Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe & Afternoon Tea

Wonderful high tea experience on a lazy Tuesday afternoon. We made a reservation, but we were the only ones on the porch, so you don’t necessarily need one (call and make sure). Come hungry! The service is impeccable. My friend and I selected two teas for the table and were served the two large pots over warming units. We began with Cream of Celery soup, which was served with a dollop of yogurt. It was wonderful. The sweets, savories and scone with clotted cream were all outstanding. We simply could not eat everything, leading us to taking home some leftovers. What a wonderful afternoon!

I came here with a couple friends on a weekend afternoon and we all ended up loving our experience here! The seating area was smaller than I had thought, but we had reservations so getting a table wasn’t a problem. Side note: if you decide to come here, definitely make a reservation because when we were in line to check in with the hostess, the couple in front of us got turned away because there weren’t any more spots for the day!
Anyway, the whole experience was just fantastic. We started out at the Tea Sniffing Bar, which is basically a display that has all their teas in little glass bottles that you’re meant to open and — as the name mentions — sniff. I love this idea because it gives you a chance to smell what your tea might taste like (although often times the smell is definitely stronger than the taste, so just be aware of that!). After selecting our teas (I selected Cherry Green, if I remember correctly), we were shown to our table. We all got the full afternoon tea and from there the official tea experience started. Our teas came out first in the CUTEST teapots — one for each person. They also brought out a candle-​based warmer for all our teas! The tea I got also tasted AMAZING. Definitely the best tea I’ve had around here, and I’d say comparable to the quality of tea served in London. After the tea came the first food item — a cheese and onion pasty. I’m not normally a fan of cheese, but I did actually end up enjoying this a lot!
And then came the tower… the tower is probably my favorite part about afternoon tea. I studied abroad in London this past summer and had way more afternoon tea than I should have, trying to cram in all the places I wanted to try within 6 weeks (but then again, is there really such a thing as too much afternoon tea?). Anyway, the tower came out and all the delicious food items were sitting on top of the plates in each tier. We started with the sandwiches, then moved onto the scones, and saved the dessert for last. Every single thing was delicious, although I definitely had favorites — the salmon mousse and roast beef sandwiches, for example, along with the crème earl grey crème brûlée. The one thing that was really disappointing, though, was the scone. Scones were probably my favorite food item from afternoon tea in London, and I was really looking forward to being able to relive that experience… unfortunately, this scone was just a little too dry/​crumbly for my liking, and the cream wasn’t quite as satisfying as the clotted cream from across the pond. I wasn’t a huge fan of the eton mess either (which was brought out at the very end, after the tower had been taken away — a pleasant surprise, if you ask me). Then again, I never really liked eton mess to begin with and my friends seemed to enjoy it, so maybe it was just me.
Overall, I LOVED my experience here. The tea was perfect, the food was great, and the service was fantastic! They definitely took good care of us. The only (super small, insignificant) complaints I have are for the scone and some of the desserts, but those are trivial compared to the amazingness of the rest of the experience. Even though this was a bit on the pricier side (~$ 30 pp including tax/​tip), I’d HIGHLY recommend that you check this place out. The idea and setting are insanely adorable and if you’re a fan of tea and dessert — or the whole British concept of afternoon tea — I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Went here for high tea with my daughter on Boxing Day and boy was I pleasantly surprised. This unassuming patio outside a British dry goods shoppe turns into a charming tea house.
First you check in and select your tea or teas. You’re then seated at a sweat table with party crackers with little crowns & such. Tea includes a delicious Yorkshire pudding, finger sandwiches, scones, jams, sweets and more. You won’t go home hungry and you’ll go back again.
My favorite tea was the crème earl grey. Yum.

I must compliment the staff and experience itself. The detail that goes into setting tables, food, and providing excellent customer service is superb. I Crave the loose leaf teas and you can ONLY find certain items here in this cute little shop. My family is part Scottish and the Items that get imported makes you feel «at home» Shakespeare’s is the ONLY shop i can find cards for «Mum & Nana «(These details are important), and of course Bounty Bars :) yum!. Their Beef and Ale pie is amazing not to mention the endless selection of fresh baked scones and delicious flavors. If you haven’t already book and afternoon tea with friends and family to catch up! I Highly recommend Shakespeare’s corner shoppe! Well done! Amazing Shop!

Great tiered tea lunch! Such yummy sandwiches, salads, and desserts! Great service too! I do wish they had indoor seating, as there was only one heater outside, but was still an amazing experience.

The afternoon tea is spectacular! Food is amazing! Service is amazing too! Would be a five if the atmosphere matched!

