Reynolds Tea Room
(60 reviews)7 Church Cir, Annapolis, MD 21401, USA 410-295-9555 Website Suggest Changes
The building has been restored beautifully to reflect the working nature of the tavern and the elegance of the 18th Century. Reynolds Tavern is the oldest tavern in Annapolis and one of the oldest in the U.S. We have 3 rooms all en-suite, and luxuriously appointed, which offer a unique atmostphere just steps away from the Capital Building. Whatever your tastes the Tavern has something to offer you. Sly Fox Pub & Restaurant in the cellar gives you a flavor of what a pub was like over 250 years ago, We have casual dining and alfresco dining in the courtyard. Reynolds Tavern has lunch, English afternoon tea and we will have fine dining in the evening.
Recent reviews
-
Jenny Leipold
This tea room is elegant and has a great old fashioned atmosphere. The historic building in Annapolis adds to the charm of the place. The staff is wonderful and very attentive to all customers, from kids to adults. If you want to have a wonderful quaint experience for a special occasion, this is the tea room to visit!
-
TT
Kelly Musgrove
I’ve been here on multiple occasions: to celebrate a birthday, a baby shower, and for a girls afternoon out. I have never been disappointed. Their soup/salad is good, tea sandwiches excellent, sweets delicious. Then there’s the tea: great choice of amazing tasting tea.
-
melissa schwartz
We love to visit Reynold's Tavern every time we are in Annapolis to enjoy tea in a historic setting. Love a range of tea services and great loose leaf tea!
-
TT
Katie
My mom and I have been going to tearooms all over the country together and we love Reynolds! It is by far one of the best tearooms we have had the pleasure of enjoying. They have an extensive tea list and their food is wonderful! The quiche lorraine and shepherd's pie are two of our absolute favorites! The staff is always friendly and welcoming and it's the perfect place to while away an afternoon. Five stars all the way!
-
TT
Ross Macomb
This is by far the best tea room in the entire Washington, DC region. The scones are actually warm and freshly baked. The sandwiches are fresh and delicious, their sweets are made in-house and are excellent. The service is great and the location is second to none. The only complaint is that they use whipping cream instead of clotted cream for the scones.
-
TT
Mandy
The Colonial High Tea scones were delicious. The savory food items were basic, nothing special-one piece of deli ham with mayo, cucumber & cream cheese, and egg salad which tasted best; also mushroom tarts (good) and sheppards pie tart (too salty). The soup was lukewarm but tasted good. The desserts were plentiful and tasty. The room we were in was very chilly; we kept our coats on the entire time. We had a nice time being together but will choose another place next time.
-
TT
Melissa
What a wonderful place! A friend and I went and had tea there this past weekend and were so pleasantly surprised. We were seated in a beautiful historic room (next to a party that was WAY too loud, but sometimes that can't be helped) next to a window overlooking the circle and a church. We ordered tea and I had quiche lorraine (which was sadly, mediocre) and my friend had soup which she said was delicious. Then the tower came and everything we tasted was better than the last! The ONLY negatives were the ham sandwich which only suffered in its comparison to every other extremely flavorful item on the tray, and the fact that we only received 1 scone each. They were so delicious we wanted more!!! They serve these incredible tiny tartlets - one was mushroom and the other was shepherds pie - that were so good we ordered some to take home with us for the next day. When we got the bill we were actually shocked at how cheap it was compared to the quality of the food served, and the list of teas they had to offer. We will definitely make the trip back from Virginia to enjoy this wonderful afternoon tea again!
-
TT
rkd
Reynolds tearoom provides a historical and relaxing atmosphere for afternoon tea. The little sandwiches and sweets are delightful. If you are looking for something more hearty to eat they have great soups, salads, regular sized sandwiches and traditional British fare. They have the most authentic high tea in the area. There selection of tea is large and includes something for everyone's tastes. A great outing for a group of friends to celebrate or for one in need of a mini vacation.
