Where: French Quarter, Charleston, SC Style: Traditional Tea Selection: 12 sacheted loose leaf teas by Mighty Leaf Teatimes: Daily 4-7 Reservations: 24-hour notice Contact: 843-723-3446 Cost: $30 Afternoon Tea Destination Tea Tips: If people-watching is your thing, you might request a table at the front, where three sets of glass-paned doors are thrown open in the warmer months.
Destination Tea Notes: If you’re keeping a destination tea bucket list, we suggest adding East Bay Meeting House to it. For what? The scrumptious food, some of the best we’ve had yet. Upon your curate’s arrival, cantaloupe butterflies and kale doilies hint at something unusual, while mini brass shells tucked amongst the savories hold tiny cards that seem to have directed each savory like an honored guest to its place on the lowest tier. While it’s typical for an afternoon tea to have a few signature items, at East Bay Meeting House, in the entire repast, there is only one item we don’t both agree is outstanding. We also enjoy the atmosphere, with the fresh air coming in from the lively street and our gracious host attentive and friendly, but mainly leaving us to our leisure.
Dark wood tones and floor-to-ceiling drapes create a warmth that encourages friends to gather round, while crisp white tablecloths and the fresh air from the open restaurant front brighten the scene.
Tea Service
East Bay Meeting House offers a selection of Mighty Leaf teas. Technically “bagged” teas, this line of high quality loose leaf teas in sachets is one we look forward to sampling. We request the Bombay Chai and Orange Dulce – yum!
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
We sidle up to a long paned window overlooking the cobblestone alley, ready to explore our tea tray (which is proudly brought to the table before we have even ordered our tea).
The sandwiches are so very good, even those that might appear ordinary surprising us with exceptional flavor. We savor each bite, including egg salad with chopped chives and baby arugula on multi-grain, smoked salmon with citrus cream cheese, roasted red pepper and capers on sourdough, cucumber with manchego cheese and dill on white, chicken salad with curry, apple, celery and golden raisins, and maple glazed ham with grain mustard, swiss cheese and sweet pickles on flatbread.
Orange cherry scones have a near-biscuit texture (as they should), served with clotted cream and jam. Delicious and so generously sized that we share one.
At dessert, it is the chocolate cake that divides our opinion. It is admirably not overly sweet, but one of us completely loves it and the other thinks it could have more of a rich chocolate flavor. The Mexican wedding cookies and rum cake are perfect, and while an afternoon tea’s dessert course can often be overfilling, this one is the right amount of sweet bites to complete the meal. As we finish sipping our tea, we happily munch on fresh fruit and boldly colored edible flowers. Wonderful!
We love comments! Destination Tea's comment policy shares a guiding principle with afternoon tea etiquette: please be gracious. We welcome honest comments that are not rude or scathing.
