Mifflin's Tea Room — Restaurant in Bonavista

We had a disappointing experience at Mifflin’s Tea Room during what was meant to be a very special weekend. A group of seven of us were looking to enjoy a nice breakfast together the morning after a wedding in Port Union, before heading off on a trip. Mifflin's came highly recommended by someone in our group, and after a long night with not much food, we were really looking forward to sitting down to a good meal.

When we arrived, we were told there would be a bit of a wait due to tour buses coming through. That was totally understandable—two people in our group have worked in high-end restaurants and knew what to expect. We were relaxed and happy to wait and even if it took an extra hour it was no problem to us.

The issue arose once our food was served- and the way the server went about it. Six of the seven meals arrived together, but one person’s meal was missing. After about 10 minutes, he went inside to check and was told by our server that nothing had been forgotten and the kitchen was just backed up. However, another 15–20 minutes later, a different staff member brought out the missing plate and apologized, clearly stating it had been forgotten.

By then, the rest of us had already finished long ago, and our friend was left to eat alone. He felt uncomfortable and rushed, and the moment that should’ve been relaxed and enjoyable became awkward. What really disappointed us wasn’t the mistake—it was the dishonesty. Even when we went to pay, the original server repeated that the meal hadn’t been forgotten and tried to blame the kitchen instead of taking accountability , despite us already knowing the truth.

What made it worse was that no apology was ever properly offered by that server, and no gesture was made to make things right—not even a small discount or removing the forgotten meal from the bill (because of no accountability). One meal out of seven being comped would’ve shown acknowledgment and care. Instead, we left feeling let down and unappreciated.

We understand mistakes happen, especially on busy days, but how they’re handled makes all the difference. Unfortunately, the way this was handled makes us much less likely to return or recommend Mifflin’s to others. A little honesty and a bit of goodwill could have completely changed...

We drove quite a while after doing some research and settling on this location for an authentic Jiggs dinner.

We were surprised to be disapointed when noticing that this "tea room" charges tea room prices, but simply uses a single twillings tea bag in their tea pots.

The total cost of the Jigg's dinner also went up by about 15% when compared with their online menu. The owner declined our request to honor the menu price online which meant we left on a sour note: an unfortunate interaction because our meal was great and we appreciated the decor.

The card payment system was also down. Although and they noted accepting e-transfers, the staff insisted we provide our personal information and could not confirm the payment was processed on the spot. Given our experience, we elected to pay cash.

Edit to the owner's reply: (Redacted here unnecessary antagonistic hypotheticals)

Our review was both accurate and respectful given our experience. The numbers and percentage increases provided by the owner in their reply are not accurate, nor were we handed a menu before we ate.

The online menu we referred to was the one advertised on the businesses's own website: which we were told those were just complicated to change.

It is unfortunate that this owner replied to this review in the defensive way they did. This pushed me to downgrade it further. The detailed 4 and 5 stars for the food reflect our honest, good experience with the food prior to our negative experience.

I especially sympathize with the owner's medical stated situation (suffering from something similar ourselves). I hope the owner can re-asseess that this type of feedback helps a business build better practices to avoid similar situations...

Mifflin's Tea Room menu offers some great choices of traditional Newfoundland food items.

Unfortunately, I never got to experience the toutons because the restaurant doesn't allow substitutes. I have diet restrictions so I asked if I could have an egg instead of bologna with the toutons meal. The server responded "we don't do substitutes". She didn't seem too friendly but she wasn't rude either. She didn't offer any other options and I didn't notice on the menu if I could order toutons alone so I opted for the fish cakes meal instead.

The fish cakes were pretty good. Not as savory as I would prefer but they were alright. Tasted like fish as you'd expect and was cooked well. It came with a coleslaw and rhubarb sauce. Which was fresh and tasty. I also ordered a lemonade which was pretty good, not too sweet, not too sour. And a blueberry muffin which was pretty good.

There was no music playing; it was quiet and relaxing.

The Restaurant was beautiful and had a collection of interesting tea pots which were eye catching and a conversation piece.

There's an attached outdoor seating area for eating outdoors during nice weather.

Trinkets and knitted hats are sold here but is cash only for...