-
TT
Laurie and Roger Harding
My daughter and I spent a lovely afternnon at the Reynolds Tea Room yesterday afternoon!
From start to finish...our Tea was wonderful!
We had a Vegetable Quiche that was very good, a choice of scones and teas, a plateful of sandwiches and savories, and a delicious plate of sweets!(Lemom Bars, Hummingbird Cake, 2 kinds of Shortbread, Chocolate Covered Strawberries,
and a few others as well!)
The service was first rate!
We will be back again...soon! : )
Laurie Harding,
Cross and Bluebird Tea Room, Gettysburg, PA
-
TT
Lisa
This is one of my favorite tea houses in the area, and I was not disappointed this weekend. My plain scone was a generous size and delicious, and it's nice that you get to choose the type of scone you'd like, which is unusual at tea houses. The offering of sandwiches and tarts was very good, and the offering of sweets still remains the best around. I think there were 7 different sweets on the plate--most other teahouses only provide 3 or 4. Service was excellent, as usual.
-
TT
Sarah
This is my favorite place for tea in this region. I go every year for my birthday and even took my bridesmaids there for a pre-wedding tea. I love the classier decor and the choice of tea. Because it doesn't have the pink and lace and hats that so many other places have, you can bring your husband. I take my husband all the time and he loves it too.
I do have one negative to add. The quality of the scones has gone down in the four years since I've been going here. Not sure if it is a new cook or new management, but it is a problem.
-
TT
Jenna
Reynolds Tea Room is a wonderful place to dine. I have been coming here with my family for almost a decade. The servers are always pleasant and well trained and the food is great! The menu has a wide variety of dishes and a few of the sandwiches are the best I have ever had. The prices are good and the tea selection is extensive. The decor is pleasant and inviting. My grandmother introduced my cousin and I to tea parties when we were young girls and Reynolds is a great place to keep the tradition alive. They welcome guests of all ages and truely cater to your needs.
-
TT
Pam Wiltshire
I have been there many times and recently compared it to others, Reynolds wins hands down! The food is exquisit! My sister recently visited from California and we went there twice in one week. Out of all of the tea houses that we visited, this was her favorite as well. Best deal around!
-
TT
Tracy
When I travel from Arizona to Annapolis, my trip is nevver complete without taking the time to enjoy Reynolds Tea Room. The authenticity of the Reynolds Tavern setting, the food, tea and atmosphere and service make it a great experience. I have also travelled all over Europe and place Reynolds Tea Room in my list of favorites.
-
TT
Cint
I rate this tea experience a BIG disappointment. This was a 'TERRIBLE TEA TRAGEDY'!!! When my guest and I arrived we were told that our table was ready. We were seated promptly but in an area where the noise level was over bearing. My guest and I could not converse without leaning almost shoulder to shoulder. When our unenthusiastic aloof waiter came to the table he could not hear us place our order. He said 'What', several times. When my tea tray arrived it was NOTHING special. The food looked old. The only positive was the quiche. I made it known to staff that I was not pleased. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING was done. I later followed-up by calling back to the establishment and again voiced my concern, I feel I got the 'BRUSH OFF'. I was told no one else had ever made known an experience like the one I had. There were paper napkins and place mats. Lacking was proper tea equipage. As one patron stated in her review this tea room lacks luster. I am in full agreement with that statement. My suggestion is to stick with serving luncheon. I am puzzled as to how this tea room got its rating of ' being #9. What is the criteria???? Do not waste your time or money taking tea at this tea room. I cannot and will not recommend it to anyone.
-
TT
Diane
Reynolds Tea Room is by far my very favorite place to go for great service, tasty food and a wonderful atmosphere. I have lived in Europe and many other places in the United States. Reynolds outshines every other eating establishment that I have visited. The wait staff and owners are always very pleasant and helpful with my elderly father who is blind! The scones are delicious along with the strawberry shortcake!