Our first time experience. It was super cute and so much fun. The tea was wonderful and the pastries and snacks were delicious. It came with three tier of goodies and my friend and I enjoyed mostly the first two tiers. The third tiers pastries were very interesting and really sour. Overall it was so much fun. You definitely get full off of everything. Just expect to spend like $ 27 a person.

Fresh fish taco, great view and friendly waitress. I’ve been waiting to try this place and I’m so glad that I did.

Loved this tea!!! It was a perfect afternoon. They only serve tea outside on the covered porch, so dress for the weather a little, but if you are prepared, it is a perfect little tea! They also have a great collection of British grocery items in their shop! My only criticism for improvement is that they need to improve the restroom. There are two stalls, but for some reason, the individual stall locks don’t work so they have you lock the entire bathroom to use it. It is inefficient. They need to invest in two separate bathrooms.

Date of visit: 10÷3÷2015
I love, love, love afternoon tea! Love it! I love tea and I love little finger foods, so you bet that this is the place for me. I’ve only had afternoon tea at one other place in San Diego, but I will always come back to Shakespeare’s. Not only is it in a convenient location, the staff is super friendly, and the corner shoppe is full of interesting foods and knick knacks.
In order to have full afternoon tea, you need to call for a reservation. The staff will take down your credit card number to hold your reservation, but you can pay with cash or a different card if you wish once you have finished your tea. I usually call 1 – 2 weeks in advance because they book up really quick on their Saturdays. The only seatings for Saturday are at 12:30pm and 3:30pm. For Cam and I (yes, I was able to drag my fiancé out for tea), afternoon tea ran about $ 65 with tax and tip. Not too bad for a fantastic meal.
The afternoon tea comes with unlimited tea, a starter appetizer, 3 tiers of finger foods, and a small ending dessert. I only really come for the tea and the top two tiers of food. The top tier is full of the savory foods (sandwiches and sausage rolls), while the second tier is their famous raisin scone and fresh fruit. The third tier is full of small sweets, but since I sweeten my tea, I don’t ever find this tier to be that appetizing and I’m already ridiculously full by then. All of the foods vary by month, and I would even say by day depending on what they’re cooking. Some of the foods stay the same (i.e. the scones and sausage rolls), but their sandwiches and desserts tend to vary depending on what is available.
My favorite tea is the chai — I’ve smelled almost all of their teas, but I will only get chai. Why? I don’t know, that’s just how I roll. If you want to try different teas, I’m sure the staff will let you change out your pot, but I’ve never done that. They’ve also gotten rid of the tea strainers, which means the tea is pre-​steeped before it gets to you. While this does prevent the tea from getting too strong, I kind of miss having the super strong tea at the end.
Overall, definitely try out the afternoon tea. It’s definitely a treat for me and something I absolutely enjoy. There’s nothing better than having small foods to eat at and relax while drinking a cup of tea.

Sunday afternoon Tea Time
I brought a girlfriend here for Afternoon tea (around $ 25/​person) because she had been hinting that that was what she wanted to do for her birthday. My one and only other tea time experience was at Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas (Four stars) so I was pretty jarred by how different the setting was. Placing a reservation was as easy as calling and confirming a time with the lady on the phone. They will give you a courtesy ring the day before.
Enter the shoppe and select a tea from the variety to your left. I chose the white coconut crème which is a white tea with coconut, safflowers and cornflowers — I forgot I had something very similar at home so I liked the flavor but it did taste significantly better with sugar and milk, which is disappointing because I usually drink my Lupicia teas at home without needing additives.
The afternoon tea is out on the patio with a covering overhead. Patrons are placed close enough that you can unintentionally and unwillingly eavesdrop on others’ conversations. Water infused with herbs is available while we wait for our tea to be served in cute china. The food is delicious, especially the savory bites, but attempting to drink all your tea and eat all the food is simply not feasible for those who get full on liquids. Taking your leftover foods to-​go is an option.
Parking is on the streets or in the small parking lot. I really lucked out on the parking because my car was just small enough to squeeze into the first block in the parking lot, but I tell you navigating out of my spot was stressful since it was on a hill, I didn’t want to scrape the car next to me or crash into the cinderblocks placed inconveniently behind me. Luckily I made it, but I will probably go for street parking in the future.
The food changes every month and the price seems reasonable so I would be inclined to be back another month to try the foods for that month. But the teas — at least mine this time around and my friend’s — didn’t stand out against the teas I had at home so I would be coming more for the finger foods (so delicious!) rather than the teas. Rating reads at a 3.5. Hopefully my next tea selection will be incredible!

