Inspirations Tea Room, Eatery, & Events — Restaurant in Edmond

I have been to Inspirations several times and mostly enjoyed myself, with a few disappointments here and there. Waitstaff are polite, if a bit vapid in their surface-level toothy smiles, high-pitched girlish lilting voices, cloying perkiness, and lackadaisical service. When I visit I can't help but feel I'm being served by irritatingly naive home-schooled teenagers whose nearest touch to the outside world is comprised of this cushy part-time job on which they evidently operate on "island time". My most recent visit was the most grating, however. At two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, as other customers were leaving and the tea room was mostly empty, my friend and I received our iced teas in a somewhat timely manner, but then waited ten or fifteen minutes for our waitress to return to take our food order. Having learned at previous visits just how small the portions are as though meant for a light snack and not a lunch meal, I ordered a lemon blackberry salad and quiche. (I considered it a small miracle they still had quiche as they often run out.) That apparently created a problem because each of these is considered its own meal that come with cutesy little sides, and our waitress was flustered and didn't know what to do. I almost told the poor thing to just pretend I was two people and bring both meals because I was THAT hungry and the portions really are THAT small (though I'm sure this pretentious place has rules about that) but she ultimately realized we could do it a la carte, with no sides, which was all I wanted in the first place. After sorting that out, we waited a good 30-45 minutes for our food, and almost as long for our plates to be cleared. While we waited I counted the number of waitstaff (four) loitering in the service area with nothing better to do than lean, giggle, and chat with one another, while, bored of sitting, I seriously contemplated just getting up and looking around at the gift shop area, making our server come find us. Even after our plates were finally cleared I had to flag our girl down to actually ask for our bill, which came with its own inexplicable wait. My friend and I had asked for our bills to be separate, and our waitress forgot to do this, which was a minor thing, but still annoyed me after all the waiting and irritating perkiness sans...

I used to work here before they did their renovations. It used to be such a charming and unique place where one could genuinely feel like they were having a high tea party even when seated in the main room. I went back recently to enjoy that feeling with my daughters on my birthday now that one is old enough and all I could see was how much things have changed. How things have seemly gotten more about money and speed and less about atmosphere. There’s hardly any staff, no sit down service and has as much uniqueness as Panera and Cracker Barrel. While the prices have gone up, the quality of almost everything has gone down. Before, servers had these nice pinstripe uniforms (I remember having to buy mine and return it when they changed), ice tea was brewed in large tea pots and we’d bring a glass of ice to pour the tea over and leave the pot at the table. Every side has specific dishes and almost everything was ceramic or porcelain. Staff were content and connected and happy to provide a cheerful atmosphere. Now everything is for sale. Everything is plastic. There are 4 food runners who all look too involved in their work to even smile at each other. They exchanged the price of paying staff for paying for disposable. They have expanded their gift shop to where it is almost taking over the entire store, at this rate the eatery will be the side attraction. Yes there are some aspects that are pretty, the lemon curd and chicken salad are very delicious, but a sunroom and a couple of tastes snacks are not worth spending $25 per plate with no sit down service and using the same disposable utensils I could get at Panera. Looking around and seeing price tags on all their furniture, it all feels like outstretched hands begging I spend more and more money for getting very little in return. “Here, buy our food, get your own drink, go sit down, and leave as soon as possible so we can bring in the next person and take their money.” I understand that businesses need to make money to survive and thrive, but they have lost all their magic. They have sold it and traded it for plastic while still trying to convince the customer that they still have charm and class when all I see is inauthenticity and a cheap temu tea...

I took a big party of 5 year olds, which I know is unenjoyable for servers, but Inspirations made it known we were unwelcomed. I called ahead of time and made sure the manager knew we were coming. The service was unbelievably slow and they seemed so inconvenienced. I don't know why for even a larger party, they wouldn't take orders. Having the moms leave the table and go up for orders and more tea just encouraged the girls to want to move around and not sit still.

Ultimately, while we were wrapping up/getting to go boxes, a few of our children got restless. The manager or perhaps an owner came out of nowhere and scolded me for the girls running. I was already disciplining them (which she heard) and it felt unnecessary for her to be so rude to me. Of course, I do not want children running around China! I was very aware that was inappropriate. Then 2 servers came (quickly- for the first time all day it seemed!) and insisted the tables be cleared. I spent $235 and our party probably spent close to $300. That's not a small penny for sandwiches and hot leaf water. I guess they didn't need my business.

I worked in restaurants for 12 years. I get that no one wants to deal with children, but it's a tea place with a children's gift shop. Who exactly are you trying to get as clients? There were 5 Mother's in attendance and 1 already hosted a children's birthday party at the tea room. There was a lot of potential for more business at our table. Past tense.

I have always had a good experience until now. I tipped everyone 20% despite the bad service and will try inspirations again. It has the luxury of being the only tea place in town, which just encourages bad service. I do hope for a more positive...