-
TT
Christy Neff
We are so happy to have a place like Reynold's in Annapolis. Whenever we have visitors from out of town, it is a place we can count on to provide a high quality dining option. We had another exceptional visit to Reynold's Tavern today. Our visitor from South Africa was very impressed with the high tea service and variety. Other members of our party ordered lunch options and everyone was happy with their choice. It is hard to do so many things well, but Reynold's manages to do it time and time again. Thanks for being so consistently exceptional!
-
TT
Christie
I feel horrible to have to give a tea room a lack luster review. However, lackluster was my experience. My tea was a strawberry blend I thought would be fun, instead it tasted like rotten fruit steeped in dirty water. I love tea, drink it 2-3 times daily and am not a picky person. I was surprised to hear others comment about bringing their children because I've never been to a tea with children, it's just not a place for them, however, on the day when we were there, there was a baby and other children and the baby cried the entire time. I was embarrassed for my group because this was my neck of the woods we were visiting and instead, we couldn't wait to get out of there. It was crowded, noisey and lackluster. The building was beautiful, but I couldn't explore it because as I left the room I was in, I was kind of ushered outside by a man greeting in the hall. If I go again, it will be a long time until I do.
-
TT
Cheryl Toal
I have been to Reynolds Tea Room many times before and on my last trip there our group were treated very nasty. Our table was not ready when we got there. We were not given very good service at all and it was very obvious that we were not welcome because of our children. The children were very well behave. I strongly suggest if you plan on taking a young child ask the owners how you will be treated before making a reservations to go to this Tea Room. I do know Reynolds lost a group of a dozen or more customers that day.
-
TT
Barbara Sieger
We were treated very badly by the owner and will never return to Reynolds. We had come for a Legacy program for our sorority chapter which included daughters and/or grandaughters. He was not pleased about the children and told us so. They were very well behaved and his comment was uncalled for. I brought my 90 year old mother. I wasn't feeling well, but didn't want to disappoint my mother, so I came anyway. When I said I didn't want to eat but only wanted tea our server went to get the manager. I explained my story to him and he literally snatched all my silverwear, napkin etc., and said he could have used my space for more customers. I just sat there with my mouth open. I was embarrased for my poor mother. All my sorority sisters were flabbergasted. They couldn't believe how rude he was. We will never go there again, and believe me we have told all our friends and sorority sisters.
-
TT
Connie
We were excited to try out Reynolds Tavern, but we were very disappointed. The tea selection was ok. The rooms were nice, although they left the front door open so you could hear the busy traffic and people talking on the sidewalk. Service was terrible - our waiter (he appeared to be a local high school kid) spilled tea over our paper napkins (a separate issue) and never replaced them, and that was just the beginning. The finger sandwiches were unimaginative and looked old. The salad was not fresh (the lettuce was slimy). All that for nearly $60. We won't be returning.
-
TT
C.Turner
I recently had taken my mother-in-law there for lunch and we had the BEST time. The tea room is very cozy and the food and tea were wonderful!I had the chicken,mozz,and basil sandwich it was wonderful!! Service was great to. I will highly recommend it to everyone who wants good lunch, good conversation and great desert! Thanks for the great time we will be back
-
TT
DJL
Our tea club had a tea here 5/30/09. The food was excellent. I liked having a choice of soup, salad or quiche as a starter. Since we were a fairly large group, we did not choose the tea but the English Breakfast was a wonderful choice. Everyone had a delightful time and we would certainly want to come again.
-
TT
Kathy
I just hosted a Colon Cancer Awareness Tea party for 20 woman and Reynolds was so accomodating and wonderful to work with. The food was great and the tea was tasty. I had a wonderful response from all of the friends and family that attended. I highly recommend Reynolds and look forward to Oct. when I host my Breast Cancer Awareness Tea Party.
