Huntington Gardens - Tea Room
- C.T. Russell
- Jun 15, 2018
- 3 min read
Hey guys. Thanks for checking out my blog. Today I want to talk about the oasis that is the Huntington Gardens.
If you live in LA then what passes for nature tends to be a palm tree looming over your car as you wait in endless traffic. The best exception to this is the Huntington gardens.
What basically started as an insanely rich guy's backyard has become a haven for those who love gardens, art, and tea, in an area where most people are lucky to have a patio. As a person who loves photography, Huntington offers an array of areas, from the art exhibits to the different stylized gardens. But, the main thing I want to talk about today is the tea room.
The tea room has changed a lot since I first went with my husband's family. Before it was a buffet style where they would bring you tea and scones, and the rest of the food was out for people to take as much or little of whatever they wanted. Since then a new company has taken over, and there may have been growing pains at first, but they have hit their stride.
My husband's "go to" tea order is always the Huntington Signature Blend. It is a black tea with hints of floral and vanilla. I have bounced around a bunch of different teas from them. The rose tea matches the outside as the tea room is nestled in the rose garden. I adore the smell, I might as well have shoved my face into one of the rose bushes. As some might know I am also partial to Earl Grey, and what good tea room wouldn’t have a cup?
This last time I was feeling a little more adventurous, so I stepped out of my normal order of black tea and went for the Green Pomegranate. I was not disappointed. It was sweet and tangy, and still managed to have a floral scent. We also tried the caramelized pear. I’m sad to say that was not my favorite tea. I’m not much for teas with a cinnamon flavor to it. My husband enjoyed it. If you enjoy their teas, then you can purchase them loose leaf, however, it tends to be on the expensive side.
One of my favorite items at the tea room is the scones. Normally, I reach for sweet scones (preferably ones with chocolate). But, we were served the most delicious savory scones. I guess if you put cheese on something, odds are it’ll be good.
They offer a variety of little sandwiches. My husbands favorites are the salmon and the egg sandwiches (he even asked for extras of those). Personally I prefer the cucumber sandwich. It has a great cream cheese ratio and a good saltiness.
The dessert section shines. As a chocolate lover, I adore the chocolate tarts. The rich chocolate is offset with a fresh raspberry. What better place to enjoy a rose sugar cookie than the rose gardens? If you love mango, I know you will love the little mango cupcakes.
One thing they just ended that I already dearly miss is the complimentary glass of Prosecco. They were offering that for awhile as a way to help customers with the changes. Now that most people are fine with the changes there is a charge for the Proesecco. I guess all good things must come to an end.
Unfortunately, there is a drawback to the Huntington gardens and that is the price. There is a charge to get into the gardens, and then the tea room is expensive on top of that. If you want to go but money is an issue, the Huntington does offer free days, it would just require some extra planning. Here is the link to the free day page on the website: http://huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/content.aspx?id=844 Be sure to also make reservations for the tea room early, as it fills up pretty fast. You can make reservations pretty easily through Opentable.com.
Overall the Huntington Gardens tea room is a great place for a special occasion. A decadent place for a person to really enjoy themselves. If you find yourself in need of nature while in Pasadena, then I highly recommend it.
Let me know if you guys have any suggestions for a tea room in Southern California. I’m always up for a new tea room. Thanks guys, I’ll see you later.
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