Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon
“The scones were smoothly sweet and the clotted cream complemented them perfectly.”
“My mother and made of honor threw my bridal shower for me at this beautiful tea house almost 2 years ago.”
“I came here on a girls' date for their five-course afternoon tea and it felt like I was momentarily transported back to London.”
Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range Pricey
8 reviews
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I could have sworn I already wrote a review for Lady M's a few years ago, but apparently not? Did it get eaten? Anyway… so is a bit of a strange review because I am reviewing it from my memories of how it was several years ago. So please note that this isn't a recent review and should not reflect the current service.
In the past I have gone here a total of 3 times – Once for a private party I organized. The second time with my husband for a nice, romantic date. And the third time was with my mom. All three trips were utterly splendid. The service was impeccable, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was sublime. In the past, the tea service was by reservation and only served at a few time slots through the day. It was roughly $40 and it came with a wonderful array of tea sandwiches you could choose from and they even offered a second round! The tea selection was quite impressive and there were so many delicious blend available.
Having been a patron both for a private party and as a regular guest, I will say that you were always treated like a VIP no matter what. We received excellent and polite attention every time we visited.
In the past, I would have rated this establishment 5 stars – it was my favorite place for tea in the city, and while it was pricey, it had a great value. Unfortunately, having read their website and other recent reviews, it seems that Lady M's has taken a turn for the worst. The prices have been greatly increased, they've cut their tea menu to only 4 generic offerings, and you are unable to pick your sandwiches, and the second round of sandwiches is gone. It was already on the pricey side before, but the value was worth it. Given the drastic price increase and the reduction of quality and quantity of the menu, I don't think I will be going back. So all things considered, I can't in good conscience place a 5 star up knowing how terribly service has been cut. As such, I have to give this place 3 stars.
Lady Mendl's please, please, please go back to how you once were. You were once the shining star of tea in this city, and now you've lost your luster. I hope you get your shine back soon.
Make reservations online. The outside of the place looks like someone's fancy home. Located close to Gramercy Park. You walk up the steps and just open the door- head to the right to let the front desk know you are here for tea!
They don't have many tables- small and intimate. I got the earl tea (yummy!). I believe it was around 5 courses (salad, select finger sandwiches, scone, crepe cake, etc). I really enjoyed everything! The tables are small so that don't leave the tea pot with you but the service is really attentive! I really enjoyed the cavier with lox finger sandwich. They were all pretty delicious.
Great place to have tea with some friends. Pre-fix $59 a person.
I tried the Prosecco (Italian white wine) as well- complimented the food pretty well.
They have other cocktail selections too.
Pros:
1. Nice place, charming decorations
2. Six kinds of tea to choose from – from traditional to their creative menu
3. One page of wine choices
4. Five courses, which ensuring that you will be fully packed when stepping outside
5. Good grape jam served with scone
Cons:
1. Long waiting time (~15 mins) even with a reservation
2. Busy waiter/ waitresses
3. Uncomfortable sofas (chairs might be better)
4. Ordinary food – sandwiches, macaroons, chocolate dipped strawberries, crepe cake, none of these impressed me
5. Pricey given the food taste
My friend is coming back from London to visit us hence I was struggling to find a good spot for a short gather-together before I located this perfect place for high tea. The place was kind of secret in a sense that you cannot find its name listed anywhere but a small metal icon next to its door.
Stepping inside the door was like entering into an old castle as a princess, formal yet relaxing. No choice was provided but the prex-fixe menu, so we all went with it.
Of all the courses, the scone was probably the best, with four different sauces to accompany with. The complementary dessert macaron was cute!
Overall a lovely experience with ambience decor. Strongly recommend for girls.
A nice setting. A little expensive. Be sure you have the address since there is no signage. Very relaxing 1920's setting. Tea selection was OK. The Sandwich selection was excellent and like other Afternoon teas we have been to they asked if we would like more. I especially liked the salmon with wasabi and goat cheese and fig.
Service was attentive and the Rioja was a mice break from the Earl Grey.
I'd recommend this facility along with others.
