Shakespeare's Afternoon Tea
(51 reviews)3719 India St, San Diego, CA 92103, USA (619) 683-2748 Website Suggest Changes
Come treat yourself to an authentic English Afternoon Tea on our delightful patio all served on English bone china. We use imported Double Devon Cream jams and curds, traditional cakes and biscuits will delight your palate whilst relaxing on our deck. .
We also offer a childs, vegetarian & gluten free tea upon request and host many birthday parties, baby & bridal showers.
During inclement weather conditons we can still accomodate, we look forward to meeting you.
Please call for reservations.
Please note we do require credit card information to hold reservations, thank you.
Recent reviews
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moira berman
I had a Birthday here outside on the patio. Each Guest ordered her own Pot of tea (they loved that), and the tearoom included gluten free offerings for some of my guests (I requested in advance and it was before Gluten-free was a thing). Truly a lovely English tearoom
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Cherise Marie
Everything about this English Tea Shop is Fabulous! The Best Afternoon Tea in San Diego!
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A happy tea lover
Lovely lovely tea shoppe! The food is wonderful, the ambiance is great- the tea is always spot on. Where else can you have an English tea on a open patio?
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Christina
I have gone here twice now once for a catered event (hosted by our friend, who is a tea connoisseur), which they did an excellent job on and once on my own with my mother. They do a beautiful, authentic British tea. The atmosphere, with the pub next door and the little British shop inside (where you can buy devonshire cream, scones, British candy, etc.) add to the authenticity of the experience.
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Mary Maurer
Excellant Professional authentic British Tea Service. We enjoyed this little neighborhood gem.
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Jacquelyn
My friends and I enjoyed everything about Shakespeare's Afternoon Tea. The balcony setting is lovely and intimate, the tea and food veddy British and delightful, service very good also. A well-stocked British tea and gift store inside is full of great finds for self and others. We came away with many pleasant memories and would go again.
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Karey Mayers
This was the best and most authentic tearoom I have tried. The cheese straws to start were really authentic along with the mini sausage rolls and sandwiches. The scone was to die for and so were the lovely cakes. I have lived in the US 13 years and tried many that have been good but this was in a league of it's own. I just loved it and will be back again before I leave San Diego to continue on my way to the East Coast.
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Amy Fuson
We brought our Daisy Girl Scout troop here for a lesson on Tea and Manners, fifteen 6 year olds! The owner and staff were wonderful. Not only did they serve a lovely tea for the girls, the owner Selina also talked to them about the history of tea, where tea comes from, and the etiquette of taking tea. Highly recommend this as an outing for other troops, the girls loved it!
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Iris Katz
A friend & I enjoyed a delightful afternoon at one of the finest tearooms I've ever experienced. The quality, quantity, variety & presentation of the traditional foods was outstanding all for the reasonable price of $18.95. Our first course was a savory: warmed cheese straws & was followed by the sandwich course (we were advised to eat the sandwiches next as they might dry out)that consisted of at least 5 types of sandwiches plus a yummy sausage roll. Our scones were warm, tasty, & of perfect texture accompanied by Devonshire cream & lemon curd. The sweets course consisted of several lovely desserts & was capped off with a superb warmed bread pudding. I enjoyed my pot of chocolate-orange black tea that paired well with the meal. Our server was cordial & attentive. We sat by a window that was handpainted with a cottage garden scene which enhanced the ambience of this outdoor tearoom. I highly recommend this tearoom!
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Kathy Leicester
Fabulous! Great teas, a ton of tasty sandwiches, scones, sweeties, authentic English Devonshire cream, homemade lemon curd. Simply the best, most authentic English tea room out there. Plus the shop has everhthing 'UK'--even haggis in a can. Just absolutely the best ever. And all for $42 for two people.