-
TT
Monica and Robert
Tea at Reynolds Tavern is the main reasons that we keep on going back to Annapolis. The ambiance of the tea room at Reynolds Tavern complements the quaint atmosphere of the downtown beaufifully. Stepping into Reynolds Tavern, in one of the two cozy dining rooms, each with fireplace, is like stepping back to a slower time. The Tea Room offers a wide variety of teas, with various combitinations for tea (afternoon/colonial). The price is very reasonable. The presentation just right for afternoon tea. The ambiance is perfect to enjoy good, tasty fares and indulge in pleasant conversation away from the daily rush.
-
TT
Ross
The best tea in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area by far. The savories are excellent including a delicious mini-shepherd's pie and mushroom tartlet. The full tea with soup is filling and is well worth a very reasonable price. Although they don't have clotted cream they do have an excllent, thick whipped cream that is actually passable. Ambiance is excellent too. The service is only average at best and poor at worst.
-
TT
Barbie T
One of the BEST places in Annapolis to lunch! (The Baltimore Sun newspaper says so too!) For about $19 you can get the Colonial High Tea. Why should I bother you ask? WELL-- Let me tell you. You get the 3-tier tray of scone (I say scone because it's one per person), tea sandwiches and then mini shepherd's pies and mushroom pies, then a large assortment of mini desserts and tarts on top. With this you also get your own pot of tea (hot or iced) and a choice of soup or quiche (and salad might also be a choice too.)
Oddly enough they make the most interesting summer soups. I was there last week and they had watermelon soup. This soup had other fruit in it as well, but wow it was so refreshing. A month earlier they had chilled cilantro soup. I know it sounds weird (so does the watermelon) but it was GOOD. And because I'm on their email list, they sent out the recipe for the soup to me. ;)
Dress code ranges from casual to business casual- slightly dressy. Although a lot of people have wedding brunches and such so I recommend MAKING A RESERVATION. It will save you a headache later on. It can get crowded. I've never been there for dinner. But below it is the Sly Fox Tavern which serves up some of the same food dinner time. Parking is nuts in Annapolis, but you can park in the parking garage (just follow the P signs) for about $7. It's not far and you won't have to worry about getting a ticket. WOW!!! High-tea in Annapolis!!! Never thought about this before. But Reyonlds Tavern is a great little place that serve tea.
-
TT
Connie
I have gone to this tea room several times over the past few years. My book club has had their annual holiday tea there in January for the past three years. One year it was so warm, we ate outside! The food is fabulous, the crab soup is wonderful, and we love it that some people may have high tea, while others can just order entrees from the menu. No fuss. We were also there with a smaller group in May as a last minute drop-in and we were able to get a table. On most occasions, the wait staff and maitre'd have been fabulous, but this past January, we had a horrible waitress with a nasty attitude. If that had been my only experience there, it might have soured me on the place, but my next visit made up for that one. Plus it's in such a fantastic location - right in Annapolis on Church Circle near the Governor's mansion and the Naval Academy. Just walk and shop for a few blocks until you see the Chesapeake Bay and all the sailboats!
-
TT
impressed Brit u.k.
My hubby and I visit Tea Rooms all over the U.S. We were in downtown Annapolis and thought that we would check this place out. It's got a great location I must admit, but as far as serivce, freshness and presantation is concerned Reynolds Tearoom comes up short. None of the china cups and saucers matched. Our tea was luke-warm, and the scones were on the 'crunchy' side. We went during the week, so it was pretty empty. There were only us and another couple in the 'Tea Room section'. We waited about 30-40 minutes just to be served and then another 15-20 miuntes for the bill. The waitress was very unprofessional and unpleasant. Would not reccomend and would not revisit.
-
TT
Elaine
I have been to Reynolds numerous times and keep coming back! The service has been exemplary every time I've enjoyed tea here. The food is wonderful. One of my guests is allergic to yeast products and the lengths that Reynolds went to to make sure that she had things she could eat was wonderful. She is from Houston and still talks about it and the wonderful Cream of Crab soup! I will be back over and over again.
