Steve's Tea Company & Tea Room — Restaurant in Brantford

It started off well. Steve greeted us warmly and made us feel welcome—we really appreciated him. Unfortunately, after he left and the owner became involved, everything went downhill.

We had a reservation for 10:30am and were seated on time. When my sister called to ask about the community event last week, she was told it would be busy and that we should make a reservation to guarantee a table. This was confusing since it was supposed to be a free event, but we followed the advice and booked. Clearly, there was a miscommunication, and instead of being part of the public event, we were now booked in as a private one—at a cost of $189 (payment was made online at time of booking). Either way, we were excited to dress-up and attend and were okay with paying.

After being given tea, we waited nearly an hour with no food, no updates, and no check-ins from staff. Meanwhile, the public event started at 11am, and food was brought out for those attendees before us, even though we had reserved and been seated much earlier.

We flagged the owner down twice to ask about our food. The first time, she told us it was coming out shortly, but nothing arrived even after 10 minutes. The second time, she said she would check but never returned to update us. Finally, my sister walked up to speak with her directly and told her we wanted to leave and have a refund.

Only after we asked for a refund did she suddenly start bringing out food to our table. By then, we no longer wanted to stay—we had made it clear that we wanted to leave and expected a refund since no food had been served and the experience was so poor. Instead of apologizing, the owner blamed us for booking on her event day—even though she had told us to reserve in the first place. She even took out her phone to record me, which was both unprofessional and uncomfortable. I then took out my phone to also record our interaction, which captured her saying it was our fault we booked on her event day, and the owner taking our untouched food away. Owner kept saying we should have known it would be a busy day and that she advertised this event for three months in advance -- this is our first time here, and we are from out of town.

We again refused the food and asked for a refund. Instead, the owner brought out take-out containers and placed them on our table for us to pack the food ourselves, even though we had clearly said we just wanted our refund and to part ways. When we declined, she took all the food back into the kitchen and, shockingly, called the police on us for trespassing. We stepped outside to wait, and the owner locked the door behind us. After following up with the non-emergency line, we were told that leaving was the right thing to do and we were given a case number for documentation.

We paid $189 for this reservation and received no food, no service, and no refund. We understand that events can make things busy, and we respect that food is made fresh, but waiting an hour with no service, being skipped over for free-event patrons, denied a refund, and then threatened with police involvement is absolutely unacceptable. What should have been a wonderful birthday outing went terribly wrong.

Steve was wonderful, but the owner’s dismissive and unprofessional handling ruined the entire experience. We left hungry, frustrated, and will not...

Steve’s Tea Room had been recommended by someone so I took my mother for a belated birthday treat – neither one of us had ever been. There was some confusion on our end when we entered because we didn’t understand that we first picked our tea, then our teacup, and then sat down. Maybe my confusion came across as irritation, I’m not sure. Regardless, we ordered our sandwiches, scones, and drinks. I believe it was Lana that served us (apologies if it wasn’t) and she was apologetic for the wait and thanked us for our patience when the food took a little long to come to our table. My mom and I did complain to each other about the wait and did wonder if they were understaffed and/or unexpectedly busy for a Thursday afternoon. It was maybe just short of an hour that our food came and when Lana stopped to ask if everything was okay, I said, “I’m sorry, I know you’re busy but the bacon (on my grilled cheese) isn’t crispy.” She responded with something like, “It’s cooked; did you ask for crispy?” (this was not said with any attitude). I indicated that I did but that the menu also says ‘crisp bacon’ (I feel ridiculous that I’m even talking about this). The plate was taken away and Lana didn’t stop at our table again. Our scones were brought by the other server in the dining room (apologies, I’m not sure of her name). After we were done, I took my wallet out and we waited for the bill. After about 15 minutes, my mom stopped Lana as she was passing our table and asked if we could have our bill. Lana said something to the effect of, “I’m getting your lunch today and invite you to have your tea somewhere else from now on.” My mom and I were both stunned. I stopped her a minute later and said, “I’m sorry, did I do something to offend you?” and she just repeated that we were invited to have our tea somewhere else in the future. So, we left. The food was good but we did complain to each other about how slow things were, which may have been overheard…? I’m sure I looked impatient at times too, but we honestly don’t know what prompted the ban from the Tea Room. I also understand there might have been a perspective I completely missed. I do wish I had insisted on paying as I feel uncomfortable that we didn’t pay for what we ate, even after what happened. I’ll still pay – and never return - if Lana changes her mind and lets me know to send payment. I’m sorry it was such a negative experience for...

BEWARE of the owner, Lana! I had booked online and paid for an afternoon tea for a party of three. I had chosen the wrong date at first and emailed to change the date. She immediately replied saying no problem at all. A few days later someone in my party fell ill and I wanted to cancel the reservation. I emailed this person to advise that I had to cancel. The website says at least 24 hrs notice. My reservation was for Wednesday and I emailed this same person on Monday. She never answered. I tried calling on the Tuesday morning. The gentleman answered the phone as Steve from Steves Tea. He advised me that his daughter looked after this and that she would be in the store in an hour, I called back in an hour and she wasn’t there, he advised that she was on her way. I called back and she still wasn’t there, I said “Sir, could I just leave my number and you can have her call me?” He said he couldn’t do that? I proceeded to call three more times and it went to voicemail. My husband drove me over to the store as we were out and I thought it would be easier to just attend with my credit card. I entered the store and she was looking after a customer and asked me to wait to which I said no problem. The customer left and I walked up to the counter and asked if she was Lana, she said yes. I said who I was and that I was there for my refund. She advised that she had to do that online, to which I said okay so will that be tonight and she said yes. That was it. By the time I got home she had send me a lengthy email accusing me of being threatening and hostile towards her which I was neither. She then proceeded to say that she had notified the Police and her Attorney and that I was banned from her business and should anyone I know go there she would call the Police. I was in shock and thought this was absurd. I received a second email stating that the Police and her Attorney have been notified of the situation and that I will receive a refund between 7 and 10 days. This email from her was dated August 27th. This is September 13th and I have yet to receive the refund. I will not contact this person but I had to let people know how she conducts...