Madeline Garden Bistro & Venue

Really cute spot. The inside is decorated very nicely, service was excellent. Came here for Mother’s Day and my mom had a very nice experience. I think price is reasonable and I was very full from the high tea set. It came with a pot of tea and a choice of beverage (I got a strawberry mojito) my family had tried other afternoon tea spots. The environment in here is nicer than the other ones we been too, but they said the food was slightly better at the other locations. Personally though, I would come back again! Liked it a lot!

I’m a lover of tea rooms, and was excited to see this place for my friend’s birthday. However, we were all very disappointed and frustrated with the food and service.
Tea: $ 12 for one pot of tea. I’ve never seen a single serving of tea be so expensive! They include a tip of 15% for parties less than 6, and the tip % increases with the more guests you have.
Food: $ 2.50 for 2 scones. We ordered scones, and although they were well made, they were very small and they added a hidden charge of cream and jam without telling us. We were very upset that they neglected to tell us this when we ordered.
Service: the waiter didn’t seem to care much about us at all. He was nowhere to be found and we had to flag down other waiters to ask for things. When we asked him questions about the menu, he seemed confused, as if he didn’t even know what was on the menu.
The one star is for the ambience of the venue. The paintings are beautiful and it’s great for an early oriental theme.
Total bill: about $ 53 for 2 orders of tea and 3 orders of scones. Ridiculous, in our opinion. You can get much better service and food for much cheaper at another tea house, with better service. Won’t be coming back.

Loved this place. I booked a reservation to organize a group event and Ray was very helpful to insure the event went smoothly. The décor was lovely and beautiful, and everyone enjoyed the food. I had a group of 12 people and we ordered the afternoon tea set for everyone. Thanks so much Ray for your help, the event was a success and went great!

I’ve been here twice, both for baby showers. Parking is available on the street.
The rooms are very beautifully decorated like an old European home. Beautiful details.
The first visit, we all ordered individual plates. It was good. Service is ok. Not sure if the waitress was new, but she made a mistake on an order– but it was resolved and the correct order came out afterwards.
The second visit, we did the high tea, which I recommend. It came with scones with butter and jam, then soup or salad, and tea (hot and iced) and you choose which 3-​tier platter you want. Everything was great.

Beautiful venue. Tea was good but food selection and quality was excellent and all yummy as I sampled my moms and sisters food too! I loved the warm. melt in your mouth scones. Food took a bit to arrive but they offered us complimentary soup to apologize. What a nice gesture as we were talking so much didn’t even really notice. The champagne brunch allowed you to also switch out your drink which I quickly did and ordered a peach Bellini in lieu of the plain champagne. For a few extra dollars, desert can be added to meal or an extra drink! So we did and the lavender cheesecake was a light, creamy and gorgeously purple! Everything was delicious and will mark this place to return to. Ps– parking was bad and we got a ticket for staying over an hour :(oh: our server was excellent and super attentive !

I enjoy going to tea rooms. This place takes the cake. I felt like I was in some royal palace with the intricate decorations surrounding the place. We were seated in a large room with very high ceilings and purple velour couches. Nice nice nice. Purple=royalty.
I don’t know much about others’ experiences here, but ours was superb. We entered the restaurant about 30 minutes after they opened and there weren’t very many other patrons so service was on point.
We both ordered the High Tea choice called Princess Madeline. This high tea came selection with the following: blueberry scones, choice of rosemary tomato soup, ginger yam soup or salad, complimentary pot of tea, smoked, salmon canapé, cucumber mint canapé, vegetable risotto, crab cake, chicken curry crostini, asparagus wrapped prosciutto, and two desserts (we got tiramisu and macarons)
They started off with blueberry scones with apricot jam and clotted cream. The blueberry scones were smaller than what I am used to but was divine. They were moist and just perfect. They were the BEST scones that I’ve ever had. They served that with the Floral green tea that we ordered, which was nice and fragrant as well. (The server even gave me another scone after I expressed to him that it was the best scone that I’ve ever eaten!)
I don’t know if it was because we were one of the first customers, but every single bite that we took was delicious! Very pleasantly surprised!
The food that was provided on the towers were better than what we had at My Favorite Place or Chado Tea Room.
One tip about parking: there is one hour street parking the street by the front of the restaurant. But the meter maids are not a joke! You have to move your car quickly when time comes up. There is 2 hour parking in the perpendicular street so read the signs for parking!
I’m still coming back here.

Totally awesome place… will totally come here again… service is a little slow that’s why a 4 but server totally wonderful… elegant quaint and cozy…

Went there with friends for afternoon tea
Nice ambience. But the food and service is ok. And they put the tip automatically…
I think if you go there, you pay for the atmosphere and the afternoon tea experience, not for something else. You just have to keep that in mind.

