Tri-City: Tyme For Tea

For HA's birthday, she wanted to have a little tea party at Tyme For Tea: 

I don't really understand the appeal of high tea, but it wasn't my birthday.  And what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets.

The interior was very feminine and pink.  The front door opened to a little shop selling teapots and other tea accessories.  We walked toward the back to reach the little dining area.

For $35 per person, we enjoyed the Victorian tea set.  Each of us got our own teapot with our own choice of tea:

I grew up with only Asian teas, so the vast selection of fruity teas Tyme for Tea offers went a bit over my head.  I stuck to the basics and got an Earl Grey.  Real basic, I know.

Things kicked off with a scone paired with creme fraiche, lemon curd, and raspberry preserves:

The scone itself was lemony, which I liked a lot.

The tower of savories came next:

There were cucumber sandwiches, some kind of mushroom tarts, puff pastry pinwheels, cheesy bread, and chicken salad and pecan sandwiches.

The sweets came last:

The plate consisted of caramel cheesecake bites, shortbread cookies, and petit fours.

My beef with high tea is that the food is often mediocre and the portion sizes designed for fairies.  I fully prepared myself to leave Tyme For Tea hungry.  To my great surprise, I didn't.  In fact, I was stuffed.  

I ate everything except for the petit four and found myself enjoying every bite.  My favorite was probably the chicken salad sandwich, but everything was pretty hearty and tasty.

Tyme For Tea does not play around.  Unlike some other tea places, they're not just banking on their high tea concept to get people through the door.  Or maybe that's what attracts people at first, but the food is what will get people to return.

I might not be a high tea convert quite yet, but I wouldn't mind going back to Tyme for Tea if HA wants to do this for her next birthday as well.

If you're looking for a place to have a tea party, make your reservation at Tyme for Tea!

Tyme for Tea

37501 Niles Blvd

Fremont, CA 94536

(510) 790-0944

http://tymefortea.com/index.htm