“It’s ALWAYS tea time!” -Mad Hatter

 

If you are in the mood to drink Afternoon High Tea like English royalty, there is a place in downtown, Escondido, California that will provide that exact experience and more! Some mid-afternoon comfort, luxury crumpets and dining experience at its finest is always my cup of tea.

So, for several years, my family and I have passed by this quaint little tea room off Grand Avenue when we would normally go to downtown Escondido for Sunday brunch or Dinner at one of the local restaurants. However, we honestly never truly knew what all this placed entailed until I inquired the Escondido Visitor’s Center about a block down about it.

The pleasant atmosphere just past the entrance into the Grand Tea Room is so adorable, full of tea life, and PLENTY of merchandise options perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or any special occasions such as Mother’s Day coming up on May 13th (if you know what I’m saying).

In their store front, they not only sell cute items to pair with having your own afternoon tea time experience such as hats, gloves, tea spoons, plates, etc., but they also sell any of their 40 exclusive varieties of gourmet loose leaf teas and custom china tea sets as well!

 

The lovely owner informed us that her tea pot sets can be restocked fairly quickly. So, if you would like more than one or want a specific one, feel free to ask her about it when visiting or contact them to order. They are fairly good pricing for these as well.

TEA TIME: THE EXPERIENCE

So, going into my tea time experience here, I had previously been to several afternoon tea locations before. However, finding out this spot was just in my backyard of Escondido made me become that much more ecstatic about it! Plus, not only is The Grand Tea Room known for primarily serving different options of afternoon tea served with a wide variety of cute, savory/sweet food bites, but each tier option is served with an unlimited amount of any tea of your choice for 2 hours! If you plan on going, be sure to make a reservation at least a week in advance to reserve your tea time slot.

On their menu, their afternoon tea package options consist of The Grand Tea, The Garden Tea, The Children’s Tea, The Light Lunch Tea, and The Cream Tea. Since I was able to take a visit here during the tail-end of Dine Out Escondido Restaurant Week that ran January 28-February 3rd, I was able to catch their special where each one purchased, $1 was given back to North County Food Bank’s FOOD 4 KIDS Backpack Program. Personally, loved finding out that local Escondido restaurants came together each year to do this and the Grand Tea Room was participating in this as well.

So, of course I had to try out their ultimate “The Grand Tea” option for $29.95 that came with the following from bottom to top:

• • Level 1: Chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts, Egg salad, and Open-faced Cucumber with dill sandwiches

  • Level 2: Strawberry with white chocolate scones, Bacon and green chilies Quiche and/or Shepard’s Pie

  • Level 3: (Dessert..my favorite!) Apple pie, Strawberry Pecan bars*, Pumpkin cheesecake, & Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling*

(NOTE: the strawberry pecan bars are to give your life for! SO GOOD!)

This option also comes with a fruit medley to start and the soup of the day which happened to be butternut squash that day!

The tea flavors we ordered were the following: Valentine’s Tea (made with rose oil), Creme Brulee Tea (THIS WAS MY FAVORITE & TASTED/SMELLED JUST LIKE THE DESSERT), Passion Fruit Tea, and a Chocolate Tea. These were all amazing. However, was the biggest fan of the Creme Brulee and will probably come back just to drink this or buy my own mix of it.

Overall, my experience at the Grand Tea Room was amazing. I went with my mom on a Friday at 11:30am and we absolutely had such a fun time drinking tea, eating cute snacks and dressing up with our hats for the occasion. Also, if you forget to bring your own fancy hat, they also have their own hat wall in the back right near their kitchen and powder rooms with assortment to choose from too to borrow during your tea time!

Also, there’s another SPECIAL FEATURE about the Grand Tea Room that I wanted to mention…

EXCLUSIVE DINNER THEATER EVENTS

So, something awesome that I also found out about the Grand Tea Room in Escondido is they hold exclusive Dinner Theater events that run once a month every few months! Their next dinner performance coming up is a satirical comedy called “The Importance of Being Earnest” running March 8-25th, 2018! They have several time slots such as matinees during the day and evenings as well throughout the week!

Go to The Grand Tea Room’s website or feel free to call to reserve your spot right now! I will be going as I ABSOLUTELY LOVE theatrical performances and musical theater! Do you too?

Mention SavvySweets sent ya if you happen to book your reservation and say hi to Louisa, the owner, for me when you do!

If you guys happen to like these types of posts, PLEASE let me know as I am constantly open to all the feedback, suggestions and recommendations for what to write/film about next!

As always, REMEMBER GUYS….keep it SAVVY!

Cheers,

~Savanah(:

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