Tea House 650 — Restaurant in Crystal River

This is usually my daughter and I's favorite place to eat lunch. I've never had an issue with anything until today. The food is usually delicious (we always get paninis, cheese pie, salad, and quinoa soup) and the tea is always so amazing (we like the kir royal most and lady hannah sometimes) and the waitresses are always so kind and polite. Today I felt like I had went to a completely different restaurant. I had called to place a order to go beforehand and when I walk in there was already 4 people ahead of me and 2 were dining in so they ordered and went and sat down then the next couple went let me go ahead of them cause they had already ordered and were waiting. When I got up to the register to pick up my order there were 3 girls standing behind the counter. 1 was busy making drinks and the other 2 were just chatting back and forth and drinking smoothies. I wound up standing at that counter for about 10 minutes and everyone kept looking at straight at me and didn't ask me if I had been helped or anything so I spoke up and said I was there to pick up an order and the 2 girls at the other end of counter blantly ignored me and I was staring right at them and looked over at me then went back to talking and drinking a smoothie. so I said hello is someone gonna help me and they just kept standing there talking. After about another 5 minutes I said are you serious and was very close to walking out and going elsewhere (I probably should have, my food was cold and didn't taste right.) Then right before I went to walk out the nice waitress with the shorter blonde hair who always waits on me walked up and I got her attention and I asked if my order was ready and it had been sitting on the counter since I walked in ( I looked at it right when I walked up) I told her I was waiting atleast 15 minutes. She then asked me if anyone had helped me and I told her no everyone kept ignoring me when I would ask and they just stared at me. I told her I had spoke up multiple times and the 2 girls just stood there staring at me not saying a word when I spoke up. The waitress even heard me ask about my order when I walked in and she thought that we were all talking and were gonna help me. I then told her nope they looked right at me and didn't say one word. She then apologized a few times and told me that is unacceptable. She ten told me she would be having a talk with them. I didn't get a discount or nothing for the poor service. Then I drove back to my house which was less than 5 minutes away and the food was cold by then. I had ordered a panini with chips and a tea and my MIL got a roast beef sandwich. When I opened mine I took 1 bite and it tasted really off . Then I got to looking at it and none of the pieces matched up together so it looked like a Franken-sandwich made if pieces from different sandwiches. I wound up tossing it out. I can honestly say I don't think we will be going back. Which really stinks cause I used to love...

Let’s talk presentation! Not only the food, but the place. This owner has such an amazing attention to detail! I love the space, and the furniture, and all the stuff you can buy inside (honey, teas, artwork, etc.). It is so charming and clean and welcoming – a great space to have a quiet lunch with a friend. There is both indoor and outdoor seating.

I was in town for 2 days and ate here twice (I had been here a few years ago too). The first day, I had a peach scone (I can’t even describe how delicious it was!), and a tall glass of peach iced tea (lightly sweetened to perfection). I also had the peanut butter and jam toast; it was soooo delicious, and presented so beautifully on my plate. My mom had the avocado toast – and same, presentation was beautiful (see my photos). Everything we ordered was amazing and delicious and the service was great and it was just a beautiful experience.

Day 2, we had a real meal. I actually had a “custom” sandwich and it was incredible. The sandwich on the menu, “Special Gourmet Sandwich,” is made with smoked turkey, sweet apple slices and sweet onion, mayo and sunflower bread. I’m a vegetarian, so I didn’t want the turkey (or the onion), and I noticed white cheddar on the menu on something else, so I asked the server if I could get the white cheddar, the apple, and just leave off the turkey; she said yes. In a few minutes, the chef came out and just wanted to make sure she saw the order correctly – she was so nice and even offered to add some greens to the sandwich. When it came out, it was perfection. The bread was outstanding – so soft and fresh, and it had the cheese, apple, greens, and mayo. It was sooo good and just what I wanted; I very much appreciate the customization. My mom had the chicken salad plate. My mom is a chicken salad kind-of-a-girl and she LOVED it. It had grapes, celery, and a lot more. It’s served with a croissant on a bed of greens, and my mom asked for a side of mayo. She has not stopped raving about it (and she’s a little difficult to please!)

It was a beautiful meal and great place to take my mom. The prices are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money. When I went up to pay, the lady was putting some tea in a bag for another customer; the teas smell so delicious and there are TONS of them to choose from. While this is called a Tea House, it is really so much more. I can’t wait to come back.

FYI: There is plenty of free parking in the back. Pay attention to the decor inside - it's...

The owner of the Tea House is probably the least friendly mixed with the weirdest vibes of a business owner I have ever met, especially in hospitality. My wife and I showed up right at 10am, the place was empty so we found a table in the dining room. My wife and I both ordered breakfast and tea. I order a panini, my wife ordered soup. While we awaited our order, the owner who is an odd man (you’ll know what I mean if you see him) was pacing around the restaurant, with what looked like, on a mission of absolutely nothing. He would walk outside, then back inside. He would stare at us, continue walking. 1 minute later, he would do the same thing. Pacing all over the place, but never accomplishing anything. After about 15 minutes of doing the same thing, he finally said to us “you guys might need to find another table, we are going to be busy”. My wife and I looked around, being the only ones inside around 10:15 we were confused, questioned what he meant because literally every single table was open other than one that was filled outside with a husband and wife. We were not rude, and it wasn’t a big deal. My wife and I were sitting at a table for 4 - this is the only reason we could think he said something to us with such oddity in his demeanor. We asked him for his Wi-Fi, he told us we would have to steal Cattledogs Wi-Fi from next door as he wouldn’t give out his Wi-Fi password. Okay, no biggie. While waiting for our breakfast we cracked open a game of Backgammon. 10:30 goes by, 10:45, the man is still pacing everywhere, looking at us each time he goes by while we are our breakfast. At this point, there’s now one other couple inside with us, with every other table inside completely open. At this point, my wife is starting to feel extremely uncomfortable with this man giving us a weird stare down each time he paces by. At this point, I am now upset because my wife wants to leave because she’s uncomfortable - we just bought a full breakfast, teas, and even some ceramic boots for potted plants. We spent a good deal of money here yet we felt entirely unwelcome, and the place wasn’t ever busy. At all times there were multiple tables open, yet the eye piercing pressure that we received from this guy and the weird interactions were enough for us to end our backgammon game early and leave with intentions of never coming back. The place has potential, it a cool little place, the staff was wonderful, the food was pretty good. But unfortunately, the owner of this business...