Alice’s Tea Cup is said to be “New York City’s most whimsical tea house” and they might be right. I haven’t been to all the “tea houses” in the city, but they are definitely most whimsical so far. They have 3 locations, and I have been to them all, and Chapter II on East 64th has been the cutest (or most “whimsical”) spot with their interior, especially the second floor. They have butterflies, great bright and vivid colors, and all the mismatching tables and chairs. I heard from one of the servers once that they received most of their furniture, tea cups & saucers, etc from people as donations, and that is the reason why they don’t match. Some of the tables used to be a sewing machine table! How cool is that?
I would say they are famous for their afternoon tea, and although they are not my favorite afternoon tea spot, but it is a great place to hang out with family and friends, especially if you have a young daughter, niece, or any child who likes Alice in Wonderland. It will sure be a memorable one for them. I took my niece there when she was 7, and they gave her a fairy wings to wear while we were dining there. She absolutely loved it!
They have extensive tea menu, from black teas, oolongs, white tea, house blend, etc. You will certainly find the kind of tea that you like out of their long list. We ordered Margaret’s Hope, Peach Tea, Alice’s Tea, and Red Fruits.
Margaret’s Hope – This particular Darjeeling is picked in the autumn, creating a fuller body than varieties harvested earlier in the year, yet it retains the floral, muscatel bouquet that Darjeelings are known for. It had simple but yet rich Darjeeling flavor, easy to drink, and really relaxes you from inside and out. Peach Tea – Indian black tea with peach bits and aromatic flowers. If you love peach, you will love this tea. From the scent of sweetness to the great peach flavor, it was peach tea perfection. Alice’s Tea – their signature blend of black tea, Japanese green tea, vanilla, and rose petals. It does not have that sweet fruity flavor. If you want the real solid, good tea without any extra flavor added, you will like this one. The hint of vanilla scent and flavor is really great. Red Fruits – Indian black tea flavored with strawberry, raspberry, red currant, and cherry. It was very fruity and flavorful, such great, nice berry taste that has its own sweetness, you can enjoy as is, without adding any sugar. They give you a free refills of hot water also.
For the meal, we ordered Mad Hatter “Tea for Two” turned it to tea for 3, Veggie Veggie Salad, and Albacoa Tuna Sandwich.
Mad Hatter for 3 ($57) came with 3 pots of teas, choice of 4 scones with preserves and cream, choice of two sandwiches, and assorted cookies with choice of dessert. Scones: we chose Chocolate scone, Fruit scone, Pumpkin scone, and Vegan scone. Sandwiches: we chose Egg Salad sandwich and Cucumber & Watercress sandwich. Dessert: we chose chocolate mousse.
Their scones are hard on outside, and soft in the inside, and depends on the scone, it could be a bit dry. They are still tasty, but not my favorite scones in the city. They are also large in size, enough to share among others. Usually, we get completely stuffed with their afternoon tea offering, we can’t finish them all. So, we leave the scones to be eaten at the end, so if we can’t finish them, we can take the scones home and have them for breakfast. As for sandwiches, their Chopped tea-egg salad sandwich is quite tasty. It comes with eggs that have been infused with maté carnival tea, and watercress and mayonnaise on seven grain bread. They are creamy, rich, and flavorful. Cucumber and Watercress Sandwich is almost always the right choice at afternoon tea (I think), they are one of the most refreshing kind, and very tasty. Their sandwich here comes with lemon chive butter on whole wheat. As for desserts, the cookies were soft and sweet, nice solid cookies, although not so special. The chocolate mousse was very creamy, rich, sweet but not overly sweet, melt in your mouth.
Now, the Garden Veggie Salad ($14) comes with mixed greens with sliced cucumber, tomato, & roasted cumin carrots, dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The cumin carrots had very interesting flavor. At first, it kind of hits you really hard, and you think it is an odd taste, but then it becomes so addictive…! It is a unique and interesting salad for sure. The Albacore Tuna sandwich ($13) comes with capers, cornichons, and shallots in a whole-grain mustard vinaigrette on semolina with black sesame seeds. It was a good sandwich with great flavor, not your ordinary boring tuna salad sandwich. This one had real flavor that was brought out by great ingredients working all together. And the crunchy fries, man, speaking of addictive, this one really gets you too!
The service is ok, most of everyone there are friendly and polite. When it gets a bit busy, they might not come around as often, but they are very nice and willing to assist you with smile.
At the end, we were all stuffed, happy, and jolly. Since it is right by the Central Park, you can go for a nice long walk to digest all that food you just consumed. Why not walk over to the Alice in Wonderland statue in the park? It will be the perfect ending!
Alice’s Tea Cup Chapter II – 156 E 64th St, New York, NY 10065