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Teri Smith
If you are looking for a tearoom that doesn't make you feel like a little girl playing tea party, this is the place to go! Shakespeare's serves full on, proper tea out on a beautiful covered deck. This is the kind of place a woman can bring her husband and sons to! The tea selection was impressive, more so because Selina offers some of her own delicious blends. We all enjoyed the food, the variety was amazing, the flavors authentic and the attention to detail was noticed and appreciated! After the whirlwind of hitting all the San Diego theme parks this was a fantastic relaxing afternoon! My sons said this rated right up there with Sea World! It's hard to do better than that! Thanks!!
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Barb M
What a treat! Our party of four had a wonderful time. The food and tea was outstanding and plentiful! (We were all quite full.) The service and atmosphere was absolutely delightful and 5 star quality. We had Selina and loved her. This is a hidden gem and we all agreed we would definitely be back.
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Lori
I love this cute little shop! My grandma was welsh so I've grown up drinking tea and eating sausage rolls and scones. The scones are wonderful and with so many selections of different teas it was hard making a choice. It's a wonderful representation of a true english tea. The owner Salina is really sweet too!
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Karen
My friends and I enjoyed our tea at Shakespeare Tea. The patio was shaded with a lovely breeze. The tea selection was not huge but there was a good variety and every tea we picked was delicious and good quality. The food was great, lots of variety in the tea sandwiches and desserts. The service was excellent and we spent a couple of lovely hours there, the shop has lots of fun British imports also.
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Susan
My friends and I spent a lovely afternoon on the patio of this delightful tea shop. It was a leisurely tea with a variety of choices in both food and teas. The service was great as well. The only change I would suggest would be that you offer lemon curd as well as jam. Thanks for a great afternoon!
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Lisa Schwartz
I have had high tea many times in many different cities and the Shakespere Corner Shop offers a lovely afternoon tea. My cousin and I were fortunate to have tea there last Saturday and found everything to be charming, authentic, and friendly. I went because they serve PG Tips, my favorite tea. The tea was perfect. The sandwiches and sweets were scrumptious as was the atmosphere. After we finished, we spent time in the charming shop that offers a large array of British items to buy. The day was just lovely and I would highly recommend it to anyone wishing to experience a little English get away.
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Christine Monet
This place was really dissappointing. I've been to MANY tea rooms and this one is at the bottom of my list.
The atmosphere was cute from the standpoint that it was outside and nestled in this tiny shopping area right next to the beach. Gift shop seemed nicely set up, although it had nothing appealing to buy. Our waitress was pleasant and attentive aaand... that's about all the compliments I can give.
Now onto the nitty-gritty...
The food was TERRIBLE. Not only were the portions BEYOND SMALL but they didn't even taste good! The sandwiches were bland, the scones were tasteless, the desserts were just ok (hard to enjoy when they last only 1 bite!). Beware of the pickled dish they bring out with the mini sausage rolls! If the smell doesn't kill you the taste WILL! (OMG it was DISGUSTING! Though funny when the server asked if we wanted to box it up and take it home. haha) They also had a scarce amount of teas to choose from and the ones they did offer weren't anything special.
So all-in-all Shakespeare's is definately not worth the trip let alone the price! $17.95 per person was beyond high for the lack of quality we payed for!
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mary
WOW!! We had a wonderful and tasty time. We had tea on the porch, enjoying wonderul sandwiches and treats. The tea itself was good, although they could use a wider selction.
Be sure to visit the store too. Wonderful british products.
The staff were helpful, thoughtful and informative.
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Shelley
Marvelous! My favorite tea room experience this side of the pond - and I've visited many here in CA, on the East Coast, and in between. If you don't know the difference between a sausage roll and a sausage McMuffin you might not appreciate the authenticity of Shakespeare's proper afternoon tea, which is served (as it always should be but sledom is) in fine bone china. The food is also properly prepared, beautifully presented and delicious! You won't find any hybrid scones bigger than your teapot but you will enjoy wonderful British tea sandwiches, scones and cakes. Very friendly staff and an unpretentious setting so you can relax and enjoy! Highly recommended.
