Destination Tea Reviews/Virginia

Destination Tea: Prince Tea House

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Where:  Virginia Beach, Virginia
Style:  French-inspired modern
Tea Selection:  30+ loose leaf teas imported from France
Teatimes:  Sunday to Friday 11:30 to 9:30; Saturday 11:30 to 10
Reservations:  Walk-ins welcome
Contact:  757-301-8829
Cost: $28 Afternoon Tea for 1 ($27 for 2; $26 for 3; $25 for 5)
Destination Tea Tips:  Reservations are not required, but if you have a larger party, we recommend calling ahead. The menu also offers brunch and dessert options for your tea friends who’d like something other than the afternoon tea menu.

Prices and teatimes are subject to change. Please see our Virginia afternoon tea directory for the latest details.

afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach

Destination Tea Notes: Originating out of Queens’ Chinatown in Downtown Flushing in 2014, Prince Tea House has quickly expanded in less than ten years, now with seven NYC teahouses, and franchise locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia (see your state directory to find the one near you). The self-described Asian-European teahouses are founded on passion for “the environment, organic desserts, and exceptionally harvested teas.” Upon arriving, we appreciated the transformation from strip mall exterior to fancier interior. At our tea, we found perfectly prepared, fragrant teas and delicious, freshly made desserts, and a first in our afternoon tea experience: jasmine milk tea served hot in a teapot (the girls loved it). We are hoping that the delays in service were because we were a larger party (of nine) on the Saturday before Christmas. Although we had reserved our afternoon tea the month prior and received a text confirmation the day of, it was 20 minutes before anyone came to take our tea order, and 50 minutes by the time everyone in the group had received her pot of tea. Overall, we think Prince Tea Houses would be ideal for an impromptu, affordable afternoon tea that fits all schedules as they uniquely offer afternoon tea from morning to night.

afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
A blend of traditional European and modern Asian decor
afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
A pony wall topped with artificial lavender flowers lends the back booth tables privacy
the afternoon tea reviewers of Destination Tea
The Renals ladies, some of Destination Tea’s most diligent reviewers

Tea Selection

tea arrives at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
The Prince Tea House menu is an actual book, with detailed descriptions of its tea offerings. Each guest chooses their own pot. The hot and slightly sweet jasmine milk tea was an instant favorite with the teen set. We also enjoyed the Mango Black and Pu erh teas, and especially that every tea was perfectly steeped and decanted before coming to the table.
teapots at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
We noted that matching teacups and teapots helped our server know whose tea was whose. The 4-cup? teapots held plenty of tea to enjoy and to share, though something in the design caused the full teapot to spill as you poured the first cup.
prosecco at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
Prosecco is an add-on option, as well as other drink choices, including mocktails and coffee

Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets

three-tiered tray at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
More than one hour after our reserved teatime, the tiered trays arrived. At first glance, we like the ratio of savory to sweet.
finger sandwiches at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
A presentation of the tiered tray wasn’t made, so we decided the savories were: smoked salmon with roe, wasabi deviled egg with toasted sesame seeds, cucumber with tzatziki, pastrami with swiss cheese and thyme, and tuna salad with lemon. The cucumber and smoked salmon were the group’s favorites.
scones at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
Although not a traditional scone (this one had more of a cake texture), the generous size and soft inside was to everyone’s liking, especially with the cream and jam. One spreading knife was provided, but we would have liked individual tea knives for spreading condiments on our scones (we made do with clean teaspoons).
dessert at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
Although the macarons were nothing to write home about, the moist chocolate pots and coconut mousse topped with whipped cream and fruit were delightful and perfectly portioned.
afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach

Afternoon tea guests at Prince Tea House are asked to allow themselves one and a half hours at their table. Perhaps because our food and drink had been delayed, we were not rushed out. We saw more of our servers towards the end of the meal, as the teahouse emptied in the late afternoon, and they were gracious and asking if we needed anything.

tea to-go at afternoon tea at Prince Tea House in Virginia Beach
Do not worry about your delicious tea going to waste – a to-go cup is provided!
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DestinationTea
Tea Voyageuse, discovering the world of afternoon tea, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

2 Comments

  1. I love that they give you to-go cups for leftover tea. I’m hoping to make my way down to the Hampton Roads tea rooms starting next year, so thank you for sharing!

    Reply

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