Secret Garden Tea House
(28 reviews)721 Lincoln Way, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA 415-566-8834 Website Suggest Changes
Recent reviews
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Brandy Rodriguez
This was my first experience having tea and the I really enjoyed it. The tea was great and so was the food. I thought the atmosphere was quite nice also. I look forward to having tea again very soo.
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Kethry
I love, love, LOVE Secret Garden. My first experience here was with a friend who'd passed it on her way home a few times, and we simply walked in on a rainy Saturday and were lucky enough to get a table. It was an absolute delight! I've since been here several times - dropped in with a friend or two, planned parties of up to 16 people, you name it! This is where I take tea lovers when I REALLY want to spoil them. Delicious sandwiches on a rotating menu, really excellent bottomless loose-leaf tea, scones that were praised by one of my English friends, not to mention a to-die-for Christmas Tea that my mother and I treated ourselves to last year. I usually do one of the tea services (Earl's Favorite and Bedford Delight are my two faves), although they do have actual lunches for those not ready to conquer the three-tiered plates. Someday I will try the smoked salmon... I've been to a few other tea houses, and quite simply nothing compares to Secret Garden. Come to think of it, it's been awhile since I went...maybe I'll go again next week!
It also makes me giggle a little that such an English-style High Tea shop is run by a bevy of sweet young Asian girls - I guess this is what an English-style teahouse in Japan would be like? Definite Gothic-Lolita feel, with the ruffles and roses everywhere! One of the rare extremely-girly places I enjoy, and a great excuse for hats!
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Elisabeth
I like to visit tearooms when I travel, so I chose Secret Garden when I was in San Francisco last weekend. It was a nice place, though a little crowded. My two friends and I each had a different menu choice, and were each happy with the amount of food and flavors, though the presentation was not quite up to par with other tearooms I've been to. The staff (or owner?) was careful to remind me more than once that we needed to be out by 1:00 for a private party, which made me feel a bit rushed. The servers were very pleasant, though, and friendly and eager to help. A nice, though not top-notch, experience.
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Nancy and Tony
My husband visited this tearoom in April, and we had a great time. We only had time for cream tea, but it was very good and service was great and friendly! The shop was very nice and full of beautiful hats.
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J.P.
My husband and I have traveled to various tea rooms around the country, and the Secret Garden Tea House is our favorite. They manage to serve great food and the best selection of tea! Be sure to try the chocolate raspberry truffle tea, or the snow berry tea, and always try their tea sandwiches and scones!
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Mimi Powers
I visited the Secret Garden yesterday and it was just lovely! It is an adorable restaurant and the food is wonderful, especially the scones!!! They do serve them with Devonshire Cream and delish strawberrry jam. We just loved the Secret Garden and will return.
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Michelle
This teahouse was absolutely Fantastic for my tea cravings. I've been to over 5 tea houses around the california, and I must say, this was probably of the highest calibur. The food was scruptious, especially the hand made scones and the desserts. The decorations were absolutely adorable and matched the workers aprons. Service was magnificent. The waitresses greeted my friends and I with bright smiles and fast service. We would definately recommend this place and go here another day. Especially after a rough ball with your stupid boyfriend/ husband/ thing.
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E Alonzo
We visited two tea houses in Frisco, and found this one to be somewhat disappointing. The service took quite a while, and one of the microwaved finger foods smelled horrible! The parking is horrible (my husband had to run out to the meter about 1/2 mile around the corner), as usual in SF. But the server was extremely polite and a smile was on her face. I probably wouldn't return, especially for the price.
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Dee
The Secret Garden is conveniently located near Golden Gate Park with metered parking available on the street or at the nearby public parking lot. When you walk into the Secret Garden you are immediately surrounded by a lovely Victorian scene. Although the service was pleasant, we were not immediately greeted when we entered the establishment. It would do the place well if the servers were dressed more appropriately. The sweatshirt style jackets that some of the servers wore did not go very well with the floral print aprons. The tea selection was ample, and we each got our own pot. Unfortunately the tea was served lukewarm. We had to ask that our second pots be served with much hotter water. I ordered the Bedford’s Delight; which included a scone, 6 tea sandwiches, a small savory, and a choice of either the dessert of the day or a selection of mini tea pastries. The scone was absolutely wonderful and was complemented by the Devonshire cream and preserves. The sandwich fillings were creative, but a larger array of breads would have made the sandwiches even better. They only used white or wheat bread whereas other establishments I have visited have used multigrain, hye rolls, etc. Unfortunately, the desserts were disappointing. I ordered the mini tea pastries, and they were all lacking in flavor. My friend ordered the dessert of the day; which was a delicious mini raspberry and lemon mousse. It’s definitely not the best tea establishment that I have visited, but it is worth a visit if you are in the area.
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Linda Perez
What a find in the heart of a hectic city! The atmosphere was cozy & nice. The service was very friendly. The tea sandwiches have an incredible seasonal flair that changes four times a year; some of the most creative combinations I've had, i.e. Turkey with lemon creme and capers. The tea was good; only complaint was that the leaves were left in the pot and would have gone bitter after a few minutes. They kindly strained out the leaves and all was fine. All in all, a wonderful experience and a true gem in San Francisco.
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TJ
I've been here several times. I would recommend this place. It's very charming and cute. The only complaint I have is that the last time I was there with a party of 9, they provided only 2 little pots of devon cream (about an 1' in diameter). We spent $200 there and I would have expected there to be a nice portion. When we asked for more, we rec'd one extra little pot.
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Cindy
This tea house is cute!! If you're looking for ENGLISH STYLE tea in Victorian Setting, then be sure check out this tea house.
