Claudia’s Tea House — Restaurant in San Diego

My original review from 2018 that I left on their Facebook:

My girlfriend’s and I attend a high tea every two months all around San Diego County. Claudia’s was the last tea house on our list and I have to say, we saved the best for last!

The tea room is perfectly decorated, large, but still had a cozy feel. We often have so many people in our party that we fill a tea house and have to limit our numbers. Though Claudia’s can accommodate up to 60 people, it still felt like an intimate setting for our group today.

Once seated we were told that we would each have our own teapot and that we could have any tea from their list. We were also later given refills and we were able to pick a new tea, if we so desired. This is our favorite way to be served as it means there is no waiting for someone to pour our tea and we are able to try a variety of teas by sharing with one another.

Most tea house serve three plates of food: savory, scone, and sweets. At Claudia’s we received 4, the first of which was a fruit plate. The second plate was 5 varieties of tasty finger sandwiches. The third plate was two types of fresh out of the oven scones served with a generous quantity of clotted cream, lemon curd, and grape preserves. And the last plate had four petite desserts which were all fabulous. There was so much food that many of us were unable to finish, though not for a lack of trying! The food was just that good!

Claudia, and her staff, were extremely attentive to our need’s and promptly refilled our pots when they ran dry. At one point we realized that one of savory plates was missing it’s fifth sandwich type. When we told the them they quickly remedied the situation and did so with a smile.

The atmosphere was lovely and quaint. The food was fresh, tasty and plentiful. And Claudia was a warm and gracious host with impeccable staff.

I highly recommend this tea house and I know we will return again!

UPDATE

Since our original visit we have gone back twice more to Claudia’s, once for a Mother’s Day tea, snd the last week in July for my birthday.

Claudia’s tea house is still just as fabulous as it was before the pandemic. I asked Claudia if she could do a Star Wars theme for some of the foods and she made the most adorable C3PO, Chewbacca, and Grogu dessert treats for us! Everyone “ooooh’d” when they were brought out. I also added on a decadent chocolate and strawberry cake, with whipped cream icing, for my birthday. There was so much food prior to the cake being brought out, that most of the party had already boxed up a bunch of food to take home before realize there was a cake coming too!

I know we will definitely be back again at this lovely and...

I would have to say Ms. Claudia (the owner) was personable and friendly, and, seemingly, did try to greet the patrons, especially those first seated at the beginning of an “event”.

We were told we would have the whole place to ourselves, and we could have as many guests as we wanted. Originally, we were nine and grew our guest list to nineteen.

There WERE other groups (about 28 people, plus our group, but that was not a problem, EXCEPT, we waited so long to begin (over thirty minutes). For a two o’clock reservation, we were hungry.

By the time food was coming (each course separately), the tea was cold. You could order a second individual pot of tea. You were instructed to wait and let it seep. Even so the tea was weak, and it was not easy to discern the flavor.

Next, the continued service was slow and inattentive. One guest asked for milk and we had to request it again, after quite some time. This should be asked at the time the tea is brought.

The sandwiches were average, on average bread.

There were fruit plates, which was a nice touch.

Next, the scone course — there was not enough lemon curd, clotted cream. etc., and, worst of all, the scones were VERY salty.

Then the desserts. My one piece, a tiny chocolate brownie with frosting, I only ate half. The chocolate was gritty and not satisfying. I ate the edible gold leaf, on principle, as I am familiar with it.

In all, the quality of the food left people “not impressed”, “not worth it”, left a lot to be desired, etc.

The website says $58, including tax and tip. We knew we would be charged $60. Everything is going up, right?

Well, when it came time to pay, it was $62. I was not the person handling it, or I would have balked at the bait and switch.

I overheard the owner saying they were going to remodel. Well, you KNOW, the prices will go up. I would be very reluctant to visit Claudia’s again, as I’ve had much better experiences at several tea parlors throughout the county.

On the website, their specialty parties show beautiful photos. This high tea, however, was a big disappointment, when it would have been an opportunity to showcase, to new customers, what could be done....

We hosted a joint birthday party for our 8- and 10-year old girls at Claudia’s. Each of them invited 4 of their friends for a total of 10 girls for a cake decorating party. I was worried that the girls would feel restless like they have at other tea houses and that’s not the case at all here. There’s just so much to do and explore. There are turtles to observe, a tree swing, a garden to explore, hats/gloves/skirts to play dress-up, various spots to take Insta-worthy photos, and that’s before the class on how to make buttercream frosting, learning how to perform a crumb coat, and learning how to pipe. I was fully expecting cakes like you see on Nailed It, but with Claudia’s lessons and a small decorating contest, the cakes and the girls looked more like they were competing on the Great Baking Show. After decorating, the girls were able to nosh on lemonade, water, fruit skewers, and tea sandwiches (ham and cheese, nutella, and pbj). Parents had our own spot for tea, sandwiches, salad, and fruit. What a fantastic experience! Highly recommend...