copyright The Bettina Network, inc. 2009
487 Moody Street hours: Wed thru Sun
Waltham, MA. 02453 11:30am – 5:30pm
781-891-1900 web site: thetealeaf.us
We spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying a ‘low tea’. We could have chosen ‘Cream Tea’, ‘Light Tea’, ‘Children’s Afternoon Tea’ or we could have ordered from the a la carte menu. The only draw back was the fact that none of this was organic.
When one walks into The Tea Leaf, you have to pause a moment to take in where you are. You feel as though you have been transported to another place and time, apart from the one you were in moments before on a busy street with cars and other contributors to 21st century life outside.
There are only five or six tables (don’t remember exactly) with flowing brocade cloths which also covers all of chairs. Shelves on one entire side line the place with teas of every description all for sale. Another wall has beautiful ‘things’ all tea related – prints in interesting frames, pictures created from layers of paper depicting tea parties, dolls in 19th century dress. Look up over the tea shelves and one finds tea pots by the dozen. One can shop before or after having tea for beaded purses, scarves, tea pots of every description, cups and even clothes. But we were there for tea.
We had two menus – one for tea and one for everything else. What a nice switch from being presented with the wine list.
It took a few minutes for our order to arrive, but we enjoyed just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere. It wasn’t high French elegance, it was lovely, middle class Victorian England with an American entrepreneurial twist.
Our ‘low tea’ was wonderful. You will probably find some of the ideas of this service showing up in Bettina breakfasts and/or afternoon tea in houses which serve such.
Food was served on a three tier tray – scones, with clotted cream and strawberry preserves on the bottom tier, finger sandwiches elegantly made on the second level and small assorted dessert pieces on top. We each had a pot of tea and we ate everything except the scones.
We started with the finger sandwiches which were made for tea service. They were perfection – with the expected cucumber, cream cheese, parsley combination to the unexpected very Italian-like eggplant sandwich. The cut sides of the sandwiches were dipped in finely chopped herbs and they were half white and half wholewheat bread, very thinly sliced.
After a few moments to recover from the swoon, we looked at the scones – tasted one – and decided they would be left. Our organic food bias threw up barriers to scones which looked and tasted as though they were made with bisquick or its equivalent. They were not what we wanted to intrude on our lovely ‘low tea’, in spite of the clotted cream and strawberry preserves.
So on to the ‘assorted sweets’. These began to restore our excitement about The Tea Leaf. They were all wonderful, except, maybe, the Madeleines. – After one bite we decided not to ruin the rest of the sweets by continuing to eat this one.
The proprietor fits the tea house. She was very knowledgeable about her teas and very gracious in her service – which was impeccable.
Our thanks to Thom Roach of Gore Place for telling us about The Tea Leaf and with the above caveats included we elegantly recommend it to you for an afternoon well spent.
One bonus – we eavesdropped on the next table talking about their impressions of the inauguration and they were fun to hear, but after a few minutes we couldn’t hear them anymore because the atmosphere and food of The Tea Leaf changed the focus of our attention.
One does need reservations before arriving because you are greeted when you step in the door by the proprietress who very pointedly asks “do YOU have reservations!”
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on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 10:29 am and is filed under Restaurant Review.
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