Second breakfast! or technically, high tea. I guess that’s why the entire menu is available all day with breakfast, lunch, and tea service offerings. I finally found myself in Covington with time to check this place out, and the hot scones alone were worth it. The clotted cream and lemon curd were both new to me, along with just about everything else I tried.
I went with The Petite Windsor High Tea — A selection of four English finger sandwiches, three assorted mini-savories, fresh fruit garnish, one mini-dessert, one chocolate-dipped strawberry & one fresh-baked scone served with house-made clotted cream, house-made lemon curd or imported strawberry preserves. A pot of tea of your choice. Priced per person. That last bit about priced per person is important because the place is great for get togethers. While I was there a group of women came in and were directed to the Tudor Room where they hugged and talked and waited for everyone to get there. A tea service is perfect for that sort of gathering since it is a lot like a served buffet, with finger sandwiches, mini-quiches, and sweets to pick and choose from without having to walk through a line with a plate in your hand. And while it may have been a show of posh across the pond, here in the USA it is just a quaint and stylish way to be fed and entertained.
And a pot of real tea to go with everything. I went with the Bangkok Blend, a green tea with lemongrass, vanilla, coconut & ginger. Very tasty. The mini quiches were definitely home made because they exploded with flavor. The servers were dressed in British black and it was easy to imagine them with a crisp Brit rather than a slow southern accent. And the place is packed with curios, mostly tea services, but plenty of photos and flags and other memoribilia.
My only regret was that this place isn’t here in Baton Rouge where it would be easy to escape once a week. Oh, and maybe that I couldn’t hang for just one more meal, both because I had places to be and that the table I had was only available for an hour. I doubt any place else in Covington was as packed as The Tea Room at ten in the morning. If you know you’re going or you have more than four people, I suggest you make a reservation. Quite the experience. Quite, I say.
