The Cafe At The Getty Villa

We drove to the Getty Villa for High Tea on a beautiful sunny SoCal day from OC. My daughter and mother in law attended with us, and the ambiance, waitstaff, scrumptious food and great conversation was a lifetime memory.

We had a great time at tea. Our server. Karen, was very attentive and went out of her way to make our tea a positive experience. The food was tasty and offered a nice variety of sandwiches and desserts. The Getty is a wonderful location for tea.

The service ny Jonathan was excellent. He was super attentive and really took great care of us. The whole staff was great. The food looked beautiful but was just OK. The desserts were very good though. The whole room only had 4 tables so looked funny with only 4 tables all grouped near the windows. Overall it was OK. I would have like it to have a little more decor to fill up some of the room as it looked a bit barren. Also a bit hard to find stairs to get to location. The ones we saw were roped off so had to ask someone how to get to second floor. The elevator label says 2nd floor is a certain named room but no tea indicated. Just probably us but elevator should have label of tea room or something like that.

Love the service and environment ! Great place to take a quiet and peaceful moment with nice treats!

As the only place to get food at the Villa, you are a captive audience, but at least they do a decent job with the feed.

FOOD: A variety of wraps and burgers and salads -- nothing earthshaking, but tasty and of decent proportions. Indeed, I was surprised by the amount of garlic fries that came with my burger.

SERVICE: Everyone was nice. Food, prepped fresh, came pretty promptly.

AMBIANCE: The place is clean and well kept, in the architecture of the modern additions to the Villa complex.

VALUE: The food is pricey. Very pricey. You know how amazing it was that there was no entrance fee (parking notwithstanding)? This feels like where they make a bit of that back.

On the other hand, it is (a) tasty and (b) the only game in town.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Room was basically a conference room with zero ambiance. Service was mostly absent except for when they inserted themselves into our conversation. Food was poor. Price was one of the most expensive teas in la. Tea selection was a joke.

We were there on a rainy day and a lot of people had cancelled so we had lots of attention and the servers couldn't have been any nicer or more accommodating. The teas were delicious and we got to try whatever we wanted. The food was plentiful and some were just amazing, like the mont blanc dessert, and the pear entrement. There was a hot item that was called a "fritatta" that really was just baked eggs and not that amazing. The breads were excellent. Some of the small sandwiches could have used a bit more pizzazz. I think the chef's strengths (at least this day) were the sweet items, which were delicious. The atmosphere is lovely overlooking the museum grounds, although I thought the room itself was a bit dull, not much on the walls, interesting in a museum!! Could be decorated more.

Afternoon tea at the Getty Villa was a treat! The service was excellent and the view out the floor to ceiling windows (of the Villa, Ranch House, and ocean) were lovely despite it being a rainy and overcast day. The tea and food were very good, and the kitchen easily took into account both my partner's and my food allergies. The noise level was fairly quiet, which was nice since my fiance and I were on a date; however, I would guess that it is a little louder usually. When we were there, only our table and one other were full in the small tea room (which I had to book several months in advance), all the other tables had cancelled last minute due to the rain. All in all, a lovely experience!

An unexpected elevated experience that mirrored the spectacular Getty surroundings and exhibits with an incredible staff, delicious and beautiful savory & sweet + hot bites for our afternoon tea experience.

An enjoyable tea. Excellent service. The tea room is rather plain, but the large windows provide a lovely view of the Getty grounds.

A lovely experience, the service is very welcoming and attentive. The views are great. A wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

This was the 6th tea experience in 6 months and was hands down the best service of all the places we have been. The desserts were really good. The tea had several nice options. Unfortunately, the sandwiches were a miss for both me and my friend. The scone was also more of a biscuit. The view was nice from most of the tables, but ours was in the corner and we just had a view of a dirt hill. The room was very stark, no decor at all. But the tables were nicely set.

I was quite excited to go to the getty villa tea but overall it was pretty disappointing and not really worth the price. The tea service is only twice a day so its not set up permanently which I think contributes to the issue. 1) The price is different EVERYWHERE. On their website it is $44, in other locations it is $50, and on the email confirmation they sent, it was $60 in one place and $65 in the other, in the same document. There is also an automatic 18% service charge. I am not complaining about the price but having it being inconsistent in so many places is sloppy. 2) The seating is weird. Since it is a limited space event, the doors open at 1:00PM and then the host individually calls out different reservations to seat you. However, it takes a while because the host is also helping to settle the guests getting water etc. We werent seated until 1:15 but it was because they kept going back and forth not because it was busy. 3) The ambience was also strange. Since the tea is not a permanent restaurant, it is hosted in an event multi purpose room above the cafe. I think people who go to afternoon tea more often would be a little disappointed with the vibes. -- its also quite dark in the room leading to very poor photos 4) The food was meh and the tea selection was tiny -- it also was bagged tea and not hot enough to dissolve the sugar. A lot of the food was more experimental than other afternoon teas but my guest and I were not super keen on it. I think overall it was a fine event, but for the price being the same as the Huntington Gardens, I was expecting a bit more.

In addition to the excellent cuisine, the Getty Villa tea experience was memorable for how enthusiastically we were encouraged to try a variety of different teas during our visit. All were delightful, especially the lavender-infused signature blend. Also worth noting is the scenic view from the tea room. Although some reviewers have wished for a more classically themed venue, we thought the elevated vista, which takes in the museum as well as forested hillsides and circling hawks, was quite inspiring. In short—come for the tea, stay for the antiquities.

Thank you for a wonderful afternoon tea. The signature tea and food were amazing! We also appreciated the attentiveness of the staff.