By Lorna Reeves • Photography by William Dickey
New Jersey may be smaller in landmass than most other states in the Union, but what the Garden State lacks in size, it more than makes up for in quality tearooms. From the northern Gateway Region to the Shore in the state’s midsection, tea experiences abound, many tucked in unexpected places and charming towns, yet each with an interesting story.
Harmony Tea Room
224 Fairview Avenue • Westwood, NJ 07675
201-664-2608 • harmonytearoom.com
Pretty china plates, platters, cups, and saucers playfully adorn the colorful walls of Harmony Tea Room. The eclectic mix isn’t limited to the venue’s wall d écor but extends to the furnishings and table settings as well. Some purists may view it as a hodgepodge; others will see it as a harmonious blending of styles in a spacious setting as conducive to a casual lunch as it is to traditional afternoon tea, a bridal celebration, or a baby shower. Owner MaryAnn Masley-Bassett opened the tearoom in 2007 as an outlet for her passions for cooking and baking. MaryAnn’s culinary-school training is evident even with just a cursory glance at the menu, which changes regularly. Three-tiered stands might sport petite savories such as beet-and-carrot triple-stack sandwiches, Brie on toast with fig butter, and her famous Asian chicken salad in a phyllo cup.
Patrons may choose their scones from a daily assortment of at least four flavors, in addition to gluten-free options, and can enjoy them warm with homemade lemon curd, cream, and fruit preserves. Freshly baked sweet treats like white chocolate–raspberry bars, chocolate-chai cookies, and spiced cupcakes with a decadent cream cheese frosting provide a delightful ending. With more than 30 loose-leaf teas on the menu, there is no shortage of beverage options. In its current wheelchair-accessible location since 2013, Harmony Tea Room is open Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations are preferred for lunch and afternoon tea but are required for Sunday brunch.
Bon Appétit Tea House
180 Franklin Turnpike • Mahwah, NJ 07430
201-529-1144 • bonappetitmahwah.com
Samira and Ed Lotfy believe afternoon tea should be an elegant occasion, and nowhere is that more evident than in their finely appointed New Jersey tearoom, Bon Appétit Tea House. There, cutwork toppers adorn burgundy-clad tables, teapots sit atop vermeil-hued warmers, and harp music fills the air.
“Where I grew up,” Samira recalls, “tea parties had a British influence.” And while those traditions inspired Bon Appétit’s décor, French customs are evident in its food. Working with a culinary school in France, the Lotfys sponsor recent graduates for employment in their adjacent café and bakery, which also provides the food for the tearoom. Flaky croissants, French macarons, and raspberry-almond tarts, along with other delectable bites, fill the tiers of the stands that are part of any of Bon Appétit’s teatime offerings. To accompany the freshly made food, customers may choose from an impressive selection of 53 loose-leaf teas.
Reservations for afternoon tea, served Wednesday through Sunday, are required, as is proper teatime attire. Children 12 and older are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
20 Old Newark Pompton Turnpike • Wayne, NJ 07470
973-696-8327 • highsocieteanj.com
Bernadette Solari firmly believes she has the best job in the world. And the customers of High SocieTea House, the tearoom she and two friends founded in 2005, would certainly agree. The tearoom, housed in a circa-1895 farmhouse that formerly functioned as a general store and post office for Wayne, is now much more than its name implies, and Bernadette is the sole proprietor.
Customers enter the tearoom through a gift-shop area filled to the brim with tea things and other tempting delights. Bernadette and her beloved staff warmly greet them and then escort them to one of the 10 tables in the dining area, where, for two hours, they can leisurely enjoy teatime. Organic, farm-to-table ingredients are integral to the tearoom’s menu, which features many gluten-free options. To commemorate the tearoom’s recent 10th anniversary, Bernadette published a cookbook of most-requested recipes and created the High SocieTea House blend of tea, which now has a permanent place among 45 or more loose-leaf selections.
In addition to serving breakfast on weekends from April through November, High SocieTea is open for afternoon tea Thursday through Sunday year-round. Reservations are required for both breakfast and teatime.
Cosy Cupboard Tea Room
4 Old Turnpike Road • Convent Station, NJ 07961
973-998-6676 • cosycupboardtearoom.com
College professor James Howard and his family had afternoon tea when they vacationed. Because he usually commented about things he would do differently if he owned a tearoom, his children challenged him to open one. He did—although it took close to seven years of planning for the Cosy Cupboard Tea Room to come to fruition.
The upscale and traditional tearoom is open Wednesday through Sunday, and walk-ins are welcome. Reservations for teatime are highly recommended, but are required only for groups or for special events such as the Summer Jazz Series, which features live music on the third Friday of each month through October.
Afternoon tea is served in courses and can include soup or salad, if desired. Otherwise, tea sandwiches are presented first, followed by scones (which James and his staff pronounce “schans” in keeping with Scottish tradition). Desserts vary but might include English trifle with fresh berries. When patrons request leftovers be wrapped to take home, they are often surprised that to-go items are placed on actual china. “Now you have a good reason to come back,” James tells them, as if an incentive for a return visit were needed. Although Lady Londonderry is the house tea, customers can sample any of the 28-plus teas in the tearoom’s cupboard while enjoying their meal. Those celebrating a birthday receive a free bag of tea when they mark the day with a visit to Cosy Cupboard.
Teaberry’s Tea Room
2 Main Street • Flemington, NJ 08822
908-788-1010 • teaberrys.com
A beautifully imposing early 19th-century house at the corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue is home to Teaberry’s Tea Room. Realizing the community had a need for a place where people could get together to have conversation and good food, Susan Peterson founded the tearoom in historic Flemington in 2004. “Everyday, I can’t wait to get here—even after 10 years,” she says.
