Christmas in Pasadena: The Tea Rose Garden
Hello Friend! Welcome back! Thank you for being here! So, last week was a heavy post. I admit that. And if you read it. Thank you. Let’s brighten things back up again! It’s the Christmas season and there’s lots of festive fun to be had all around!
Recently I visited the Tea Rose Garden tea room to enjoy a Christmas Tea service! I can say it was wonderfully delightful. I love coming to this tea room because I know the decorations at Christmas are spot on to get me into the festive mood. As soon as you walk through the door you are greeted with a beautiful display of garlands and poinsettias at the check-in counter.
To the right is a towering Christmas tree with some large ornaments and nutcrackers! We spent a solid 15 or 20 minutes just photographing the space before we left. So prepare for a large selection of photos in this post.
Daniel and I both chose to have the Christmas Tea service. I chose to have the winter blend tea and Daniel chose the ginger peach tea. You are also allowed to choose which 2 tea sandwiches you’d like on your savory tier and a choice between shepherd’s pie or chicken pot pie. I chose a sun-dried tomato and cheese, a spicy salmon sandwich, and the chicken pot pie option. Daniel chose the sun-dried tomato, a cucumber sandwich, and the shepherd’s pie. We also got to choose our main dessert. I went for a gingerbread scone and Daniel decided on a slice of red velvet cake.
The teas arrived first. I absolutely loved the winter blend. The first sound out of my mouth was “Oooh!” as soon as I tasted it. I ended up taking home a 2 oz bag at the end of the meal. Daniel’s tea was also delightful and had a little bit of spice to it from the ginger. Next, the salads arrived in a vinegarette. I ate it before I remembered to take a photo.
Next were the towers. Our table was so tiny that it couldn’t fit everything on top of it. (Which happened the last time we were there. It’s one of the few complaints we have with this place.) They brought over a tiny side table and placed our teapots on top of that so we could comfortably enjoy our Christmas towers. The bottom tier is the savory tower, it had the tea sandwiches and pot pie mentioned above, but also a teacup filled with soup, a spinach pastry, and a savory puff with a piece of roast beef on top
The 2nd tier was a mix of savory and dessert with a mushroom-filled cup-shaped pastry and cheese on top, a selection of small baked sweets, and my ginger scone. I tend to find the sweets on the tea trays overly sweet so I taste them but I usually can’t finish them because I prefer to fill up on the savory tier.
The top tier had a cup of clotted cream for my scone and a selection of fruits, nuts, cheeses, and crackers with a tiny jar of honey and a honey stick. (Forgot to take a photo but you can see some of it above and some of it in this photo too!)
The Christmas Tea service also comes with a little gift. (It’s that big green thing at the bottom of the tier) It’s a little popper with a small toy inside. The server told us that you are supposed to pop it with another person and whoever gets the bigger side gets to make a wish (much like the wishbone tradition we have here in the States.) I may have won both times… Inside there was a cute paper crown and a puzzle game with a spring and a ring that you had to separate without twisting it off either end.
By the end of the tea service, Daniel and I were both stuffed. The towers each contained a lot of food, but only one of each item so it makes it difficult to share if you want to enjoy everything that is offered on the tray. I was okay with leaving behind the things I found too sweet to eat and Daniel took home a box. While we waited to pay, I walked around and took more photos of the space. The Tea Rose Garden used faux shrubbery to section off different areas to create more private spaces for people to enjoy. It was a clever use of space and their decorations are just too beautiful to not share
Daniel took about a minute to figure out the spring trick.
The only critique I have of the Tea Rose Garden is that the space can get extremely loud very quickly with only a few parties. I noticed that the floor was just poured concrete, which contributes significantly to the noise issue and takes away from the beauty of their decorations. So I hope that someday perhaps they will be able to invest in a better flooring option that works for their business and isn’t such an eyesore. (And maybe it helps dampen the noise problem) And secondly, the size of the tables needs to be larger to accommodate their tea service properly. Either work with the kitchen to combine multiple orders of the Christmas Tea onto one tray or get bigger tables. But those are the only complaints I have. The food is good, the service is friendly, and the decorations they do have are top-notch! If you find yourself to be in Pasadena at Christmas time, I highly recommend visiting the Tea Rose Garden.
I hope your holiday season is lovely! If times are tough right now, I hope that there are some silver linings for you to focus on to help you get through the season. Please be well and I will see you next week!
Sincerely,
Kristen
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