Lady Mendl Tea

56 Irving Place

212.533.4600

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A co-worker recommended this place to me and while she was recommending it, another co-worker chimed in and said she had gone to a few bridal/baby showers there and had a great time too.

I took T. for her birthday and we immediately knew it was going to be grand. It did feel like a friend's living room, very cozy, beautifully decorated, and quiet, too. I really hope I can accurately recall everything.

5 course tea

//tea: T. had Scarlet Glow, an herbal tea that was rose colored. I believe it had hibiscus. I ordered Lady Mendl's tea, which was pretty traditional English afternoon but hey, why not try the name sake on my first visit? It went very well with sweets. Also to mention, we get our own teapots (with refills) and cup&saucer set with milk, sugar, and spoon. A detail not to be missed is the small sugarcube with a flower design that is tastefully placed next to the teacup.

//salad: ok, we didn't have tea with this because it was served as soon as we sat down. I liked it but was still taking time to take in the atmosphere of the place to really taste the salad.

//sandwiches: finger sandwiches but they offer a second round as well. I recommend trying a bit of everything on your first round and pick the ones you liked on the second round. The ones that made my second round list were: cucumber, smoked salmon, and egg salad.

//scones: more reasonable portion than Alice's Teacup (as in...I think Alice's scones are meant to feed people since they are so big). I actually liked Alice's Teacup's scones more maybe because they're more buttery and had more interesting flavors (like Earl Grey and pumpkin).

//dessert: we shared an order of crepe cake and chocolate mousse cake. Both served with fresh berries and confectioner's sugar. I liked the mousse cake better but was happy to try both.

//cookies and chocolate covered strawberries: We were well fed at this point so I had trouble finishing up the cookies and marzipan sweets. I told T. champagne and chocolate covered strawberries would go well together but 1pm seemed a bit early to toast. She said that combo would be a honeymoon thing (really? champagne and chocolate covered strawberries?) and laughed. I guess I just imagine having more interesting things for honeymoon than chocolate covered strawberries. I never get too crazy about them for some reason. Maybe if I made myself it'd be better.

Definitely an experiences everyone should have. Probably best for girlfriends and mothers. I guess it could be a classy date place (but not on the first date) whereas Alice's Teacup would be too cutesy for a guy to go in. Since it's close to Union Square, you can walk around the neighborhood, check out books at the B&N, say hello to the kitties in the PetCo, and see what else is going on with artists/protestors/students around the park.