-
TT
K-Mil
Went with a friend today and was very impressed by the atmosphere, but it appears that service and the food is hit and miss. We both ordered the Colonial High Tea. The scones and desserts were fresh and excellent, but the sandwiches fell a bit short...very generic and lacking in flavor (although the Shepard's Pie tart was very decent). Had a very nice guy as our server, but he appeared very busy and rushed, so we had to wait for plates and milk for several minutes before receiving. Also, overheard other servers offering assistance and descriptions of the tea offerings...we did not receive that kind of service...overall had a good time, in terms of afternoon tea, you get what you pay for.
-
TT
Linda Pettit
I absolutely enjoyed having tea at Reynolds. I have already recommended this lovely tea room to others. The desserts were perfection with their varity, delicate flavor, and the fact they were not over the top sweet. I saw many tempting dishes around the room that has me eager to go back. Having read a few of the other recent reviews I would like to agree that I too was surprised buy the modern Teapots used to serve tea. But they poured nicely. And I am sure that they make tea service easier for the staff being easier to clean and use. I wondered while there if the Tea room is owned buy a business that owns many eateries in the area or if it is family run? It seemed very professional. But I prefer the friendly fussy Tea rooms were I am made to feel like a valued returning friend rather than a customer. I don't care what the Tea service costs it is more about being trated like a royal princess and the pampering than economics. And of course we royals are never wrong. So I will go back a second time because the foods varity was a change from my favorite Tea room. But I only expect to be treated like a customer eating at a chain. Reynolds could learn to be fussy. It is what I want and I am willing to pay for it.
-
TT
Marlene
My sister and I are huge tea girls, we go for 'teas' several times a year...birthdays, celebrations, any excuse. We had tea here earlier this year and I must say (as I'm in the middle of planning my sister's birthday tea plans today), I won't be planning on going back here. The last time we attended, the sandwich selection was an issue. We are both vegetarians and any time that we've gone to a teahouse and requested that they give us double the veggie sandwiches and skip the meat ones, it's no issue. On this past visit, we requested the same. Unfortunately one of the veggie finger sandwich selections was a little mushroom quiche. Unfortunately we both hate mushrooms and we asked if they could give us just the other veggie sandwiches in it's place. The server still brought out the veggie... (more) sandwiches including the mushroom quiche. We asked again if the mushroom quiche could be replaced with another of the tea sandwiches. She took the mushroom quiches back and went to the kitchen. She came back without them but said 'no, that the quiches are more expensive than the other sandwiches and that they cannot substitute.' We actually were perplexed since we were asking for the cheaper choice and she said that the manager said, no, because they can't allow for that type of substitution because what if we were asking for more of the pricier sandwiches. We were shocked and repeated that we weren't asking for the costlier sandwich but the cheaper one and she said it didn't matter. Instead she just walked away and acted as though we were being unreasonable or rude and she didn't even bring back the mushroom quiches (which we could've given to our husbands), yet we still had to pay for them. Many teahouses are often known for not having the friendliest of servers or being a bit rigid with their rules. But most of us regular 'tea' customers know we are paying a very high price for tea and a few desserts/tea sandwiches, because of the experience, environment, and the good taste of the little bit of food you get. But when a place cannot even accommodate a paying customer, why go back? A normal restaurant would go out of business or get a bad rap if customer's minor requests or food exceptions aren't considered. Instead of easily just giving us two tiny, little tea sandwiches, no, they were rude and acted like we were being rude for asking...and then we weren't even given back what we had to pay for. So over two tiny tea sandwiches you lost two regular tea ladies. Being that the atmosphere/service/food is just okay at your teahouse we've always felt it was an okay teahouse, the biggest plus was that it was close to us. But now that we've been treated this way over a minor request, we will not be giving you our business again. Again, you lost two regular tea ladies over two tiny sandwiches....you might think that's silly for us to not come back, but for you, it would have been a minimal cost (with future visits more than making up for it), yet for us, we left hungry, unfilled and annoyed, so we lost much more.
