Best Restaurants for Afternoon Tea in Duarte

This was the second time I had tea at the Gardens. The first time we were a small party of 3 celebrating my sister's B-day in the March. This time we were a large party (of 10) for a day-after-Christmas party, after visiting the gardens. And though we were a big group, the staff kept our tea non-chaotic without feeling confining. The service was attentive without being invasive; the hot tea pots were kept filled with an assortment of delicious teas and each tea sandwich was seasonally exquisite and quietly delicious and different from those in March--except for the James Beard sandwich--which was a favorite at our table.

Good was good, they had great gluten free options, the piano music was nice but was rather loud. I would’ve liked to sit by the windows but it appeared there was no ramp for wheelchairs for a member of our party so we were sat by the piano which was a bit dark. The service was good however I think there should be more food for the price of each plate. Regardless, we have made it here for the past two years for Christmas and plan to continue every year.

This is an amazing little place for an afternoon tea that is SO reasonably priced (and there is a very reasonable surcharge for sharing which isn't always the case)! The food was delicious and the place is charming. We were 6 people at the Pasadena location on a Monday for a 2:30 holiday tea after going to the Norton Simon museum, and it was decorated for the holidays and really welcoming. Some in our party ordered off the menu and the rest of us got the Chado afternoon tea. We all loved it. My only caveat is that it took a crazy long time for our food to arrive (maybe an hour?) we had a lot to catch up on so we just enjoyed drinking our tea and didn't really mind. My daughter and I ordered strawberries and cream when we first arrived since we barely even had breakfast, and we were so glad we did, since everything else didn't arrive for another hour, and even then, my tea tower wasn't ready for another 10 or 15 minutes after everyone else's. We were there on a Monday at 2:30pm and it seems like there might have been a rush before us (it was pretty full when we arrived) and then we were the only people there, and there was only one waiter, so I can't imagine this normally happens, and ANYHOW I would still go back!

Great place right near our home for a Christmas tea with my mom who needs to use a walker. Great service and ADA accessible.

Mandi and the team for afternoon tea were very attentive. They made sure we had an overflowing glass and gave an extra thoughtful slice of cake to celebrate my birthday in the end. Plus every bite of food was perfect. Highly recommend!