A hidden gem in NYC….would have never guessed it was here! Won't find it unless you're looking for it. No real sign out front. When I walked inside, I felt like I was transported to a magical Alice in Wonderland world. The entire experience was straight out of a fairy tale. Everything was absolutely scrumptious and beautiful. I would come back in a heart beat!
Tip: Come here for a relaxing tea in a great and cozy atmosphere. The experience is enhanced by the fact that the courses come separately, rather than on a tiered platter.
Story: It is actually with a heavy heart that I only give Lady Mendl's 4 stars. While I know it's still a good rating, 3 years ago I'd have given it 5 stars without pause to even think about it. I have been coming to Lady Mendl's for years around the holidays as a family tradition. When I started going, it was $35 a person for an amazing tea service in an ambiance that can't be beat. The cutely decorated brownstone is simply the best atmosphere for a tea service, and the service is doting. The tea service used to consist of multiple courses, with two rounds of tea sandwiches and an enormous selection of interesting teas. When they raised the price to $40, I wasn't even bothered. However, they have now raised the price to $60, have cut out the second round of tea sandwiches, and have cut their tea selection by more than half. The teas they serve now are rather run of the mill.
With all of that said, I will still come back: after all it is tradition, and the place is so damn nice.
So interesting that most of the 1-star reviews have been filtered. I would guess it's because most people who come are tourists and are creating an account to leave a review. In any event – I spent THE best weekend in NYC. I ate the most amazing food all over the city (bubble tea in Chinatown! pizza in Brooklyn! cannoli in Little Italy!) and Lady Mendl's was the lowest point of the weekend.
For starters, my girlfriend who lives in Manhattan has come here several times (I think she said 4 or 5). However it had been a few years since she had been. In that time, several changes, none of them good.
– if you look at old reviews and old articles about Lady Mendl's, the price used to be $35 pp. Now it's $59. I understand inflation but come on.
– the food- our starter was a bowl of melon with feta. Very tasty but certainly not a filling or substantive first course (friend remembered in the past the course was quiche, possibly with a green salad).
– second course- sandwiches. They are tasty, but they are tiny, and alas! You get 5, one of each. That's it. Friend was shocked and remembered they used to come around with more and you could have as many as you wanted. We ate our little sandwiches (didn't take long!) and then they took our plates. I felt embarrassed even asking but I said, um, is that the end of the sandwiches? I thought maybe we got more. Our server truly looked a little surprised – he said, "oh, ma'am, no, we do one round of sandwiches. I mean… if you really want… I can bring more… but you have another THREE courses coming!" So after that I felt embarrassed to press the issue.
– my friend remembered the sugar used to be charming little sugar cubes with little flowers on them. Yeah, no longer. She asked the server and he found some in the back but those are not offered anymore (apparently unless you ask).
– after the sandwiches, we got one huge scone each, served with cream and two jams. It was fine, but HUGE. Nobody wants that much scone, but I think the idea is they want you to fill up and a big heavy brick of a scone will do it.
– post-scone, you get the crepe cake. This really was delicious, but after eating so many carbs, it was hard to enjoy. We both left ours unfinished.
– course 5 is a throw away. It's two chocolate covered strawberries and some cookies. Thanks to another reviewer's suggestion, we had ours packed to go. For the record, the strawberries looked a day or two old- they were brown and sunken under the chocolate. I was pretty shocked they'd serve that (again, $59!!! Come on).
– tea was fine. I refilled my cup several times myself but if there was someone nearby they'd do it.
Overall I'd say the value is 1-star. I mean really. I had sort of thought this could be a light lunch but no way. It was 4 sugar-loaded courses, plus some tiny sandwiches (honestly the amount of food in the sandwich course was enough to satisfy a hamster. Maybe.) The ambiance is a real winner- servers are very nice, and it's a very pretty place. I was happy enough to try it for the first time but I would not return and would definitely not recommend it to anyone. My poor friend felt terrible that we spent so much $$ there and also that we spent part of a short weekend there when there were other better places to go. I can understand raising prices, or cutting back on the food offered, but doing both seems tacky. Sorry Lady Mendl's. Never again.