Rustic Root — Restaurant in Beech Grove

Run by lovely ladies in a beautiful space, this tea room has a confusing menu, and was ultimately a disappointing experience for devoted afternoon tea fans.

There were 4 of us who had a reservation for afternoon tea. My two grand-daughters chose the Princess Tea while my daughter and I each chose the Grand Tea time. The Princess tea stated that it included 1 choice of tea or sparkling lemonade, two sandwiches to chose from, a cup of fruit, and a spread of sweet treats. This is listed at $13 per person. The Grand Tea included 3 teas of your choice, 2 sandwiches choices, a scone with "clotted" cream, your choice of specialty bread and a variety of sweet treats - offered at $22 per person.

Imagine our surprise when we were told that each pair of people (Princess and Grand tea) were only allowed a total of 2 sandwich choices and furthermore there would be an upcharge of $2 on the Grand Tea for any hot sandwich selection. We were also told that the three choices of tea also had to be agreed upon by the two of us who were having the Grand Tea. Sadly, there was no discount in the per person pricing although the choices were clearly not "per person" as indicated on the menu. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say they charge $44/two to select the Grand Tea or $26/two to select the Princess tea.

Our sandwiches (Chicken Salad on a mini croissant and 1/2 BLT each) were quite tasty, our specialty bread (which offered us no choice) was a lovely cinnamon swirl coffee cake, the mini cheesecake cubes and macarons were good (as they had been when we had purchased them at Costco - the cheesecakes were served in the identical brown pastry cups). The scones were a disappointment - more of a bread dough consistency and no discernible spicing/flavoring. I think we had strawberry jam and butter on offer to spread on the scones while my daughter thought it was a type of marmalade.

There was only 1 choice of unflavored tea (English breakfast) among the selections on offer. I would have preferred to have a Darjeeling, a Chinese tea or perhaps an Assam to choose from as well. As it is, we were reduced to having 2 pots of the English Breakfast tea. When it was brought out, the teas were in sachets and we were not offered any place to put the used bags so the teas just kept steeping and steeping! Also, all three pots of tea were brought at the same time so by the time we finished them the tea was hardly piping hot.

Imagine my surprise when presented with the bill which contained an additional $3 charge for the sparkling lemonade (never mentioned by the waitress) and two $2 upcharges for the BLT! We had been told that there would be an upcharge for a hot sandwich (which I took to mean the turkey Panini but could see that the BLT might qualify). However, since we had to share the same type of sandwich it seems disingenuous to charge each of us for the privilege.

It was certainly not the worst tea we have ever had, but what we were actually given was not what we expected from the menu descriptions and it all felt a little...

Mixed feelings on this tea room.

The tea was excellent and they serve real clotted cream, which can be hard to find in Indiana. Great variety of selection!

I went for my birthday and the service was lackluster. When we were seated we immediately walked into a situation with another table being served something they didn’t order. That quickly became the theme for our visit.

We ordered the tea that we made a reservation for. Immediately, the server asked us if we were really sure it was what we wanted because ‘that one was the expensive one.’ I understand having issues with customers ordering the wrong tea in the past but that immediately comes off as rude, even if not the intention. To me, the prices are clearly listed and of course we would want to go all out for a birthday.

Then I informed the server of dietary restrictions. I can’t eat chicken. We gave her our sandwich orders. We were ordering slowly but had to repeat our order three different times before she was able to get it entered correctly. We ordered all vegetarian options, which I am grateful this tearoom offers.

Then when the sandwiches come out, they are wrong, even after relaying our order several times. We are served a chicken salad sandwich. Not a big deal. Someone comes out and asks us what it should have been instead. We explain that it should have been a cucumber sandwich. They take our whole sandwich tray away to fix the error and we wait another 15 minutes. When it comes back, it’s wrong again. They gave us an extra veggie wrap instead. At that point we were hungry and didn’t want to wait additional time for them to correct the order a second time.

Initially someone came to check on us, but for the rest of the hour long tea, no servers came back to the room. When we initially sat down, two different servers came up to us saying they would bring some water. For the entire tea, nobody did! And because of how chaotic it was and because nobody came back, we did not have the opportunity to ask for water again.

We were also promised a birthday cupcake at the beginning of the tea which we never received. By the end of the tea, all I wanted to do was drink water and leave so I didn’t even try to remind the server.

We were extremely patient and polite the entire time. And it was not just us, every table around us was having similar issues. I want to give them grace and conclude that it was probably an off day for them. With better service, this would be an outstanding tea room. But with the experience we had, it was not worth the time or money we spent in my opinion.

As an afternoon tea lover, I sincerely wish this business the best in the future and I hope they can improve with...

I am deeply disappointed with the experience this venue provided for my daughter's birthday party. Despite booking months in advance, the service on the day was completely unacceptable. The reservation was for 2 PM to 4 PM, and I had paid for food in advance, leaving only the children’s meals to be decided upon arrival. However, when we arrived, only a few tables were properly set with teacups, plates, and silverware. Although tea was supposed to be the primary drink, guests were also meant to be offered soda or coffee, yet no one was given the option. Two small tables were neglected entirely, with no teapots provided, forcing guests to get up repeatedly just to pour their own tea.

The situation worsened as the event progressed. For the first hour and a half, we were left without any food, which was supposed to be served promptly. This delay is inexcusable, especially considering that the reservation was only for two hours. The food did not arrive until 30 minutes before the end of our slot, leaving little time to enjoy the meal. For a party of nearly 40 people, having just one waitress was wholly insufficient. She struggled to keep up with refilling teapots, bringing coffee, and taking orders, resulting in a chaotic and frustrating experience.

The children’s meals, which were supposed to be chosen upon arrival, were not even requested until moments before the rest of the food was served. The room was unbearably hot, and it was nearly impossible to get the waitress’s attention for refills or any other service. Several of the food towers lacked tongs, and no napkins were provided at the tables. Despite paying over $1,000 for this event, the service was abysmal, and the entire experience was marred by a lack of attention to detail and customer care.

The only redeeming factor was that the food, when it finally arrived, was decent. However, this does not excuse the poor service and lack of professionalism displayed throughout the event. I received no apology for the late food, the inadequate staffing, or the overall poor service. The manager only approached me at the end of the event to request payment for additional items ordered during the prolonged wait for our meal, such as coffee. No effort was made to offer scones or other items to enjoy with tea during the wait.

In summary, the event was a disaster, and I would not recommend this venue to anyone. The poor service and lack of customer care ruined what should have been a special day. The venue failed to deliver on its promises, and the experience was far below the standard expected for the amount paid. I sincerely hope that no one else has to endure such a...