This review is for Jamie and Francesco (I may have gotten their names wrong). I have NEVER encountered any servers who were as calm and accommodating as these two under so much pressure and chaos. I had reserved a room for a group of executives who can be little high-​maintenance and demanding. Jamie and Francesco took care of all of our MANY requests swiftly and with grace. Despite being yelled at unfairly by one of our guests, Francesco remained composed and pleasant, and showed no sign of being upset while doing his job with a smile on my face. I even heard a very vulgar young man (probably the cook) yelling at Jamie in the kitchen stating that she shouldn’t have been so accommodating towards our group as «nobody is special.» Well that is why he isn’t a server — he doesn’t understand customer service and flexibility at times.
I really appreciate these two!!! Please somebody give them both a huge raise!!!

This is my go-​to place for high tea,
The venue is very spacious and clean, restrooms included.
The first thing that is served (when ordering high tea) are the scones with jam and clotted cream. The scones are the main reason why I come here, SO AMAZING! I’ve never had scones that are so buttery and flaky! My sister and I were a little disappointed to see that they have started to make the scones smaller, but upon asking our waitress about it, we learned that the scones are bottomless– unlimited! Has it always been this way? Who knows, but definitely ask for another round of scones! High tea also comes with a choice of ginger yam or rosemary tomato soup, or salad. I personally love the tomato soup, it’s really tasty!
I normally order the Princess Madeline which comes with 6 savories and 2 sweets. When the food arrives, the waitress or waiter will make sure to explain which food item is which, so you know what you’re eating. Everything that it comes with is good and surprisingly filling, but my all time favorite is the risotto. Some time soon, I would like to order just an entrée of risotto and go to town!
Now, the reason why this review is 4 stars instead of 5 is because the service is somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes it will take our server a while to check on us or take our order, other times they are very attentive to us. Keep in mind, my sister and I never come when it’s busy.
I was very hesitant to try this venue for the first time because of the price, but now that I’ve been a handful of times I know that I made the right choice. I would suggest this place to any of my friends with confidence!

Hello my Unilocalies,
First time here, I’ve got to say I really enjoyed the atmosphere. When you walk in you definitely feel like you step into Europe, I love their sophisticated decoration, love how they have a single guy playing the guitar while we enjoy our tea. Parking here is a little difficult because you definitely need to find street parking, I would suggest looking for the 2 hour street parking because it does take some time to have your afternoon tea. You wouldn’t want to feel so rushed while enjoying on a Saturday afternoon.
I have to say thank you for my awesome boyfriend who’s willing to come and enjoy some afternoon tea with me. We decided to order of course the tower and then we decided to order a side of French toast. At first we were debating if the food will be enough but it was definitely a good amount of food. The «Princess Tower» was $ 33 with tea and scone as starter. As for the French toast it was $ 31 also with scone and tea plus a dessert or coffee at the end.
The afternoon tea tower was definitely the way to go, I’ve been waiting for weeks to have that. I got to say my favorite was the smoked salmon, and the curry chicken. I love it because you pretty much get to try a little bit of everything. As for the tea, I order the rose green tea and my boyfriend order the Earl Grey. They were both very decent, I was very happy that the waiter let us get extra scone as our dessert. Their scone was freaking amazing, it was blue berry scone with a side of butter and orange jam. I wish they could have given a bigger piece because of how delicious it was.
Overall, I’ve got to say it was a great experience, I had a wonderful time with my boyfriend, the food was decent, tea was great. I’ll give it 5 stars for service, 4 stars for food and drinks, 5 stars for environment and decoration and 5 stars for cleanliness. Will definitely come back in the near future :)

I hosted yet another bridal shower at Madeline Garden Bistro & Venue. This time, a «Breakfast at Tiffany’s» theme for 12 ladies. Since I wanted a different look and feel from the last shower, we requested the VIP Room instead of the Grand Room. Once again, Ray (the manager) and the staff came through to make our event flawless. The VIP Room was perfect for the kind of setting I envisioned for our theme, complete with pretty white walls with delicate detailing and a dramatic chandelier.
When my co-​host and I arrived early to set up, we noticed that the table cloth was lavender, which would totally clash with our white and teal color scheme. I had forgotten to request white tablecloths during my preliminary planning with Ray! Even though the tableware had already been set out, Ian (aka Daniel) didn’t hesitate for even a moment. He promptly changed it to white table cloths and set the whole table again. One of our guests had requested the vegetarian high tea menu option, but I totally overlooked this important detail. This was not a problem and the vegetarian platter was promptly ordered and brought out.
This was my first time having the $ 46 Royal High Tea option. Let me tell you that the food was absolutely delicious with a variety of different dishes, including a crab claw, ladyfinger sandwich, crab cakes and risotto. All of our guests loved having such a sumptuous feast at such a lavish party, and they were waited on attentively by the amazing staff. The time flew by but we didn’t even notice!
In short, I am so grateful to Madeline Garden for helping make each of my important events such a success. This venue is seriously one of my secret weapons… they do all the heavy lifting but I get all the credit! LOL. Once again, thank you Ray and the entire staff at Madeline’s! I can’t wait for my next event to host there!

