RoyalTEA Garden — Restaurant in Pleasanton

Short version: cheap food, cheap tea, cheap labor. The tea and food is cheap tasting, the high schoolers that work there don’t know how to give good customer service or tea, and the atmosphere is lacking.

Long version: I have been looking forward to this tea shop opening for such a long time. The first time I arrived I was told I had to wait two hours before another “seating” despite the room being only occupied by 2-3 parties. 4 tables were empty. So I scheduled in their literal book for today.

The tearoom is staffed by 3 high school girls. I have never seen a tearoom of this size and with seatings have this much staff clustered in the tearoom. When a tea room has seatings they provide you with tea and fresh food which was prepared in the hours before. They then step away in order to insure you enjoy your tea alone. These high schoolers were constantly talking about customers who, having never seen the shop before, could not be seated at the empty tables waiting for them. It’s obvious that the owner only buys enough food from a local supermarket to cover the reservations in order to cut costs. Disappointing.

The photos online do not reflect the food we were served. The deserts were from Dragers, I have one near me so I recognize their petit fours. I don’t mind store bought when I’m at an event, or a tea thrown by a non-profit, but when I go to a tea room especially at this price point I expect them to make something there.

As for the customer service, I asked them about all of their teas. The girls kept having to go talk to other people or look in the back for teas. “It’s just tea” one said about a tea that normally contains bergamot. I don’t even think they knew what a London fog is! I then asked if they received their digital tips. They got really uncomfortable when I pointed out that in California no matter how their tips are paid, they go to the worker. They still could not answer and in the end it was “I think so”. Hmm, that made me a little suspicious of the business practices there. They couldn’t accommodate allergies, and they couldn’t answer any basic tea questions.

There are a lot of cheap teas there fire casual tea drinkers along the lines of flavored fruity beverages. But if you’re looking for a well brewed tea to sip on in a warm calming environment, well this isn’t the place to be.

The owner is obviously a fan of Disney. So be prepared for that. I’m not sure who their target audience is but maybe they should take inspiration from Disneyland and Disney World’s high tea to understand a good “first time” experience.

My message to the new owner: invest in your business. Buy the extra cheesecake! Don’t do these seatings if you are looking for a more casual clientele. The amount of business you turn away from the street is amazing and they might be more willing to forgive the poor quality tea...

This is a cute place to experience high tea in Downtown Pleasanton.

It’s sort of hard to find this place because the umbrellas from the tables outside cover the sign. Just know it’s next to Baci’s. And it’s important to be punctual. If you’re early for your allotted time, you can wait outside or peruse the stores nearby.

Once my friend and I were seated, a warm scone was on the table along with the lemon curd, clotted cream, and jam. It was pretty good. It was flaky and buttery. The tea menu is quite large. The tea is unlimited so you can try different ones. If you do, don’t be a newbie like me and try to finish the pot. Looks are deceiving because the pot holds a lot of tea. I was extremely stuffed finishing my pot along with the food so I didn’t get to try other teas.

The food options had a good balance of sweet and savory. Out of the finger sandwiches, the chicken salad wrap was the favorite. It didn’t have too much mayo and the cranberries gave it a touch of sweetness. The egg salad also didn’t have too much mayo and showcases the egg. The cucumber one was a nice palate cleanser.

The mini savory tarts were good, too. There was a pork sausage one, mushroom, and salmon. Out of the three, the salmon one was the favorite. The smoked salmon along with the cream cheese and fresh dill was yummy. I was stuffed by the time I got to the sweets but I ate what I could and my friend took the rest home. I liked the vanilla cupcake with cherries and this custard that had a stewed apple. The napoleon was okay, but my friend liked it.

Service was prompt and friendly. The service lasts for 3hrs and we didn’t feel rushed. It’s small inside with a few tables outside, but I think it’s best to eat inside. The seating outside is narrow and next to the parking lot. There is a lot of plants but not enough to whisk you away to an English garden.

The price was $65 per person and there’s a $20 deposit per person that is applied to the bill. Tip is included and I am one of those people that prefers a service charge over tipping. I’m not going to use this as my soapbox so I’ll just leave it at that. However, there’s a place where you can add more… it may be their POS but if the tip is included, then there shouldn’t be a place to add it.

The price is a lot and I wonder if it can be lowered if there is an option to not have unlimited tea. But I enjoyed my food and time here. If you’ve never had high tea before, this is a good place to...

I have been here a total of 3 times so far. Twice now for my birthday. The tea is great and the foods alright.

The service needs some work however and that is why I am rating it 3 stars. Our first two visits were full of awkward interactions which is fine we ignored it, but our most recent visit in October for me and my friends birthday was just too much and it makes me not want to return.

When stating we were present for our reservation there was a moment of them just staring at us. I didn't know what else to give them other than name and time so I asked if they needed to see the confirmation which then prompted them to check for it and seat us.

Then after checking the order with us 3 times they gave us the wrong tea. We ordered peaches and cream and each time they said peaches and cream as did we but we received cookies and cream. We felt awkward asking for a replacement once we realized because no one was really checking in on us and after the first interaction we were already made to feel like a bother.

We did bring a cake and macarons for a picnic we were going to do for me and my friend to blow candles out at at a local park after. I did specify we would not be eating them there we just didn't want to have them melt in the car and they had told us that was fine. My friend was getting ready to leave so I went to point out the macarons and asked her if she wanted me to bring some to the car so she could take some with her. As I was showing her the flavors we were immediately told if we served them we would be charged a plating fee. I reminded staff we didn't want to serve them and apologized for the confusion, I told them we would be happy to take them outside if she wanted some but I was just showing my friend what we had through the clear top of the box. She seemingly ignored what I said and at no point in this conversation was her tone polite and she progressively got more agitated with me over what felt like a nothing issue and all of my friends were really weirded out by the way she handled it. My friend got so uncomfortable she just didn't want them anymore so that the situation could be over.

I will be looking for another tea room to celebrate my birthday moving forward as right after someone hit my car outside of the place so both the bad service and bad experience right after has really put a damper on me wanting to return haha. This place does a bad job at making you feel welcome in their...