The Olde Magnolia Tea Room — Restaurant in Upland

Where should I begin? This has to be one of the best afternoon tea experiences I have ever had in my life. I frequent luxurious five star hotels and resorts for their afternoon tea experience. But the experience at The Olde Magnolia Tea Room truly stood out to me above most to all of these luxurious hotels’ services and accompaniments.

The Tea Room has a beautiful interior decor that featured traditionally painted British chinas as well as thoughtfully appointed touches, such as table cloths and paintings, that highlighted the elegance and grace of a traditional British high tea experience. The seasonal ornaments for the fall/Halloween also showcased the owner’s great levels of attention to detail. I did sit inside this time, but I would be more than happy to also try their outdoor patio which looked nicely appointed as well when I walked past it on my way inside.

I shall move to the tea experience itself at this point. The high tea was served in the traditional chinas I have mentioned above, which made the experience feel homey and relaxing. The earl grey tea I ordered was wonderfully brewed to a good temperature as served. (As a tea maniac I would understand this well.) The scone was out of this world as it was both remarkably soft as well as decadently crumbly in your mouth. The accompaniments for the scone were well balanced and included the most wonderful Devonshire cream that was unlike the other ones I have tasted. The finger sandwiches and soup (split pea soup, one of their new creations) and salad worked magically together to create a full tea experience that stood itself apart from just any regular afternoon tea experience.

Lastly, I had to save the most wonderful service for closing. Terry, one of the co-owners took my reservation over the phone and personally served me at the tea room today. He was one of the most thoughtful and detail-oriented hosts I have ever met. He frequently checks in on you at a pace that neither feels too rushed nor too slow. As someone with frequent fine dining experiences, I truly believe even Michelin-starred restaurants’ waiters can take a page out of his manners and service. Each dish was taken away swiftly when I was fully completed with the serving. The gentle updates on when my next accompaniment will arrive also shows true thoughtfulness and care towards the customer’s pacing. The smile and courteous attitude summarized the entire experience as one of truly exceptional service. I told him that I intend on bringing my partner here for tea next week, and I could not be more excited about that. To be able to cap the delightful high tea experience with a genuine welcome from one of the co-owners for next time certainly will put a smile on anyone’s face. Having the co-owner as your host and server also showed that the owners are both remarkably hands on people who would personally want to treat their guests with high levels of respect.

I only have one minor suggestion to make this establishment even finer. I want to preface this by saying that I understand cost-wise this might be an increase for the establishment, hence the customer, but I think it’s very worthy of the investment. The tea currently comes in a beautiful pot in the form of a sachet inside the pot (a triangular form of a tea bag intended to increase circulation of water in the tea to increase fragrance and aroma). However, I believe the restaurant will benefit greatly from also offering loose tea leaves as an option at an up charge to the customers who prefer to have an experience with the highest quality of tea brewing quality and aroma. Like I said above, the loose tea leaves option will likely increase cost for the establishment. But a small up charge for certain tea enthusiast customers like myself would be more than acceptable. Having tea strainers that match the decor of the tea set and establishment will also further increase the sophistication of this already wonderful...

An afternoon tea favorite for all occasions! I have been here with family and friends on many visits and all visits have been consistently high quality in customer service and products. I have even enjoyed their seasonal decor for 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas.

Reservation recommended since they are very busy and some sets require prior preparation. You can go on their website to inquire about their availability.

Michael and Terry and all of their staff have been incredible on all of our visits. We always feel welcomes and valued. Their kindness is above and beyond. They always have support staff on the busy weekends and those I've come across have always been sweet too. They always check on us a reasonable amount and offer to take photos for us to commemorate the experience. It's much appreciated!

We always do the Full Tea Set which comes with a Pot of Tea, Soup, Salad, Scone, Tea Sandwiches and Desserts. Love love love everything! The tea sets are always cute and we love seeing different tea pots and cups every time. They always have honey from their farm, and offer milk if you like it for your tea. The honey is available for purchase. The soup and salad are made with fresh farm to table ingredients they grow on their farm. I especially love the onion dressing and have also purchased dressing to take home. The scone is the most moist and delicious scone I have ever had. The scone is served with cream, lemon curd, and a seasonal housemade jam. Always delicious. There are also 4 sandwiches per person: cage free chicken salad sandwich, egg salad sandwich, cucumber sandwich and a roasted pepper. The bread is soft and tasty. The sandwiches are all delicious and light. For the desserts, there is always a tea pot shaped cookie that is a recipe of Terry's grandmother. This latest visit there was also a slice of banana bread and a cheesecake bite. Yummm! Such a treat!

My family and friends always have a good time when we come here. It is one of our go-to favorites for our celebrations and just for general enjoyment. Looking forward to future visits with Michael and Terry and...

Pro: Nice location, easy parking across small street, other shops and restaurants in walking distance. Themed fitting building, easy reservation process for "larger" group - $400 "private" room fee for over 16 people. Decor fitting to the Tea party theme. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. Dessert selection was delicious. Con: We were not admitted the 15 min early to decorate, as promised. We were challenged about the time we arrived with the owner actually referring to security video, but failed to view video of the earlier arrival, before we had to walk around town to locate a public bathroom for the littles that were with us. Tea selection was right off a Walmart shelf. Nothing special. Sandwiches were tasteless and we were charged an additional fee of $20 for egg salad. Due to 3 late and non RSVP guests taking our party count over by 2, the $400 room fee and $180 service fee were added to our bill. 20 minutes before our scheduled end time, a party of 4, unrelated to our event, were seated at a small table in our "private" room, and, when a small few of our guests lingered a little over, 5-7 min, they added an additional 30-min room fee. The per person cost is expensive enough but worth a unique experience. However, we found ourselves having to challenge all the other (secretly) added fees. It was a terrible end to what could've been a lovely experience. One other notable pain, the pride hearted ceramic pig appearing on the mantel that was the centerpiece of what should have been beautiful photos, and the random Disney stuff. Don't twist this comment into something it's not. These things are just out of place for the theme. Stick to the elegant Tea party theme, it works. Would we recommend this place? Sure, just be prepared about the secret fees that they could add on. Our little gathering, for tasteless finger sandwiches and store shelf teas...but delicious desserts...was just...