Julia
User's reviews
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New Leaf Tea Room & Gift Shoppe
Though the atmosphere is elegant and the offerings delectable, this sort of limited tea service is best saved for a special event or meeting of a dear friend for the price of their Royal Tea. For about four more you have either a choice of soup or salad, when many other tea rooms offer both of these with a full afternoon tea. There are tea rooms local to this one that are just as tasty, cheery, etc. where you get more for what you pay. But, if you are the kind of person who still thinks that a true Victorian Tea requires such formality, perhaps consider putting down your Victorian Chic style book and consulting a history book, tea rooms were more an invention of the Edwardian era, not to be confused with the formal tea service held in one's home as a special gathering. Tea rooms were merely informal cafes where ladies could meet for lunch unaccompanied by men, and were rarely as formal as the frilly rooms we associate them with today. So, for a more accurate tea room experience that isn't overflowing with an overzealous attempt at the modern concept of Victoriana, the Wild Violets Tea Cafe in Hulmeville PA is much more appropriate. It is less formal but always busy and the service is adequate, since finding good female waitstaff for a partime day job during normal work/school hours must be hard, but the food offered is always delicious and much of it is made by the owner herself. As a regular, I have been made to feel very important by the waitstaff who now regognize me and therefore know in advance what I will likely order. The New Leaf is most definitely a lovely tea room and be best used sparingly for special occaisions because one can certainly get more for their money elsewhere and also because a spur of the moment craving for a cup of tea will go unacted on once you arrive after a day of antiquing to be told you must have a reservation atelast two weeks in advance. A place that will seat you, even when they were planning to close early because of poor weather seems more interested in customers who make the trip I think, but you decide for yourself.