I’ve reviewed the Corner Shoppe before, but I am still in love with this place. I was finally able to take my husband yesterday for a full afternoon tea and we had the BEST time. I love sharing a bit of my family traditions with him. He had the original tea and I had the vegan tea. I am not actually vegan, I just can’t eat dairy, and a full tea has lots of yummy dairy in the items. So, I want all vegans and non-​vegans to know, the tea I had was delicious! The little cucumber salad, and finger sandwiches were delicious (I can’t decide if the spinach and mango chutney or the apply and spice sandwich was my favorite)! Then cam the baked goods plate– a vegan scone with earth balance butter and strawberry jam, a flapjack (bits of oat mixed with golden syrup (it tastes like praline)), a chocolate nut cluster, and fruit kabobs. I was stuffed. It was so nice to be able to enjoy that with my husband. Also, I had my favorite tea; white coconut crème, which was the perfect compliment to my afternoon tea!
Thank you for offering this option, Shakespeare Corner Shoppe!

First tea place I’ve gone to. The food was okay… Some of the sweets my friend and I didn’t care for. Parking was easy to find and the tea was delicious. Like other reviewers said there was a lot of food. I ended up feeling super stuffed! It was semi hot and flies were flying around… Over all I think it was a good experience I think I would enjoy this place more during the winter.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Doctor.
Doctor Who?
Precisely.
Dr. Who fans will understand. Yes people… I’m a nerd. Love the sign… one of the first things I saw when walking into this shoppe.
I had heard so many great things about this place through Unilocal.I finally made time to check it out yesterday. Parking wasn’t an issue possibly because of the time of day. I parked on the street at the meter. The store is quite charming and they have a small patio, with 5 — 6 tables or so, where they serve tea.
In the shoppe they have goods from the UK: candies, cookies, chips, teas, drinks, and other merchandise. Other merchandise includes: bags, hats, shirts, wallets, flags, signs, backpacks, and more.
They have a nice variety of teas. The open samples of their teas allow customers to smell the tea before they buy it. Many of the teas are quite fragrant and taste just as good as they smell.
It was such a beautiful day, we decided to have afternoon tea on the patio. Along with your selection of tea comes a 3 tier tray of finger foods. I was unsure which tea to select, so I asked the employee which were her favorites. She mentioned cherry sencha and coconut cacao. The cherry sencha didn’t disappoint and we actually took a bag home with us.
With our table being so nicely decorated (napkin rings, fine China and all) it felt like a more formal event. I felt under dressed in my t-​shirt and jeans (lol). I told my partner in crime that I should have suited up, she just shook her head, chuckled and told me we weren’t having tea with the queen and that I was fine.
From what I was told, from a friend that lived in London for a while, you are not suppose to lift your pinky up when drinking tea (it’s bad manners). I double checked online and what I read supported what my buddy told me… although I did find a picture of Audrey Hepburn doing it. She’s allowed to do it though because she makes everything look classy and acceptable.
We both enjoyed pretty much everything on the food tray. I really liked the starter item (a cheddar and tomato quiche). The other item that stood out was the raisin scone (we added the Irish Double Devon Cream and strawberry jam). It was so delicious!
Food Tray Items:
Starter — Mature English Cheddar Cheese and Tomato Quiche
Savouries — Caprese Pinwheel, Waldorf Chicken Salad, Cucumber and Mint Butter, Roast Beef with Horse radish and Chive, and Mint Sausage Roll with Branston Pickle.
Sweets — Raisin Scone with Double Devon Cream, Strawberry Jam and Fruit, Champagne Syllabub, Butterfly Cake, Lemon Lavender Shortbread, Passionfruit Cheesecake, Strawberry Ice.
We bought a bunch of things before leaving. We had such a fun time here… very good tea, food, and service. Highly recommended for anyone that likes tea or wants a small taste of Great Britain. Also good for little princesses that like having tea parties. I’ll probably bring my God daughter next time.
I can see how it may get busy… may be a good idea to reserve a table for tea time in advance.

This is the second tea room/​shoppe I’ve been to in San Diego and it was only alright. They had a large selections of teas but we were only allowed to pick a single one for our afternoon tea (granted I didn’t ask if we could pick more so maybe they would allow it). I usually like to try a couple so it would have been nice to have the option.
Some of the food was really good, and some of it was alright. Their raisin scones were really great and the jam was delicious. The Scottish Carmel tea was also to die for!
The shoppe is very crowded with novelty items but if you’re looking for specific items from England, you’re in luck! I’m not a huge fan of overly crowded spaces so the shoppe kind of stressed me out. The actual afternoon tea takes place on their patio which was nice and I really admired their unique teapots and china.
Overall, I would probably try another tea room over this one but it was definitely a novelty experience!
Huge plus: they’re open during the week unlike a it of tea rooms so if you’re looking for something in the middle of the week, this isn’t a bad option!