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Cheryl
For a moment this week, I thought I was having tea in England. Shakespeare's Corner Shoppe brought back so many memories. The ambiance was warm and intimate, the presentation of tea and food was excellent. The service was so friendly. We found the food and gifts in the shop truly reminiscent and found many items to purchase. We thank Selina and her staff for a delightful afternoon. I look forward to my next visit.
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Terri
What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The service was so great, we absolutely loved our waitress Sarah, who knew every in & out of an afternoon tea. The variety of food was amazing, with the scones, cake & sandwiches it was very filling!! The venue has a great outdoor patio to enjoy the San Diego sunshine!! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to celebrate something special.
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Sarah and Sylvia
What a lovely experience we had! Experienced many tea rooms in my time and being from England we are very familier with afternoon tea. My mum and I had a lovely afternoon, from the service to the food and the lovely warm crumble served to us at the end. What a lovely touch. To those at Shakesphere's afternoon tea shop well done.
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James
I've enjoyed tea for two here with my fiance and I've also taken a party of five here to celebrate my Scottish mum's birthday. Both outings went splendidly. There is a variety of loose leaf teas available to choose from (each person can choose their own type and you'll receive refills until your heart is content). I highly recommend the Yorkshire Gold. The tea is accompanied by a collection of treats including scones with jam and double Devonshire cream, finger sandwiches, shortbread, biscuits, etc. The UK Corner Shoppe itself offers one of San Diego's best selections of British imported goods, and the neighboring Shakespeare Pub & Grille offers British and Irish ale, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, and football (soccer) on the telly.
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Alice
I treated my friend to a 'birthday' tea on Saturday. What a great venue!! The staff was great as well. They took great care in providing us with hot tea, wonderful scones, cakes and sandwiches. My 'gift' to my friend....who is from England...was perfect in every way. We will return!!!!!
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Denise Paciorek
How very disappointing....worse reception and lack of cheer I have ever seen in a tea house. The food lacked presentation & did not taste that great, the portions were beyond small. I Drove 2 hours due to the high reviews I read on this site...BEWARE!!!
Horrible experince...their is truly not one thing I could write that was positive about this tea house for the exception that the weather was great!
Been to many tea houses, from New England all the way to The Enchanted Rose in San Dimas, thought they had good food and great service however would rate them fair. After experiencing Shakespeare's the Enchanted was wonderful!
WHAT A WASTE OF GAS!!!! I would not recommend this place!
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Bill and Clare
Clare & I thoroughly enjoyed our tea experience here. Salina was a most hospitable hostess. One of the few tea rooms to use real devonshire cream, a plus. The patio was secluded and very quiet, very lovely. She also has the best stocked food shoppe on the west coast, another plus. We'll return frequently even though its 300 miles away.
Bill & Clare
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Joan
A dear friend and I went to the Shakespeare's Afternoon Tea Shoppe on a recommendation from another tea lover. We loved the real English scones and authentic Devonshire cream. There were at least six different sandwhiches and desserts. All were delicious. The variety of sandwhiches and desserts was great fun. My friend and I spent over an hour chatting, eating and drinking several pots of tea. Our pots were refilled willingly and the service was great. We were the only guests there but we didnot feel rushed. I think the only drawback is that the patio could be very warm in the afternoon, if they installed an overhead ceiling fan to stir the air, that would help. The china was beautiful but I would like to see fabric tablecloths and napkins to make this High Tea experience just perfect. We have been to other tea shops but at Shakespeare's Corner Shoppe we felt that we had finally experienced a real English tea.
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Eric Anderson
The positives include their use of tea leaves (not tea bags) and strainers, with teapots kept warm. Tea is served piping hot (as it should be). The home-made scones taste just right (I am an exiled Brit) and the cream is genuine clotted cream (in contrast to what some tea rooms offer). It's surely the scones and cream that define tearooms. The English accents are authentic which adds to the experience.
Negatives? The location is above a busy street and parking can be a slight problem. Not bad enough to stop me from coming often with my granddaughters.