The tea and food are delicious, our food was served on traditional three tier. Just like the tea services I had in England, everything is in bite size, the presentation was very pretty and the food was very tasty!! We ordered extra scones and was very impressed that we were given the real Double Devon Cream imported from England as well as lemon curd. Very few tea rooms provide the real thing.
Service was good and parking is easy too when you park inside the park.
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Keika
After I moved to the Richmond, I would drive by this tea house often and wondered how good it was. So I invited my tea party pals for some afternoon tea at the Secret Garden and we were blown away! It wasn't crowded and very relaxing. Not only did we enjoy the tea and snacks, but most importantly enjoyed eachother's company. I highly recommend this place!
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Nicole
In sum: Secret Garden is great for a quick pot of tea with their excellent scones or small desserts. Stick with these items and you'll be satisfied. For a full tea service (sandwiches, fruit, the works) that will leave you absurdly happy with the amount and quality of food, as well as price, go to Lovejoy's Tea Room.
Lovejoy's was booked a couple of Saturday's ago for my party of 5 so I decided to try Secret Garden. Tea selection was interesting, nice balance of decaf with the usual caffeinated variety (fruit blends, black teas, etc). Scones were slightly crisp on the outside, I was very surprised at how good they were. The little desserts with the most expensive tea service ranged from 'great!' to 'blah', the best was a memorable raspberry cheesecake square that was delicious (there was also a nice but small macaron, and some type of blah cookie).
Those were the high points, now the low. Service wasn't exactly atrocious, but almost. The place is small as mentioned before, approx 7 tables that can each seat 5 people or so. All tables were occupied during my reservation and the servers appeared harried. I think our table was checked on once (other than the times when parts of the tea service came out). It was rather funny, because the time they actually checked on us they asked if we needed our tea warmed. Three people said yes, two said no but they ended up warming only one pot...hilarious (I would have insisted on the other two but got caught up in conversation and didn't realize they forgot the others until our pots ran dry, by then we didn't want to wait another hour). We had to pester them over and over for glasses of water and finally I stood at the register to get them to produce the bill.
The most expensive service (Bedford's Delight) came with six sandwiches, by six they mean six quarters (equals 1.5 full sandwiches). Each sandwich was an interesting combination of flavors on the menu, but indiscernable on the palate. This service also had a 'savory' which was a mini, flaky pastry filled with either a curried meat or buttery blend of something. It was bite-sized and the buttery one was worth eating, but the curry flavor in the other variety didn't pair well with tea or the other tea foods, don't know who thought that one up.
The Bedford's Delight left us hungry (6 quarters of sandwich, one savory, one scone, three mini-desserts) and at $18.95 I must say I felt pretty sad as I was paying. The Queen's Tea at Lovejoy's Tea Room is $1 more but leaves you stuffed (two full sandwiches, scone, fruit, crumpet, salad, petit four), plus their a la carte menu is rather extensive if you need more food. In the future I plan to reserve ahead of time for a full tea service at Lovejoy's, but I would return to Secret Garden for another scone (it really is worth recommending) and possibly that raspberry cheesecake dessert with a pot of tea.
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JC
1/24/06 visit with mother/sister in law and husband. Small, quaint and very charming. Make reservcations, as there are only about 7 tables. Tea was waonderful, although it appears they bag their loose leaves in the pot - no biggie. Scones were tasty although not as good as at Lovejoy's. Had to remind server to bring tea for hubby, not as attentive as I would have liked. Parking is a major issue. Hubby dropped us off and then had a nice 15 min. walk through the park!!!
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Koko
My mother and her friend drove 45 minutes into the city to go to this place as a special outing, and it was truly a dissapointment. The actual space is relatively charming, but the tea service was embarassing to put it mildly. The sandwiches were all made with the most basic of white breads, extremely sparse in their fillings, and not particulary appetizing. In addition, the servers forgot our cream and lemon curd when they served us our scones and we had to remind them twice before they brought it out. When it did finally arrive it left much to be desired, and the scones would have actually been better without the spreads afterall. The tea was average at best and the overall quality for the price was terribly off base. Certainly not the spot for the discerning tea house aficionados.
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Cindy F
This tea house is the best one I have been to in the bay area! The shop is darling and whimsical! The last time I was here was to host a shower for my sister who was getting married, everyone loved it! The ladies that serve are so patient and welcoming, the food was delicious and the variety was perfect! I live about 1 hour from here and don't mind driving to come here. A plus? It's right infront of the golden gate park which makes for a wonderful stroll after tea!!
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Monica
Sister, Niece and I had a very positive experience. Tea rooms/houses are not plentiful in SF so it was nice to experience something different and not corporate or touristy. Parking was EASY, that is, if you choose to park in GG Park across the street. Don't bother circling the blocks. You'll only get yourself dizzy. The country decor was lovely, and the feel and smell of the room was soft and sweet and girlish. Even nicer was that it was quiet and cozy. A very intimate place indeed. Service was excellent. Very attentive to our needs. Selection of teas was extensive. I was overwhelmed. Pastries were wonderful and tasty. My 14-year-old niece loved it and can't wait to go back. I plan on taking my other niece and making a trip there a tradition amongst the females in my family. This is definitely SF's well kept secret. GOODBYE STARBUCK'S!!
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Rose
Secret Garden Tea House is hidden on a busy San Francisco street. Parking was not difficult to find during a midweek visit. Though my friend and I were running late, they were indeed very accomodating; however, they were not quite friendly. As far as ambiance, the decor was quite lovely, but still felt uninviting. The selection of teas was extensive. The tea sandwiches were minimal at best. The dessert was quite disappointing as well. This was an average tea house one that I would not consider revisiting.