The Tea House on Los Rios — Restaurant in San Juan Capistrano

My partner and I have been seeing this place all over social media lately and had to try it. We made a reservation about 2 weeks prior via OpenTable. On the day of, we parked at the train station parking structure just a short walk away. The rate was $2 per hour which was reasonable. There is also a dirt lot for public parking close by as well. Having arrived early, we held hands, and we strolled across the train tracks to discover a little village of various businesses housed in cottages. One of these businesses being the tea house itself. We arrived 10 minutes early to check in and peruse the front garden and giftshop. This was both of our first time experiencing a high tea experience. To say we enjoyed it is an understatement. My partner and I are both students who have a taste for local adventures. I have some dietary restrictions concerning meat and heavily processed foods. Other than that we both aren't picky.

A few minutes after our reservation time we were sat in the back of the little house. We found ourselves shaded by tall trees, surrounded by succulents and wildflowers, and greeted by friendly staff. Specifically we were sat in a area containing 3 separate tables. We were given the tea menu, alcoholic drink menu, and main menu. In the main menu you will find a schedule of events that vary by season, followed by the various meal and tea options. As we looked through the menu we were almost immediately brought water. Then we were greeted by our server Rochelle. I ordered the Mission tea with the cucumber melon tea and my partner ordered the Victorian tea with the house reserve tea and guava champagne. In addition, we both had the seasonal vegetable soup which was delightful. Overall, everything was fresh and delectable. Nothing was too heavy and everything had flavor. I personally did not have to make any substitutions.

The service was good. They had people consistently checking on you and our water glasses were never empty. Sterling also was very attentive and established little connections with the guests. The bussing staff also cleared plates often throughout out time there.

Rochelle just added to the experience. She is responsive, joyful, and we both felt like we had know her before. Absolutely phenomenal as a person and a server. My partner and I waited to leave a tip for her specifically.

By the end of our 2 hours, it didn't feel like we were there for that long. This was our first tea house experience, but it was some of best service we've ever had at a place similar to this.

In addition, this place seems to be child friendly, speaking there were quite a few families with young and older children. Also, the children's options looked delicious and I wanted some for myself.

Some technical issues that one may face that didn't apply to us specifically include: as far as I know there are tight spaces and two steps leading to the restrooms, so someone wheelchair bound may have difficulty and need assistance.

We definitely will...

I came to the Tea House hoping to have a pleasurable and fun experience. It came highly recommended to me and everyone in our party. We had our reservation made for months and were looking forward to it for as long.There was 6 of us and we had a reservation and were seated in a timely manner.

After being seated and served water to start our service took a turn for the worst. We were seated in a room with one other party similarly sized to us. While we waited to be approached again we talked and I feel it's important to note that we were talking in Spanish and the waitress was present attending the other table while we talked. When our waitress--a woman with a slight Persian accent- came back in after 15 minutes to take our order she seemed rushed and not at all happy to be waiting on us. We took turns placing our orders and at no time did she ask us questions about our preferences or what Tea we were wanting to have with our Tea packages. She seemed irritated when the younger members in our party asked her to repeat the options they had to choose from for their food selection. Once our order was placed we got out initial drinks but not without mistakes-which they later attempted to charge us for. We then waited another 20 minutes before any of our baked goods came while the other table got their items and was checked on by her multiple times. We were able to flag down another waitress who was more than happy to help us and brought our items out almost immediately after we told her that we were still waiting to be served and that our orders had been placed. We intended to spend a couple hours there talking and having fun-as that is the implied purpose of visiting the tea house- but the time we spent in there was over extended by the bad service and our extra wait time and having to pull servers from other areas to place orders for things not in our pre-picked menu selections. At the end of our visit we were given a bill attempting to charge us for a couple things they had mistakenly brought our table and which we had immediately pointed out had not been ordered and had taken back. While we were wrapping up the- I'm assuming- manager came up and told us very bluntly to leave and that we could pay at the front because they needed to seat other people. No gentle approach, no niceties in her voice just a go pay and leave.

It may seem like a far reach but my party and I felt cheated of what we expected to be a fun experience by what felt like blatant racism and disregard. One doesn't go anywhere, much less such a popular and positively talked about establishment, expecting to be treated differently from the other patrons just for speaking in another language.

The food and tea were delicious and the wait staff which helped us from other sections was very amicable and helpful these are the only redeeming qualities that bring this review from...

What a wonderful experience!

The Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano was a perfect way to end Spring and start the Summer with my favorite ladies and little lady.

I booked a reservation through Open Table at least a week prior. I ended up adding an extra guest the day before and the communication with them was excellent with a prompt response time. Closer to the day, they called to confirm my reservation and gave tips on where to park.

Our party of 5 dressed for the occasion with our floral outfits and when we arrived, we immediately loved the vibe.

The Tea House on Los Rios is truly a feast for the senses! It’s as if we walked into a secret garden. There were so many things to see everywhere you turned. The food was vibrant and colorful, and the taste delighted our tastebuds.

We ordered 4 “Victorian High Tea” and 1 “Treehouse Tea for Young Royals” for the little lady. At $55 and $29 per person (June 2024), respectively, it was well worth every penny.

The Victorian Tea included: A Glass of Champagne, Mimosa, or Sparkling Cider. I opted for a Mimosa and it had the cutest edible flower to garnish the drink. Premium Loose Leaf Tea - I had the Cucumber Melon Tea because I’d never tried that before; it just sounded refreshing. And wow, it was smooth and just had great quality. I ended up purchasing this same flavor at the shop next door. Freshly Baked Currant Scone - This heart-shaped scone was heavenly. It was a big scone and, paired with the contrasting duo of Raspberry Preserve and Early California Cream, I was in love! Garden Salad with choice of dressing. I loved the added green olives to the salad. Soup of Choice. It was either Vegetable or Asparagus Soup and I went with the latter. I had never had anything like it! It was savory, a little thick with a kick. It was soooo good! Six (6) Tea Sandwiches - Cucumber, Lox on Puff Pastry, Ham & Swiss with Rosemary, Sautéed Mushrooms & Gorgonzola on Puff Pastry, Chicken Curry on Raisin Bread, and Egg Sandwich. Each were delightful on its own. A Duo of Sweets - We were stuffed at this point but couldn’t resist a bite of their chocolate and lemon desserts. These were delicious!

The service was amazing and the pace of how food came out was great! Each of us had a lovely time, making that day a new core memory!

Thank you to The Tea House on Los Rios for helping create a lasting memory with the lovely ladies in my life! What an...