Open Door Tea — Restaurant in Stratford

I really like this place! Since Tea With Tracy closed it's hard to find cafes specializing in tea! Lots of tasty items on the menu, along with a curated selection of baked goods and desserts. I appreciate the variety of vegetarian and vegan options. Tea is served with an hourglass, for appropriate steep time, and in tea cups with saucers. Very charming and delightful, especially with the mismatched furniture creating an eclectic, cozy look. Great atmosphere for conversation, dates, reading, and more.

The negatives: Bussing service was lacking, some of the small tables fill up with lots of plates pretty quickly. You end up having to make trips towards the kitchen to drop empty ones off, so you have more room. Despite there being an extensive tea selection, there are no descriptions for any of them. Some teas don't require much explanation, like decaf black. But "immunity blend", "berry bliss", and others have no description. It would be good to know what exactly is in them. This is not only important for people who want to make choices of preference, but also dietary restrictions. I guess you could look at the packaged tea in the little gift shop in the back, and cross-reference those with the teas on the menu. But the full list is only in a pamphlet at the register and there are no descriptions aside from what category of tea it is (black, green, etc...). I guess they expect you to ask what all of these blends are, but there are more than 50 available. It's not conducive to a fast ordering process. The tea names are also on labels of jars far back behind the counter. But they are hard to read in between people who fill up the line to order, or the labels are not 100% visible because the jar is turned away. In the bathroom there is a sign advertising an afternoon tea service that the business offers. That is the only place I saw it mentioned. I suggested to a staff member that they put that sign in the main area to advertise it better. They said they hadn't thought of that. I thought this was really strange. What if no one went in the bathroom during their visit? How would they find out about this fun offering? I can't think of any places in the area that offer afternoon tea (with a tiered tray of tiny...

My family and I were pleasantly surprised by Open Door Tea. They had a very large selection of fresh, loose leaf teas including some niche seldom seen ones. My father does not drink tea and instead had their coffee which is freshly ground in Stratford and loved it. We ordered the Fresh mozzarella and red pepper wrap which was both delicious and very filling. We also tried the chocolate ganache which was fresh and as good as any other bakery. Overall a nice menu with entrees mainly priced under $10 (most are vegetarian or vegan with a few exceptions like Kielbasa Grinders. They were decent sized portions and very fresh/pretty produce) The staff was very kind and seemed happy to help other customers that were new to tea and the atmosphere was very casual and peaceful without feeling too fancy or intimidating. I will definitely be going back to support a small business that has quality tea, food, coffee and...

When you are in Stratford, this cozy family run place is a must to visit. The list of the things I loved about this place is too long for this review...Wonderful decor and warm welcoming service make you feel relaxed and at home. Amazing selection of loose leaf teas (my favorite: Red Passion) brewed in a special tea pot, great freshly brewed coffee as well, if you are not a fan of tea, double baked sweet potato, lentils/butternut squash soup, Open Door salad, tasty deserts (including gluten free and vegan cranberry tart my daughter loved or pumpkin spice muffin - yummy!) - to name a few of my favorites. I will definitely visit again when...