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Anonymous
I had a wonderful time and the food, tea were great. Especially the Cheese sandwiches and the Scones were delicious. One major problem was that after we got done and all paid and left; I got a call from the cashier saying one of us did not pay for our tea!! I witnessed everyone in my party paying and when I inquired to my friends they all mentioned the cashier was frazzled and almost gave out wrong change; I went to collect receipts and she only gave out receipts to some of us....... so make sure you get a receipt so they do not accuse good people of trying to cheat them. This experience has left an awful taste in my mouth and I will never recommend this place to anyone. They could have been off on their till in the morning or when ringing someone after us.
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Shirley
My group of 13 (including 3 children) had a birthday tea over the holidays. Everything was fabulous, especially the service! The ladies made the little girls feel so special with their own plates. The adult treats were great too. I've been to many different teas in San Diego and Shakespeare's is the most authentic English tea. My daughter loved the PG Tips tea and my mother was raving about the Gunpowder. The scones and cream were terrific. And the ladies brought me bread pudding with a candle and sang Happy Birthday. We all plan to go back.
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Eleanor Pearce
What a welcome smiling faces a wonderful English afternoon tea a real piece of little Britain in San Diego - the Shakespeare corner shoppe is like a magnet!
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Patricia
I have lovely memories of the afternoon tea at the Shakespeare Tea Room. Not only was the food excellent - both the sandwiches and the homemade cakes - but the service was pleasant and efficient. A very nice touch were the covers that were provided to put over our knees so that we would not cool down while enjoying our tea. It will be a regular stop for me each time I am in San Diego.
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cindy
Had my daughter's birthday party here. A Tea party and Selina dressed up like Mary Poppins. She happily adapted the menu to fit little girls. At was a party to remember. We have also been there with vegetarians and she has been
willing to tweek the menu for them. A very quaint, authentic, service oriented tea room. Best in San Diego.
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Trish Pafford
Amazing authentic British Afternoon tea served with real devon cream. They make all their own cakes and biscuits in the shop, my friends and I couldn't eat it all and took a goodie bag home. Five different types of sandwiches and five types of cake. We will be back.
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S.E.S.
I was taken here for my birthday and sorry to say, was quite disappointed. There was an unpleasant odor coming from somewhere the entire time and, since we were seated outdoors, we battled flies as well. The tea itself was fine, but the food was mediocre. Nothing homemade or special, tiny portions and dry. There are other much more enjoyable tea places in San Diego, but I do wish they would all serve REAL Devonshire (i.e. Clotted) cream, and not this 'Mock Devonshire.'
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Kimberly Miller
A very charming, unpretentious place for delicious tea and treats! The server was wonderfully polite and helpful, and very British which just enhanced the experience. I'll definitely go back.
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Lisa
We dropped in without reservations and were graciously accommodated--much to our surprise and delight! We were dazzled by the variety, artistry, and abundance of the food. Extras were graciously boxed to take home. Tables are on the patio and we found it very cozy and relaxing. Shopping is delightful with authentic products from the British Isles. I'd describe Shakespeare's as a shop with tea rather than a fussy tea room. Men would be comfortable here but if they don't feel like sipping tea with pinkies extended send them to the nearby pub while the ladies treat themselves to one of the best teas around! (I would definitely suggest planning ahead with a reservation!)
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Andrea
I had been to high tea before at some very nice hotels and places, all fancy and very expensive.
This place definitely beats it by a mile. This shoppe had the most delicious teas and treats, and were MORE than reasonably prices. The service was fantastic, everyone who works there are more than friendly and helpful -- and the shoppe itself has a wonderful selection of foods, sweets and whatnot.
I live now in a completely seperate state and still order tea and jams from them! This is definitely a great place to visit if you want an excellent experience with your tea. The best part is the food fills you up (which NEVER happens at other places) and I even took some food home! Bottomless tea, scumptious food, this place is fantastic.