I LOVE TEA! Especially during tea time!
This an awesome place to have the closest thing to an authentic British afternoon tea time here in San Diego.
–Great choices of tea: when you walk into their store full of England’s best snacks and goodies, you get to look and smell their various black, green, white, herbal, and fruit teas before you choose the one you want.
–Tasty scones and sandwiches homemade especially by Selina. She is very accomodating and can even make and serve gluten-​free selections. With that said, you need to give her at least 24-​hours reservation, especially if you have a big group or request a special diet, before your sitting.
–Stellar service: Selina and her assistant are great hostesses. They make sure your tea stays warm and are attentive to your needs.
I’ve been here a couple times already and hopefully the next time I’ll get a chance to bring my fiancé’.

Fun fact: My mom was born in a castle in England. No, no, no, we’re not royalty. It was an old castle converted into a hospital but that doesn’t stop me from treating me mum like a queen on Mother’s Day! What’s mom want? Nope, not flowers. Not a bottle of bubbly. Who cares about jewelry anyway?! My mom’s only desire was a home-​cooked «full breakfast,» and what mama wants, mama gets.
When preparing this particular English staple you can’t swing by Ralph’s, Von’s or Abertson’s for the key ingredients. You need to find a place deeply rooted in the culture and committed to keeping things fully English. Enter, Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe & Afternoon Tea.
I’ve never pinky’d out with the tea portion of this little gem but my family has been rolling through the shoppe for years now. This is where we go to pick up the bangers, the Heinz beans, the black pudding and the traditional bacon. The tomatoes eggs and bread can actually be picked up anywhere else but if you’re going to cook it correctly, you have to come here. I picked up enough food (we had leftover bacon and bangers, a sin, I know), for four people, which cost me just under $ 30.00. The trip was quick, the parking easy and the service sweet — I’d expect nothing less from this family fave!
Don’t know what a full breakfast is?

What a wonderful treat! I took my friend here for her early birthday today & could not be happier about the service, tea, & food!
To begin, we sniffed a variety of teas to choose from & we would each be given a teapot of our own. I chose the White Earl Grey & I highly, highly recommend it, especially if it is your first time here.
Then, we were seated on the patio & our server had the cutest teapot that said Happy Birthday for our table. The menu changes every month & you can see the menu options online. We each got our own teapot of the tea we selected, along with milk & sugar cubes. The meal started off with a Quiche, then came a 3 tier set of finger foods & pastries. Their was plenty of food & you will get full so do not eat beforehand (which I did because I did not think I would get full of their finger food/​pastries). The meal ended with a chocolate dessert & the staff sang happy birthday to my friend & gave her a candle to blow.
This was my first time at an Afternoon Tea & I am glad that I chose this place to try out.
A few things:
–You have to make a reservation at least 24 hours beforehand. They will take your credit card to hold it.
–Parking can be a little tricky since they do not have their own parking lot, it is shared with the pub next door. There is metered parking so allow some extra time to find parking.
–If you are celebrating a birthday, let them know!

Skipped the tea… although, I realize I need to come here (someday) and have afternoon tea. My boys aren’t exactly «afternoon tea» type of company.
The Corner Shoppe is my go to place for haggis — that’s right… haggis (veggie version for me). Don’t knock it til you try it… it’s really good after you douse it with really good whiskey (prefer Scotch just like Ron Burgundy) or whiskey gravy (
).
Having relatives who live in England and Scotland… I was introduced to this type of «food». Glad they have a vegetarian version… now I’m hooked. Better if you try haggis in the winter… the Scotch will definitely warm your stomach (and your entire body… even your eyelashes) and keep you wanting more. Ha!
Tip: Make sure you call the shop to see if they have them in stock. They do sell out fast!

As British as you can get, located at the International restaurants row on India street, this afternoon tea is lovely and charming. I was invited by a friend as a send off for my trip to Spain and two of her friends tagged along as well. I have been previously in various tea time places, but not in a British one like this one, and for the other 3 girls this was their first time. We all enjoyed an awesome time of pretty cups and nicely put table and accessories. We loved every single detail, from the tea pots holding flowers to the edible flowers scented water, to the variety of mini sandwiches and sweets.
Shakespeare´s corner is also a store where you can buy all types of tea plus typical British candy and chocolates, plus classic Euro celebrities and royal gossip such as Hello magazine. This place is really quaint and quiet, nested in the middle of other cool restaurants and entertainment places, is easy to miss. However, it won’t be easy to forget once you try it out.

I came here for afternoon tea on Saturday afternoon. It is a lovely little patio setting with just a few tables which makes it a quaint and adorable!
The apple black tea was delicious but my favorite was the Scottish Carmel! Highlights of the meal were the butter and cucumber sandwich and the raisin scone with jam! Delicious! My entire party left full, satisfied and highly caffeinated :)