I’ve passed Madeline’s multiple times and have always wanted to try it. I was super excited when I found out some friends were throwing my baby shower here!
They have multiple rooms, but we were sat in the main dining room that has large chandeliers and ornate couches fit for royalty. The other smaller rooms that we passed were plain and didn’t seem as «fun.»
I love the cute, dainty china that they use! They offer multiple tea sets to choose from depending on what you’re in the mood for. The food is just ok compared to other tea rooms I’ve been to.
My main complaint would be the parking situation. Most of the street parking is only for one hour, so be sure to watch the time.

I booked this place in advance for my best friend’s bridal shower and this place had a very romantic/​vintage feel to it. There were multiple rooms that were either public or private, and I found beautiful private room that had two rooms in it, soft colors and floral back ground. It was perfect for my Parisian theme idea for 23 people.
Ray, the coordinator/​manager was very helpful with the process. Every annoying question I asked, he would answer right away. They usually open at 10 AM, but he sent an employee to come at 9:30 AM so we can set up and decorate the venue. That was very nice of him!
We were assigned with one server, Ian, who was very attentive. I wish they brought another one to help because it looked a bit overwhelming for Ian and service was a bit slow, but I could understand why because as I was walking through the hallways, there were other large parties as well in private rooms with probably one server assigned to each room. I use to be a server, so I can definitely understand the struggle.
Our food didn’t come all at once and some people didn’t get their drinks, so that was a little awkward, but it’s understandable especially when it’s a large party. When everyone got their food, it was definitely worth the wait. I had the salmon benedict and it was so delicious! The croissant was soft in the inside, and delicate flakey on the outside, the smoked salmon was soft and didn’t have an oily texture, poached egg was cooked just right, and the hollandaise sauce was amazing! Others who had the quiche said it was very tasty and the seafood fritata was just as scrumptious. I thought some people didn’t like their entrée’s, but every single lady was very satisfied with their choice of food. The drinks were also delicious as well! Shout out to the bartender!
We had the room for 4 hours to play some bridal games and I really liked the fact that it was indeed private, but had a huge window for the sunlight to come in. The bride was very happy and each guest told me that this bridal shower topped every other bridal shower they’ve been to. The venue definitely gave it a romantic feel.
I couldn’t have done it w/​o my bridesmaids, Ray, Ian, and the rest of the staff at Madeline Garden Bistro! I’ll definitely come back here again, but this time with just a small group :)
⁵⁄₅ stars!
Thank you!

I am soooo disappointed! I made a reservation for three for High Tea for 1245. I made the reservation on Friday for Sunday (today) as 12:45. We were going to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. We planned our morning around the reservation. It looked like such a lovely venue and the $ 46 tea sounded amazing.
At 10:36 am today, I received a text saying that the restaurant had booked a private party in the main room at 2pm and that we would have to move to the outside patio at that time. I pointed out via text that it was supposed to rain and so they suggested that at 2pm we move to the bar, They said that they could accommodate us if we could come in prior to our reservation. I finally replied that I was disappointed and wished that they had notified us earlier and also that a phone call would have been much more appropriate and professional. Needless to say, we will never dare to darken the door of this establishment in the future.
I rarely post negative reviews but just had to about Madeline’s.

11.7.15: Although this place is a bit pricey it’s worth it once. The décor is so cute inside and the place although full of people it can still be intimate. The service was a pleasure and the food is just okay. The teas were actually good. I enjoyed this more than the food. Alright I ate everything I ordered I felt it wasn’t the greatest but good enough to eat.
You’re pretty much paying for the ambiance and if you’re okay with that then it’s completely worth it. The rooms are pretty quiet so it’s hard to laugh and not have others stare at you.
Other than that okay place.

