Brooklyn High Low - Original Location — Restaurant in New York

I wanted to love this place. Its quaint facade, semi-Victorian decor are charming. I have been looking forward to trying the Grand Heights tea ar $70 pp for a while. My daughter and I both ordered the vegetarian option, hers also gluten free. The night before, last night, I received a text asking for our choice of tea for our arrival which was nice as I thought that would be brought out first but instead the cup of soup and crumpets that were included in our price came out, followed shortly by the tea. It was a very nice large pot of tea. That said, before our server poured, I pointed out that there was a very large crack on the inside of one of the cups and a smaller one on the other side, and although she did bring me a new cup, she first asked if it was leaking. I had not poured yet, but I know that if there’s a crack in a cup it shouldn’t be used because it harbors bacteria. The servers were as nice as could be, so I am not holding that part against them. The tea service was served on tiered trays which is always more festive. The sandwich selection was very nice although I felt the bread tasted stale. My daughter did not say the same about the gluten-free, so I’m not sure about that. As pointed out in other reviews, both my daughter’s gluten-free scone, and my regular scone did not taste very nice at all. Mine was kind of burnt and hers was basically tasteless but they had good clotted cream and lemon curd. The jam was nothing special. The restaurant is very strict about their timing and at about 15 minutes before they were about to close, we were told that was the case so we didn’t really have enough time to finish the dessert, although it wasn’t as if it was such a big portion. We ate the cup of chocolate mousse, which was in a tiny, cute little espresso cup. That was pretty good and we took the rest home, which for the gluten-free tray was two chocolate strawberries and a macaron, and for me was one chocolate strawberry, a very tiny tart of some kind and a short bread. The desserts could’ve been a bit more exciting, especially during the holidays. It made me disappointed that I hadn’t purchased the almond cookie I had seen in a little coffee shop next-door, which looked absolutely delicious. Finally, when you purchase what they call the “Grand Heights experience” you were also supposed to be served a salad, which we were not, and given a souvenir when you leave to remember your tea by— we also did not get that. So my overall comments would be that if you’re going to be in Brooklyn anyway, it is certainly an adequate place to go for a big pot of tea and some average tea sandwiches, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get there. We go for tea all the time and there are just so many other places that try and make it very special and I just felt...

I think I've been to pretty much every place in NYC that serves high tea / afternoon tea, and I can confidently say that Brooklyn High Low is at the top of my list.

Located in Prospect Heights, this place is cozy, charming, beautifully decorated inside, with a large back garden patio with outdoor seating and heaters. You won't believe how much food you get for $68! One reason I love this tea room is because it provides elegant and charming ambiance and fantastic tea and snacks but without the elitist price tag you'll see at tea rooms in Manhattan.

FOOD/TEA My friend and I had the Heights service today, which includes: a pot of tea each (we both got cottage breakfast) soup (soup of the day was tomato) four kinds of sandwiches (I got cucumber with cream cheese, prosciutto with marscapone and fig jam, salmon with cream cheese, and truffle chicken curry) a middle tier featuring scones with clotted cream, lemon curd, strawberry jam, herb butter, and English muffins a dessert tier of macarons, petit four, chocolate mousse, and chocolate covered strawberries bubbly (prosecco or non-alcoholic)

The sandwiches were tasty and filling; my friend and I both liked the truffle chicken curry the best, though I'm a traditionalist so cucumber sammies will always have a place in my heart. Every tier was a delight and surprisingly filling.

SERVICE The staff were unbelievably friendly and helpful. When it was clear we wouldn't be able to finish the food and tea, they gave us boxes for food and to-go cups for tea.

AMBIANCE The decorations in the tea room are very cute, with velvet furniture in jewel tones and mirrors everywhere. The outdoor area is beautifully decorated too, they definitely didn't skimp! I appreciated the tent for rain and the heaters above the tables, and I saw fans for when the weather is warmer. Support local businesses!

COVID Everyone wore masks. You must use hand sanitizer and get your temperature taken before entering. Tables are spaced more than 6 feet apart and sanitized silverware is on the table for each party.

You HAVE to check this place out, especially during these chilly days when a hot cup of tea warms your soul. You can make reservations on OpenTable, but I had better luck on Instagram DMing them since OpenTable didn't show any open slots. You can buy tea from the room or from the...

This place fell flat. The interior design is playful and quaint, but the food, tea, and especially the service, did not meet expectations.

Our table arrived within 5min of each other, and while we were sat right away, we did not get greeted for about 15-20min, at which point a server arrived with our first pot of tea. We had to ask for the typical accompaniments, which I thought was strange because all the other teas I have been to it is standard to bring these things with the tea. The tea is nothing to write home about.

About another 15min passed before we were greeted by the server who was handling our food. Her demeanor was very strange and not welcoming. She started off with allergies, and noted that all the things we would have had issues with were not part of our package. Which is fine, but she kept saying it in a way that felt dismissive and a bit mean, to the effect of “oh but you won’t be getting that.”

The first thing they served was the “scones.” I don’t think I would call this a scone, it was much more floury and biscuit like. The “clotted cream” was also more like butter and didn’t have the creaminess or touch of sweetness you expect from a true clotted cream. The server tried to clear away our accompaniments for the biscuits before we were even done eating them to make room for the sandwiches, which felt rushed.

We finished our first pot around the time we got our sandwiches and no server came to check on us. It took us flagging down a server to get our second pot, and a total of ~15min passed with no tea in our cups.

The sandwiches were not anything special, I felt that the egg one was lazy because the egg salad mixture was just in the middle and not spread to the edges. Basically a butter sandwich.

The final thing they bring out is dessert, which was probably the best part of the experience. We were served a shooter of mousse, madeleines, and a thumb sized cherry tart.

Overall, you’re paying at least around $60pp for poor service, weak tea, and unthoughtful food. I really wanted to like this experience, but after this visit and reading the owners responses to poor reviews, I don’t think I’ll...