The London Tea Room — Restaurant in St. Louis

Mehhh. I'm conflicted to write this review because it wasn't bad... it just wasn't special. My first visit (old location) was a solid 5 stars but this recent visit felt like a very average experience. The vibe was a bit more generic. It seemed like a big open room with not much personality (and logos of another old business everywhere?). We had reservations which seemed helpful although they state that it is not required. After ordering, we waited 20ish minutes for our first tea to arrive. Both of rounds of tea seemed too watery/weak. My first visit the teas had tasted strong, flavorful and unique (also they had steamed milk so that surely also helped). This time it just tasted similar to something I could make myself at home and it required honey to get a more boosted flavor. There was no milk steamer in this new location (yet?) and they mentioned that they no longer offer creamed tea but a side of milk instead (not at all the same). Food items were named upon delivery but not described. Compare this to before when it felt special. Example: 1st visit, the mango sponge cake has been picked by our chef and imported from [Europe] because [xyz]. Next you have a [flavor] macaroon that compliments [xyz] etc etc vs. the recent visit, on top you have a cake, a macaroon, etc. There was no jelly and clotted cream as before but maybe that depends on the seasonal offerings? I do really appreciate that they have tasty vegetarian options. Anyway, it just felt less special overall. For a $50 light lunch, it's not great to feel rushed. The waiter mentioned to-go tea for our 2nd round... when we ARRIVED (and multiple other times). I feel 2 hours is a fairly reasonable amount of time (plenty of open tables on a weekday afternoon) so the amount of times we were offered boxes and to go teas within the first hour to hour and a half seemed excessive like we needed to get out of there. I don't recall ever feeling rushed in Europe. To me, the point is to sit and slowly enjoy... During the first portion of our visit we were waiting with just waters so it's not like we had our ordered snacks/drinks for that entire time. The waiter was nice but it just all felt very rushed between all of the workers kindly hinting for us to get going (please understand that the restaurant was 2/3 empty by this time). After my first visit I thought this was a place to come on occasion for something special but for the price and recent experience I feel ok not returning for a few years or longer. It was ok but not great. Note that I could only find paid parking in the area. Some areas require a parking app as the only way to pay and they...

I’ve brought a guest here for tea twice in the past 2 weeks. The food has been excellent. The receptionist on the first visit was not friendly and snapped at us when we mistakenly followed her to the table too soon. In both cases they did not have our table ready despite having reservations in advance. The main issue for three stars is absolutely horrible sewer smell in the lobby and hall of the building when you walk in. It’s overpowering and can be smelled all the at the front windows of the restaurant. Both times there my guests even commented about the smell which was a bit embarrassing since I had suggested the place. After the first time I figured it was just a one time issue but it was actually worse 2 weeks later on the second visit.

UPDATE after Owner response: Regarding the bad odor. Both times we were seated at the window and both times my guests mentioned they could still smell it at the table and so could I. Since you know this is an ongoing issue with the lobby area, maybe leave the doors to the dining room closed to avoid the smell coming in. If the experience had not required advanced plans and reservations we would have turned around and walked right out at that smell. It's off-putting and not something that should ever be encountered right outside of a kitchen that is about to serve you a meal. Just to remind you, this odor was present on different occasions separated by several weeks. Regarding reservations, we certainly did not arrive early, nor expect to be seated early. The first hostess did not make it clear that we were to wait and when we automatically followed her toward a table, she turned around half way through the dining room and and snapped that we needed to stay there, it was awkward in front of the other patrons. On that occasion it was a weekday well past noon and the dining room had 4 tables with people seated. It was certainly not during a rush, there were plenty of tables empty and none were ready for anyone to be seated. The shop area is also very dark, nearly impossible to read the bags of tea or prices, needs better lighting.

One thing I've noticed about your responses to low reviews is that they are just list of excuses for the problems your customers experience which always seem to be someone else's fault... the landlord, the appliances, bad new hires, etc. There is an overarching theme of poor management which is a surprise since in all the times we went to your original location and your Morganford location, we never experienced bad service,...

Let me tell you about one of the funnest experience I had, thanks to the London Tea Room. I had an amazing afternoon tea with my mom, one of my best friends, and my sister.

Neither my best friend my mother or my sister had ever been to a high tea before. I have been to the London Tea Room at the Morganford location but I was really excited to see The new location on locust Street downtown and find out what had changed with the menu and the tea they offered.

This is a trickier location because at first you're not sure if you're at the right place but once you go into the door on the side you're there.

This place has everything from atmosphere, amazing food, and exceptional tea. It's rare that I can find a tea that doesn't need any additives like sugar or honey. I did try honey in my tea at first but it didn't need it at all.

My mother my best friend and I we're celebrating our birthday month of February. We didn't ask for anything special from the staff, afternoon tea was a beautiful way to celebrate. All by itself.

Jane Austen was the theme of the day so there was trivia about the author and several specialty teas named after many of the characters from her books. My favorite was the Emma tea.

When the food arrived, it looked absolutely delicious. We had all decided to go with afternoon tea because it features both sweet and savory items. I had to have a vegan plate because I have dairy, beef, chicken, and egg allergies. So vegan was the best option and it was absolutely delicious. Most of the time people think that you have to sacrifice taste when it comes to vegan food but that's not the case and certainly wasn't at the London Tea Room. Everything I tried was to die for and I even wound up purchasing seconds.

We each got two pots of teas which allowed us to try different flavors but ultimately I stuck with the Emma tea. It was subtle yet you could taste a little bit of the cinnamon and again, didn't need anything to enhance it.

Once we've wrapped up lunch it was time to shop. The London Tea room's Little store off to the side of the room was so cute and had the most adorable little teapots and teacup sets. You could buy aprons, candles, and of course you could buy tea to brew at home.

My best friend and I went away with little teacup mementos from our fun afternoon out and I also bought a small teapot. My mother made a few purchases herself and we all went home happy.

Thank you London Tea Room, I can't...