High Tea Grand Rapids — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

This was my third trip to High Tea. My previous two trips were a lovely experience: which is why I continued to return. I really, really want them to succeed, which is why I am hoping they will take my comments to heart. There were two major issues with our trip yesterday. The first is the lack of careful, attentive service. I called four days prior to our reservation to alert them that we'd need vegetarian sandwiches. The woman I spoke with on the phone said the note was added to our reservation. We were still served sandwiches with chicken and pork. When I called their attention to it, additional vegetarian sandwiches did arrive, but it took long enough for them to fix the mistake that I began to feel annoyed. Additionally, we waited 15 minutes between the time the tea pots arrived and the time the sandwiches arrived. This meant we were eating sandwiches with lukewarm tea. Never once were we offered more hot water for our tea. Once our cream was empty, we were never offered more cream for our table. Once the sandwiches were placed, we were not visited again by our server. Additionally, there was an upcharge for tea at this time of year as it's a holiday tea. There were supposed to be Christmas crackers on the table, but we had no Christmas crackers. This made us feel like we had really lost out on a traditional, British experience. The owner explained that they had run out, but gave us paper crowns and stickers and an ornament instead. I felt annoyed again. I bought my Christmas crackers from Cost Plus the day before, so it's not like they're not available in town for purchase. Although the owner tried to make the lack up to us, the gesture felt empty and we ended up feeling like we'd gotten the short end of the stick, but were still made to pay for it. As the tip is mandatory and already included in the bill, it felt like there was no opportunity to speak about our experience. We were never asked how things were: we were only asked if we were finished and wanted boxes. I was left with the feeling that they are not interested in knowing how our experience was, and how they might make it better. The cost of this tea was almost $400 for 7 people, and I paid a mandatory 18% tip. I did not receive the kind of careful attention that a $400 bill warrants. Secondly, the quality of the food has fallen dramatically since the last time I've visited. The sandwich bread was so dry it was crusty on top. The cookies were so dry and crumbly they were verging on burnt. The peppermint trifle was such a good idea, but it was executed poorly. The only highlight of the meal was the mince pie and the actual fillings of the sandwiches. But the bread they were served on was so unappetizing that it was hard to enjoy them. None of these disappointments, however, topped the hockey puck, stale scone. It did not taste fresh, and it was crunchy and fell apart in my hands. The accompanying items they served alongside did nothing to improve the ruined texture. The scones were served with two different sauces: they weren't jams or jellies because they literally ran off the scone when applied. Remember--I've been there twice before. My previous experience was vastly different. I remember being served clotted cream and lemon curd with my scone. These are normal accompaniments. The sauces we were served yesterday were such a let down. In conclusion, do they serve high tea? Yes. Did the service make me feel like we were being treated to a special experience? No. Did the food make us feel like we were being provided a special treat? No. Was my most recent experience worth the money? Not at all. But I would like to be able to visit again and feel like it is a "special" experience. I want a place I can take others for a treat, but I don't want to feel like I've been taken for a ride. I was planning on having a get together for 10 there in February but we will go elsewhere to a place where I know the quality of the food is high quality and consistent, the service is more attentive, and the...

I made a reservation to bring my three nieces in on a Sunday for a Girl' Day. They ranged in age from 6 to 10. We arrived at our reservation time and I was surprised to only see only 3 other occupied tables, especially on a Sunday afternoon. We were brought to our table, water was brought over, and we waited for a short time for our server to come over for our intro. Server was very sweet and friendly and offered recommendations, they were appreciated, as we were first timers. I guess I was unaware how expensive the experience was. $45 for a pot of tea (two refills and you are able to change teas), 4 savory items, 4 sweet, and one scone. We were told this is usually enough for one person and I did see that if you split this tray with someone it is a $19 split fee. There was a children's Fairy Tea that came with one pot of tea (refills included), 2 savory, 2 sweet, and a scone. They did offer soda or lemonade for children that did not want tea. They do add 18% gratuity to each check, something I missed and only realized after I had left and already tipped. It did call that out on the menu, but it would have been appreciated if they let me know when the check was brough, I assumed that was customary. The tables are laid out with all the customary tea necessities - plates, chargers, saucers, tea cup, spoon, tea strainer, sugar, and silverware. Cute and authentic. All 4 of us found the sweets to be delicious. The girls loved the petite fours the most, and I loved the lavender cookies. (the had a cream eclair, lavender short bread, orange Madeline, and a strawberry petite four available). I felt that they were fresh and did not think they tasted store bought or stale. I loved all the savory sandwiches (cucumber dill, quiche, whitefish, and a coronary chicken) - i think the whitefish was my favorite but I enjoyed them all. However, the girls did not. The chicken was recommended for the kids, but they did not care for the curry taste (their loss, I ate them!). Maybe a kid safe option would be a good staple to have... When our towers were brough out, our server told us that the scones were being freshly baked and would take 15 minutes. No issues and waiting for the warm scones was worth the wait. They were huge and delicious. We all loved the strawberry preserves (they do need to have more in their dish, as it was only half full and not nearly enough for two scones), clotted cream, and a lemon curd. I would have thought that the tea selection would have been larger, but maybe that's the traditional options!? The raspberry zinger was recommended for the girls. They thought it was okay, but they did add two sugar cubes each and then opted for the lemonade for their refill. I had the chai and it was nice - I was offered and did take the milk on the side. I got three cups out of my pot so I did not need a refill. They had a little timer on the table to tell you how long to let the tea steep for less to more strong. The interior is cute and fits the delicate tea aesthetic. I think they could have leaned in harder to the decor, but if they were airing on the side of not kitschy, I can totally understand that. Tables were a little small/tight with all the plates, dishes, and towers, but we made it work. To make more room, they should remove the decorative lantern in the middle. I don't remember hearing any music, it was pretty quiet. Restrooms were large and clean. One thing I assumed was the ability to purchase any of the tea you liked/ drank but i did not see that at the register. They did have a few pastries to purchase, but again - none that we had. All in all it was a fun and cute experience with the girls. I think it would have been a fun or nice touch to have the afternoon tea tradition explained to had a blurb on the table to read. Due to the price ($140+ before additional tip was added on top of added gratuity) for three kids and one adult, this is most likely not a regular destination but fun for special occasions. We had fun getting dressed up and trying...