For its first five years, Teaberry’s was in a much smaller building, but when the opportunity to move to its current 100-seat, handicap-accessible location presented itself, Susan jumped at the chance. The rooms of the lovely two-story facility lend themselves well to celebrations of all sorts, including children’s parties. “Children of all ages are welcome,” says Susan. “If we don’t teach them, how else will they learn to behave?”
Her own daughter, Sara, has grown up in the business, working at the tearoom during high school and now serving as hostess and handling payroll, among other responsibilities. Susan’s husband also helps by taking care of the grocery shopping for the tearoom and paying its bills.
Teaberry’s, which boasts a full lunch menu in addition to that of afternoon tea, is closed only on Mondays. Reservations for lunch or afternoon tea are strongly recommended. Customers can choose from an array of afternoon-tea options such as Lady Astor’s Cream Tea (two scones with lemon curd, clotted cream, and preserves) or the traditional three-course Milady’s Tea, which features eight different tea sandwiches, a scone with requisite condiments, eight petite sweets, plus sorbet or gelato. Teatime offerings naturally include a pot of hot tea, selected from an astonishing list of 125 teas. These loose-leaf teas are also available for purchase in the tearoom’s adjacent Carriage House Boutique, which is overflowing with wonderful teacentric accoutrements and gifts.
Laurel Square Plaza • 1930 Route 88 • Brick, NJ 08724
732-899-4070
As tea-goers step onto the hardwood floors of The Scone Shoppe from the parking lot it shares with the local K-mart, they are sure to feel as if they have walked into some sort of wonderland—an elegant one filled with plenty of tea and giant scones in 20 different flavors. Owner Theresa Paterno’s mother, Pat Cavallo, (pictured together) welcomes customers warmly. “Come sit down, and have a scone,” she often says in her charming Jersey Shore way.
Theresa moved the tearoom to Laurel Square Plaza in June 2014, amid parking limitations at a previous location. She and her family have worked hard to turn the retail space into a lovely setting, complete with chandeliers, chair rail, and antique furniture.
The focal point of the shop is, without doubt, the large, antique display case that houses the tearoom’s daily assortment of scones Theresa bakes fresh every morning. “The first scone I ever made was cranberry-white chocolate—that’s what started it all,” she explains. “And I always do an oatmeal scone and usually a gluten-free option.” The scones are the first course of The Scone Shoppe’s afternoon-tea service, and customers are allowed to select their preferred flavor from the case. (The scones are also for sale individually or in gift boxes of 8 large or 16 minis.) Theresa’s passion for creating good food is apparent in the other tiers of the tea tray as well, which boast an assortment of teatime fare, including her acclaimed chicken salad served in a croissant.
The Scone Shoppe is open for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are required only for groups of five or more.
170 Gatzmer Avenue • Jamesburg, NJ 08831
732-641-2570 • onesteepatathyme.com
Kathleen Hippeli and her husband, Ray, purchased a circa-1917 house in the charming town of Jamesburg with the intent to make it into a tearoom. The transformation process, however, took five years and what Kathleen calls the three Ps: patience, persistence, and perseverance. Finally, on April 20, 2013, One Steep at a Thyme opened for business, with Kathleen doing all the cooking and Ray handling the valet parking.
Afternoon tea at this Saturday-and-Sunday-only tearoom, which will soon expand to weekday service, is an impressive seven-course affair. Consequently, reservations are a must. Before the first morsel is served and after the last crumb is enjoyed, guests freshen their hands with warm, wet washcloths.
Kathleen carefully selects a trio of loose-leaf teas from the many in her inventory to pair with the food. The first course is a choice of soup—her award-winning French onion or a seasonal selection like tomato-basil—often served along with the second course, a house salad topped with pear and dried cranberry. Third is a seasonal quiche or strada, followed by a freshly baked scone such as their signature “cinnarmel” apple flavor. The fifth course comprises an assortment of tea sandwiches. Dainty and delicious desserts of various types are served just before a final, palate-cleansing sorbet. To properly enjoy the teatime feast, each seating is two hours. Food allergies and special diets can usually be accommodated if mentioned when making the reservation.
To educate customers about tea, Kathleen offers tea tastings twice a month. These vary in subject matter and require advance reservations as well.
600 Main
600 Main Street • Toms River, NJ 08753
732-818-7580 • 600mainnj.com
For 25 years, Susan Notte was a stay-at-home mom who enjoyed raising her children, cooking for her family, and entertaining guests. When she and her husband, John, became empty nesters, they decided it was time to embark on a new adventure—that of owning a bed-and-breakfast and a tearoom. In December 2011, they purchased 600 Main, a Victorian house in the historic district of Toms River that had once functioned as a tearoom. The renovations they had started took on greater urgency when Hurricane Sandy hit the area on October 29, 2012, and rescue workers needed a place to stay. The Nottes accommodated as many people as possible at the B&B. It wasn’t until March 2013, however, that 600 Main’s Victorian tearoom officially opened for business, serving afternoon tea by reservation Wednesday through Saturday.
As they enter 600 Main, patrons may select, from the many on display throughout the first floor of the lovingly restored home, a cup and saucer for drinking tea and a hat to wear during teatime. The centerpiece of each table is a three-tiered stand, which is filled, after the soup and salad courses, with platters of dainty, made-from-scratch delicacies. Susan does most of the cooking for her tearoom, with Maria Warren, a talented 22-year-old pastry chef, handling the baking. Kim Clarizio, one of Susan’s friends from high school, attends to the customers tableside, making sure cups stay filled with tea selected from approximately 80 options from fine purveyors like Mark T. Wendell and The East Indies Tea Company.
For those fortunate enough to book a stay in one of 600 Main’s five luxurious bedroom suites on the second floor, a delicious hot breakfast is included.
From TeaTime September/October 2015
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