A Tea Affair Tea Room

We had 2:30 reservations (made a week prior) for my sister-in-law’s birthday on a Saturday. We were greeted in a rather demanding tone by the hostess: “Do you have reservations?!” We assured her we did, she merely pointed to the next room so we chose the table to accommodate 7 of us. No one seated us, gave us any welcome, even spoke to us for a half hour, until my niece walked to the kitchen @3:00. The other woman who finally waited on us explained they were short-staffed but that would have been the first thing to share. Finally we were served a very small pot of tea each (no offer of more hot water) and a small plate of 5 small sweet items @$15 each guest.
I had to provide my credit card to secure the reservation and it was charged IN FULL the day prior to our party, plus a 20% tip!
We won’t return for any occasion.

I had a 5 year old birthday party there, and communication was impossible from the start. We had adjustments to our party the week of, and zero response on voicemails and texts sent. When I got there, the party was set up for the wrong amount of people and the staff made me feel like it was my fault. We had 7 adults for high tea and 8 children and some adults had to sit with the kids- it was off. There were no scones served with the tea. The children’s tea was all white foods. White bread pb&j with prepackaged vanilla cupcakes and colorless pastries. Would expect more for $14 per child. But the real lack was spending $36 per adult with some elements missing. The food was crammed on to tiered serving trays.. the whole thing was sloppy. Everyone was only offered one cup of tea. The kids loved the atmosphere, but was an absolute waste of money for the price. Not worth it. Not even close.

I love this tea room, I've gone here many times over the years, they opened a small shop across the street from this location and that's where they sell all their loose and bagged teas and everything else. This location is only the tea room. It's a great place, the food is wonderful. The only problem is getting a hold of someone to make reservations. They are usually fully booked and if they had a website or a person just answering the phone or calling you back once u leave a message that would be great. I left a message and then called about 3 times and was lucky to have some answer my call so my advice is just keep calling until you get someone.

I made a reservation for the Christmas tea for today 12/7, in September. We drove 2 hours to get to this place and hear that THEY RAN OUT of FOOD. Alice came full of excuses saying that some people brought guests and they weren’t expecting that. So this is how this place works, if you don’t have a reservation you are welcome but people who actually took their time to make a reservation are punished by not getting the service. Never again!

I cant say whether the place is nice or has good food because it Is impossible to get through by phone , email and text message. I have tried many many times a few months ago and now the last week and a half to get through to make a reservation. I find it such bad customer service and bad business, very disappointing , was looking to try the tea room in hopes to have a birthday party for my mom, we love high tea and have been to many , this was such a big disappointment , and the owner uses the excuse that she is too busy to answer the phone (as per her email) , well I have been a customer in her store and she is open for 4 hours 5 days a week and every time I shopped In her store she was not that busy , not a steady stream of a line out the door that she cant return a call or email or text message, even when she says she will, since august I have been trying and I received one email saying she is too busy to answer the phone and if I sent her my name , number and is there is any allergies (there is none) that she would call me , well a week and half later and she still has not called and I called again , sent another text message and another email with no respone. BAD BUSINESS, I read her other reviews and there is other customers have the same complaint, she responded to one of them saying that she was taught to take care of the customer in front of her , well what about your potential customers you lost and again I have been a customer in her store at different times and there isn't a line wrapped around the block to get in .

The place is really cute inside. Pretty table settings & china everywhere. The 2 teas we tried were quite tasty & our waitress was very sweet. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. The food options were underwhelming. We did the Afternoon High Tea. 1st course came with one scone each. They seemed store bought. Fine. 2nd course says salad with quiche OR soup online. There was no soup option. The quiche was delicious but the salad was sad. Kinda like grocery store salad bar style. 3rd course online said it came with 4 tea sandwiches, French creme brulee, & 4 pastries. The tea sandwiches were bread cut outs, like with a round cookie cutter, the size of a cookie. The size was much smaller than any other High Tea I have been to, though I realize tea sandwiches are smaller. There was a hummus with shredded carrots - fine but lackluster. An egg salad one which was delicious. A pesto, slice of tomato, piece of mozzarella, & balsamic drizzle one which was good, & lastly a light smear of cream cheese & 2 thinly sliced cucumber pieces that was disappointing. Each bread round was different - white, wheat, rye, & pumpernickel. They were regular old wonder bread style, nothing homemade or artisan. No creme brulee but chocolate mousse instead, which was by far the best thing I had there. The pastries were non existent. We had an apple crumble bar each which tasted better than it looked & 4 assorted cookies that were definitely bought from the grocery store. Overall, save your $. You could buy all the ingredients at the store, make the same options at home, it'll be cheaper, make more portions, & taste better. But it was a nice experience & fun thing to do catching up with a friend. We just expected the food options to be something more gourmet/high quality.

We enjoyed high afternoon tea yesterday. The food was incredible and the atmosphere was amazing! I would highly recommend this tea room!!

Met a few women from the Ethel's Group of Lancaster PA. The place was quaint and held its own amidst a bevy of shops along an alley. Small but clean and well furnished. Strong furniture. Good food and great tea options. The server was quite busy and methodical in handling payments. Not stuffy. Lots of laughter. Worth the visit and quite a treat!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Salad with Quiche, Scone, Pastries, Tea and Scones

Tried calling multiple times and leaving voicemails to get a reservation for a larger party and have gotten no response. Super disappointed in their customer service.

Reserved months in advance for my wife’s birthday, double checked and confirmed the time a few weeks in advance. We showed up early and the place was locked up tight. We called and messaged the number that confirmed our reservation and were met with silence. They didn’t even bother canceling. All this after we paid in advance. I hope we get refunded but at this time who knows? Why even bother owning a business if you aren’t going to show up?

Extremely disappointing experience! Despite having a contract with the correct date, they booked the room for the wrong day. When I brought it to their attention, instead of apologizing and making it right, they continued to provide horrible service and acted like I was the one at fault. Unacceptable mistake and even worse customer service. The venue's beauty and aesthetic were overshadowed by the poor service, which is a shame. Would not recommend. The party was for a 5 year old and the review is from the adults. The girls had a great experience they didn’t know any better and I as the mother made sure to attend to my daughter and her guess accordingly.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1

Massive selection of loose leaf teas. Very knowledgeable staff to help with selections.
Also has a moderate selection of coffee beans.
Would recommend if you are an avid tea drinker!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

My wife and I have been to many tearooms around the country and A Tea AffairTea Room is one of the very best! The setting and tea presentation was outstanding. But, it is the quality and wonderful taste of the food that makes this place first class.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

So cute great food super kind staff very nice

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: High Tea

I took my granddaughter here for her birthday - again! She loves having "tea" in such a lovely atmosphere. The food is delicious and the service prompt and friendly. A nice respite in a busy world.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5