Posted by Laura on February 12th, 2010
Tea by Two
Filed under: Restaurants
Overall: 
(5/5)
Confession: I have never liked tea. What I remember of tea is from my childhood - my grandfather’s Lipton, with half the cup being milk rather than tea. As an adult, I’ve avoided tea - I called myself a coffee girl, not a tea girl. So, when some friends suggested we have a ladies outing at Tea by Two in Bel Air, I was going for the sandwiches, not the tea.
Ambience (5/5)
I was charmed immediately. First impressions, right? Well, Tea by Two is located in a charming little house (cottage?) on Main Street in Bel Air, with a front porch and a twinkling bell at the door. Upon entering, you feel like you’re in a country store of sorts, with all manner of tea items and cutesy gifts (from infusers to scone mixes, and from purse hangers to greeting cards with tea bags inserted in them) artfully displayed on a variety of eclectic furniture (love the cabinet with the tea cup doorknobs!).
I used the restroom, which was gorgeous - tea cup wallpaper and rug, with a beautiful armoire on the opposite wall.
The restaurant is divided into little rooms, each filled with interesting furniture pieces and decorations (I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of the large glass candleholders filled with fake snow and pine cones, which were so imaginative, festive, and beautiful). Each of the tables had a different table cloth, and were pre-set with tea cups and silverware.
Food (5/5)
The group I was with decided to order high tea, and it was only noon. I’ve since found out that this is a unique feature of tea restaurants; usually, you can only order high tea at a certain time, while at Tea by Two, it is available all day.
I was thinking - ugh, small, crustless cucumber sandwiches? I’ll have to stop at Mickey D’s on the way home to fill up.
Not so! I actually left feeling stuffed.
Our High Tea arrived on a three-tiered serving platter with small crustless sandwiches (4 for each of us), tiny desserts (4 for each of us, including a delectable macaroon), and the scone of the day (lemon-poppy seed), along with two kinds of tea and little dishes of lemon curd and cream.
Can I just say, Yum!
Everything was delicious. DELICIOUS. The chocolate strawberry and snowflake teas were surprisingly awesome, as were the scones (would you believe I had never had a scone before?) with the lemon curd.
So much so, that I have since stocked up on loose teas (chocolate strawberry, chocolate mint, and snowflake), an infuser, and a jar of lemon curd, along with scone mixes and scone recipes. I have tea everyday now!
Customer Service (5/5)
On top of all of these positive experiences is Tea by Two’s customer service. Everyone was so helpful and friendly and, even though I was so obviously a newbie, they did not make me feel stupid or ridiculous for asking my crazy questions.
Information:
Tea by Two
814 S. Main Street
Bel Air, MD 21014
Tuesday thru Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The shop/restuarant was started by two life-long best friends, Erin Bradley and Janet Meyers, who were tired of the insurance industry. They did tons of research, and opened Tea by Two in June of 2001.
The restaurant offers High Tea, Afternoon Tea, Light Tea, etc., along with soups, a daily savory, and a-la-carte items.