-
TT
Sheryl
I visited this tea room with three friends in June to celebrate a birthday, and it was a nice experience. The tavern has a wonderful atmosphere, and we ordered the Colonial High Tea. My friends and I loved that we each had a teacup and saucer of different traditional china patterns, but we found it strange that the teapots were contemporary. The variety of teas was better at other tea rooms that I've visited, and I did not care for the Reynolds Blend that I ordered, but the three-tiered tray of goodies more than made up for it. The differences between Reynolds' tray and other tea rooms were that Reynolds included a mini-quiche and a small shepherd's pie in addition to the finger sandwiches and that the top tier contained several bite-size desserts, not just three or four regular-size desserts. The presentation was fantastic! However, my friends and I agreed that the scones at the last tea room we had visited (SpecialTeas in PA) were better than Reynolds'. Service was pretty good, although sometimes it seemed as if our server disappeared since it took a while to order another pot of tea. Overall, it was a nice experience, and I would go again.
-
TT
Beth
I visited this tearoom last year and had a wonderful experience. I've been to several tea houses in the area, including Finnerteas, Petticoat, and Tea on the Tiber and this was the best, by far. The food was delicious and well prepared. The service was very efficient, and the server gave us space to enjoy our afternoon. I would highly recommend.
-
TT
Shawn Zeller
Solid tea room. Very good selection of loose leaf tea. Food is good, ambience is most pleasant, service uneven but friendly
-
TT
Debbie
My sister came for a visit to see me form Boston. We wanted to spend the day together and decided to have lunch and tea. Nicole was the hostess. She was a delight. We had the best crab cakes in our lifes. The chocolate flourless cake was out of this world. We will definatley be back when she comes to visit again. Thank you for making lasting memorys for two sisters.We enjoyed cupids arrow and bought some to enjoy at home as well.
-
TT
Sonnet Marwood
Had tea this afternoon for the first time at Reynolds - it was an altogether lovely afternoon.
My only criticism would be that the sandwich fillings were uninspired. However, the large selection of bite size sweets and the scones, along with a nice selection of tea that was brewed from loose leaves (a MUST in a good tea shop) more than made up for the sandwiches.
-
TT
Sarah
Our family has visited many area tearooms but likes this one the best. It is especially nice being in Annapolis with the Main Street shopping. There is a lovely, colonial atmosphere with a large food selection, not just scones and tea sandwiches. We have been there several times and will no doubt return.
-
TT
Jennifer Burrier
I've been to this tea room twice and have had great experiences. The owners are very friendly and genuine. The building is an inn and a restaurant- which is worth checking out. I just wish I lived closer!
-
TT
Rebecca Semeniuk
Your Tea Room was comfortable, well decorated and made me feel so welcome. Everyone was friendly, helpful and informative. I enjoyed everything and will be back often. I have told my sister who has known about you, but has not visited yet. I am certain that now that I have raved about my visit, that she and her fiends will be coming soon.
-
TT
Joyce Eckart
This was my first visit to Reynolds Tea Room, and from the moment I stepped through the door, I felt at home. The host/greeter was warm and friendly, immediately seating my friend and me, and giving us a brief history of Reynolds and the art of afternoon tea. Our waitress was delightful, efficient, and made us feel welcome. I was especially grateful for the relaxed atmosphere, unlike other places where I have dined, which were too formal, making me feel clumsy and fearful of making a mistake in proper etiquette. The tearoom was well appointed, comfortable, and very friendly. I felt as if I were having a special treat with a cherished family. It was a most pleasant experience. I will return to Reynolds Tea Room again and again.
-
TT
Rebecca Campbell
I loved it! My mom and I had such a wonderful time. It will be a memory we will never forget .The food and atmosphire was perfect and enjoyable.We will come to visit again and again!