just rude and unapologetically so. During our meal we were chatting about our future plans to come back which we cancelled after our experience. I doubt we will be back, which is such a shame as this place could have been a firm favourite.

Small place, looks drab and feels tight inside, tables are placed close together, no privacy. I ordered toffee cake and vanilla tea. The toffee cake tasted like a chocolate brownie in warm custard. It was okay but I didn’t taste any toffee? I wouldn’t order it again. The vanilla tea was delightful. Will like to visit again for scones and tea.

When I first encountered tea and sympathy ages ago I thought they had closed down. They shared a space with a fish n chips joint called A Salt and Battery. So when I came across this place again many years later and actually open I was extremely delighted. We wandered in here at exactly tea time but it was not too crowded when we came but noticed on the menu and on placards on the door that because it is a teeny 23 place eatery that they have a ton of rules. They will not seat you unless your whole party is there and they do not favor lingerers.
We decided to get the tea for two since the tea for one is not allowed to be shared and there is a food minimum of $ 12.50. We ordered a pot of the tea and sympathy rosie lee and a pot of blackcurrant tea. I was wavering between experimenting with a hot ribena but the blackcurrant tea sounded much better. They are definitely generous with the tea leaves here so they give each person a personal strainer to put atop their tea cups to catch any stray leaves trying to make their way into your cup. The rosie lee is an in house mixture of their earl grey and english breakfast teas which was very fragrant and comforting. I tasted the english breakfast more than the earl grey but I still enjoyed it. The blackcurrant tea is a fruity sweet tea even without sugar and very mellow tasting and absolutely delicious. I recommend getting both. If you get certain teas they may give you a novelty square shaped tea pot with the union jack flag or ones shaped like a little building like big ben. They also have drinks like irn bru, ribena, lucozade if you prefer something else.
For the tea for 2 we did not get to choose the sandwiches like at other establishments and the finger sandwiches we were presented with were tuna salad, egg salad with watercress and cucumber cream cheese. We also got 3 crumpets with jam and clotted cream. The cream tasted very fresh and the crumpets were plain buttermilk round shaped like a biscuit and equal parts crumbly and soft. The top tier held a cupcake simply frosted with cream, a slice of carrot cake and a wedge of coconut lemon cake.
We stayed for quite a while but were not able to finish the tier. We barely put a dent in it. We stayed so long that people started ordering dinner and some of their «pub» food dishes looked absolutely mouth watering. The shepherds pie looked very appetizing with its fluffy potato and cheesy top and a nice side of green peas. Next time I am staying for dinner or getting some of their savory rich foods instead.
The watercloset was very narrow but everything was clean and in good working order. We did get checked in on a few times if we wanted to pay but they didn’t necessarily escort us out for staying too long. There are better tea houses in New York but something about the space and the experience seems very authentic and original. I would definitely return to try the dinner menu.

I’ve been here a few times and I’m always really happy when I can get right in. It’s a very cozy place and I think the tight space adds to ambiance. Tea comes in a big pot. Scones are nice and moist and comes with clotted cream (yum!) and jam. For $ 65-​ish you can get a whole high tea pyramid worth of finger sandwiches and pastries. Definitely bring a friend!

Try once, that is all… I LOVE tea houses. Tea & Sympathy is very cute, however its amazing how ridiculously SMALL this place is. The chinaware is very cute. Their scones are awesome!!! The most fluffiest scones ever! I got the mash and bangers and my friend got the pot pie. I think the food is definitely overrated. My dish was mediocre at best.
Thus I’m giving this place 3.5 stars. Its great to try but definitely not worth the very long wait. Note– there is always a wait, all people in the party have to be present, and there is no waiting list– so be careful who you are right after. Also, there is a T&S merchandise store right on the side of the teahouse.

I came here with 3 girl friends for Valentine’s lunch. There were a couple of people shivering outside while they waited for the rest of their parties, but I guess T&S does make it very clear that they can’t seat people until everyone’s there.
The interior is so super duper tiny. I think maybe 16 people can fit comfortably, not including wait staff. It makes for a very (too?) intimate setting where you can literally see everyone and everything going on.
I got the Vietnamese French Vanilla tea, which I would highly recommend. It’s reminiscent of thai tea and has an amazing taste. For lunch, I got the chicken pot pie lunch special. This was my first time having chicken pot pie and it was delicious. The creamy interior was complemented by the mashed potatoes to create a great balance of dry starch with heavy liquid. However, the inside of the pot pie was a confusing blend of very hot and lukewarm.
My friends got the English lemonade (tastes like Sprite), rose petal tea, and black ginger tea to drink. I still say my tea tasted the best. To eat, they all got sandwiches and kept raving about how good the bread tasted.
I do think T&S is a little overpriced, but it was a fun, cozy experience that I’m glad I got to try.

I come here often for lunch! Yes, it small… tiny little space in fact, but it’s worth the squeeze because the tea and food remind me of good ‘ol London food. I tend to order either the bangers, mash and beans or the sausage rolls (surprisingly not too greasy), mash and beans because they usually fill me up. One thing I will never order is the sandwiches… starting at $ 7.50 for an i.e. egg and watercress sandwich… you must be joking mate! I was deliberating giving this place a 4-​star because the prices are pretty steep for regular English food but decided on the 5-​star because it’s pretty authentic food, I keep coming back and HEY it’s West Village… everything here is expensive… rent ain’t cheap!
I’ve tried the «afternoon tea for one» for $ 35 just for the sake of trying it; I really loved it but it’s just not filling… paying $ 35 is really for the experience of trying really good afternoon tea. Yorkshire Gold tea is my absolute favorite tea… and I know a thing or two about tea :)
I’ve noticed the reviews mention «rude staff» but I’ve never encountered that … in fact on one occasion after failing miserably to explain the different types of fizzy beverages to my husband the waitress was more than happy to go through ALL the imported beverages and suggest some US equivalents so he could get a sense of how they’d taste! Then again, I only come here for lunch during the weekdays… so I can only imagine how busy this place must get during the weekend.