Columbia Kate's Teahouse — Restaurant in Sonora

Right after my sister’s memorial, we decided to come to a place she and I frequently visited. It was bittersweet walking in and realizing Kate wasn’t in the kitchen. This was a very hot day, and as a Columbia native, I know hot days but even some other locals said this particular day was unusually intense. We had a larger party and didn’t make reservations, which we take full accountability for. That said, we stood at the front for quite some time without being acknowledged. Multiple people walked past us without so much as a smile. Eventually, a very scattered man spoke to us. We let him know we wanted to sit outside, and he quickly said there were no tables. I mentioned that I saw several empty ones, and he explained that although they were empty, he was too busy to get to them for a long while, so we should sit inside. We agreed and began an incredibly uncomfortable, long wait for a table. No water was offered to us, despite the intense heat and the fact that we had two little babies with us. After about 30 minutes (with many tables sitting empty but uncleared for long stretches), a young child seemingly the child of the new owners ran around the restaurant. When we were finally seated, it was in a room that felt like a greenhouse. I won’t lie I was upset, but I kept my composure. We waited even longer for drinks, and the ice melted instantly from the heat. The air conditioner wasn’t working, so I had to get up and stand by a fan in another room just so my 4-month-old baby wouldn’t overheat. I ordered a cucumber sandwich with a side of potato salad to split with my daughter, along with specialty drinks. The waiter repeatedly mixed up where items went, set things in front of the wrong people, and didn’t take everyone’s order properly one of our group members didn’t even get to order. Did I mention it was sweltering? The plastic over the windows made the room feel like a hot box. Everything tasted stale, like old bread. The love and care that Kate once put into this place was completely gone. Tables sat dirty for extended periods, the flavor was off, and the service while I understand he was also working in the heat was lackluster. Sadly, this place has...

Words can not express how terrible, disorganized, and slow the service was here. Other reviews highlighting poor and slow service drastically understate the problem. We were a group of 5 ladies for mothers day and a birthday.

We waited 45 minutes before we were able to track down some staff to take our order and then we waited more than an HOUR AND A HALF before we got anything we ordered. Wait staff was nowhere to be found at any point and when we did get up and find someone they were irritated and dismissive. We should have known something was wrong when we walked in on Mothers day and the place was half empty.

Throughout our ordeal there were so many mishaps - they said they had run out of ice but dont worry in about 20 minutes someone would be here with some. No one ever brought us any we had to go find some staff after about 40 more minutes to ask if ice for iced tea (at a tea house!) was here or not yet. At 2pm they said we couldnt get a croissant because they were out - not that by that point we were willing to wait until 4pm to see one had they had it! 2 of our group are highly allergic to walnuts. We got up to ask the kitchen (because remember not one time during our entire sit down here did a waiter or waitress come to us for anything) to please be sure no walnuts came on any of the salads.

When the food finally did arrive, there were walnuts on one of the salads.

Over 2 hours after arriving we were beyond ready to leave. Still no server in sight coming to check on us or offer us anything - we had to again get up and find one. No boxes offered to go. No check brought to the table. Same indifferent attitude about it.

Leaving this place knowing I will never return after they took more than 2 hours of what was supposed to be such a nice and special day was the best part of...

Kate's is a teahouse with a twist. They not only have the expected traditional freshly brewed loose leaf teas but many custom blends, too, including blackberry - a great choice for iced tea on a hot summer afternoon! Kate's serves a traditional English tea with tiny crustless sandwiches and freshly backed scones with clotted cream and jam. However, unique salads, sandwiches and entrees like chicken pot pie (yum!) and meatloaf makes Kate's a great stop fir lunch. The Nest salad topped with Kate's own chicken salad is a delight. The Cowboy sandwich with warm sliced roast turkey and real bacon bits on house baked bread is oh so good. Finally, don't even get me started on the house baked pastries, croissants, scones and cookies - wow! And if it's a nice day, relax with your tea or luncheon in the outdoor garden and then stroll through Columbia, an historic gold rush town with a working blacksmith, stables, and a well-stocked Merchantile. If you have the time, check out a play at Sierra Repertory Theatre, a performing arts theater with an old fashioned ice cream parlor...