My gf and I discovered this place several months ago and fell in love with this place. The décor and food were all spectacular. There is the main dining room and then a bunch of smaller rooms you can rent out for a beautiful shower or birthday party.
One of my best friends had her bridal shower here and it was simply fabulous. The service was impeccable. All the servers were so accommodating and sweet to us, despite us being a super loud bunch (I think there were maybe about 20 giddy girls). They served us tea and out tiered delectables in a really timely manner. They were all so friendly, especially Franchesco, who was the main server.
The décor is stunning! There were so many times when the gals and I would say how it didn’t feel like we were in LA anymore, but rather in a beautiful Parisian café. We felt so fancy and classy! They even let us bring in some of our snacks (the maid of honor brought macarons, chocolate dipped fortune cookies, and a cake). The event was absolutely amazing, and it was one of the best showers I’ve ever been attended.
I’d highly recommend bringing your gal pal or afternoon tea buddy to check this place out. Prices are reasonable (I think a tea set runs around $ 25/​person). Parking is street or there’s a parking lot across the street at a medical center for $ 8/​all day (cash only — and bring exact change unless you want a bunch of $ 1 coins).
My recommendations: Rose tea, ginger yam soup, and the 3 tiered platter with the mushroom spoon, curry chicken crostini, cucumber with strawberry cream cheese mini sandwich, and crème brûlée. Oh and their scones… droool. Get a couple of those in your belly immediately!

Ambiance:
Depending on which room you are in. Some rooms are fancier than others. I would prefer it to be more consistent.
Service was great. Our server was very patient as we ask for suggestions and info on the menu. Very attentive and sweet too.
Food:
For the price you pay and the ambiance you are in, you would think the food would be just as great. Not quite. You are pretty much paying for the ambiance and location of the place. The food is barely to par (at least the items for high tea). Most of my friends ordered the high tea sets and they were not good at all. Lets say, majority of them just tasted their food but did not finish anything. So go figure. The yam soup was ok. But the ½ sandwiches, risotto, etc were not good at all. Very dry, no flavor, and taste as if they were brought pre-​made, frozen or from a TV dinner. Tea was also meh. Nothing different from a variety of market tea bags.
If you come, I recommend the actual food menu that comes with a drink of your choice instead of their high tea sets. Another friend and I ordered a quiche lorraine and eggs benedict with a mimosa and those were good. More bang for the buck in my opinion. Their scones with jam and clotted cream were also good.
Parking:
In Pasadena, its either valet, parking structure with a fee, street meters, or street without a meter (if your lucky). The one thing I hate about Pasadena.
Cost:
On the higher end for what you get. Again your paying more for ambiance rather than food. If you want to get a good high tea experience (food and tea wise) not much of ambiance that are a little less pricier too, there are a few other small places around Pasadena. So keep looking.
Would I come back, I may but only for their entrée menu and ambiance (only in that middle room too, that is) but definitely NOT their High tea sets.

Marie Antoinette having high tea in Pasadena!
I see a lot of people complaining about the included gratuity of 16%, I always tip 20% so that saves me money. ha ha.
Honestly, the space is adorable, the tiers are adorable. the tea choices are great. The service was a little clunky but not rude, as if the management wasn’t experienced — but even if they are learning their way around — it’s a cute idea and I encourage them to keep going and improving.
It reminds me of Alice’s Tea Cup’s (Chapter 1, 2, 3) in NYC. They are always packed because people just love having Afternoon Tea — you don’t find many tea rooms elsewhere, so i like to encourage them when i find them.
I really liked the cute little cups and tea pots. We actually came here on Christmas Day and hardly anyone was there, but it was still fun. I’d love to bring a group of girls and have a tea party.
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My BF and I parked in front of this tea room with reservations for a massage across the street. After our massage, we walked back to the car and I glanced at the menu displayed outside. I convinced my BF to grab a «snack» with me.
The hostess made us wait in the courtyard for 5 minutes. We were then directed to a nice and comfortable room with French décor. Everything was so cute! There was even a woman playing the harp at the center of the room. It was our first time here so we wanted the waiter to explain the tea options and sets. The Asian waiter sucked at explaining so we just chose the Princess Madeline for $ 33/​person. We also chose the passion fruit green tea. The pot was oddly designed and wouldn’t let the tea pour out, so the waiter had to switch our tea to another pot.
We started off with a choice of soup or salad. My BF got a garden salad and the dressing was delicious. I got the tomato bisque which was had tomato chunks. Then we had chocolate scones which were to die for. Next, the set came out– top: chocolate covered strawberries & mango mouse; middle: cucumber sandwiches, chicken curry, and salmon lox sandwiches; bottom: prosciutto wrapped asparagus, risotto, and crab cake bites. My favorites were the cucumber and chicken curry sandwiches.
The bill came out to about $ 85 with tax. It was a great experience and the food was good! I would definitely come back!