Our group of friends went to High Tea for their special Christmas tea. We all wanted so badly to love it, but I don't think any of us will return back again. I'm writing this review mostly out of hope that it will be taken to heart by HT because I think there is amazing potential with what they're doing if they can make some adjustments.

Ambiance / Experience: They've done a nice job transforming the space into a room that feels a bit elevated - beautiful tea sets and coordinating servingware, plus plush couches and pretty touches for the holidays. There was a harpist playing when we first arrived at 4 (which was so lovely), but they left around 4:20-4:30 and we still had another hour on our reservation beyond that...to our surprise no music was turned on to fill the silence/background (there were only a few tables with guests at that point), so one of the ladies in our party played some light Christmas music on her phone (quietly to not be disruptive). My recommendation would be to add some light music, and the lights could have been dimmed a little to soften the room.

Service: Unfortunately service was a bit lackluster. Especially since we were only one of three tables with guests, we were surprised with how little our waitress came out or checked on us. She stopped by once to see how things were and we asked for a water refill, but she was overall rather inattentive. When our bills came, there was only a $45 credit for the $50 deposit that had been paid. Our waitress was not helpful when we inquired about this and was a bit rude when we questioned (the bill clearly stated $50 deposit, -$45 credit). Thankfully the manager was much more helpful and explained the credit process that would happen, assuring our friend she would receive the remaining credit separately. It might be helpful to share in advance (maybe when making the deposit) how the refund will occur since we had to ask for clarification when things didn't add up on the bill.

Tea: The tea is, well, tea. We all liked the tea we had chosen and it did taste good, but it wasn't super hot when it came out so it didn't stay hot for super long. The thing that seemed a little goofy to us was the aspect of the tea timer. The tea is served looseleaf in a personal teapot, so you can set the timer and determine your steep time for your first cup, but since the tea is still steeping in the pot (which is larger than your tea cup), the rest of the tea steeps unevenly and the timer is essentially useless for the remainder of your time.

Food: This might have been the most disappointing part of our visit. Everything we ate seemed as though it had been sitting out for a while and the flavors weren't anything mind-blowing (nothing that made anyone go "mmm I want more!"). The bread on our sandwiches was dry and was beginning to build a crunch on the outside. The scone was crunchy versus light and airy like you'd expect from an English scone, and the texture of the sweets was also off. If any of it was made freshly that day (it seemed almost day-old), it must have been sitting uncovered for some time. We were hungry and paid a lot for it so we ate almost all of it, but it was more out of necessity than enjoyment.

Gluten free accommodations: One of the ladies in our group had requested (and pre-paid for) a gluten free food selection. She had received confirmation via email and shared this with the waitress, and an excuse was made that there had been a change in how they tracked those requests and so it was probably the systems fault that it got missed. We were told they wouldn't be able to accommodate the request and only the sandwiches would be gluten free, but that the sweets and scone wouldn't be...meaning 2/3 of the meal couldn't be fully enjoyed by our GF friend. Our friend was very gracious to the waitress and didn't want to cause more confusion so she obliged to taking what she could get for GF. I've read other reviews stating issues with GF requests, so I'm hoping this is something they get...