Where: Park Ridge, Illinois Style: Traditional Tea Selection: 10 loose leaf TeaLula teas paired to the menu Teatimes: Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 1:30 (last seating) Reservations: 48-hour notice Contact: Reserve here or 847-696-0515 Cost: $55 Afternoon Tea Destination Tea Tips: A happy surprise awaited us after our tea: it includes a drink to-go from the tea shop, giving you the opportunity to explore TeaLula’s wall of teas as you wait for your order. We advise leaving yourself time to discover which uniquely flavored loose leaf teas and tea gifts you want to take home.
Destination Tea Notes: According to owner Sheila Duda, TeaLula’s tearoom has been more than twenty years in the making. In 2005, when she attended a course, “How to Open A Tearoom,” led by one of her tea mentors — Bruce Richardson of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas (who educated us at the TeaTime in Alabama Retreat) — she couldn’t wait to open her tearoom in Park Ridge, a Chicago suburb. But because the space she found would only suit a tea shop, she had to put her tearoom dreams on hold, until May 2023. Finally, after breaking through two brick walls to expand into the next two adjoining spaces, Sheila completed renovations and announced TeaLula’s new tearoom, “designed to foster meaningful connections and conversations.”
We are so glad that she made her dream a reality because the afternoon tea at TeaLula is lovely. Smartly, Sheila paired her extensive expertise in serving quality loose leaf teas with the refined culinary skills of Chef Jeffrey Scialabba, who honed his craft readying upscale afternoon teas, such as at Chatham Bars Inn (in our Massachusetts Afternoon Tea Directory). Small unexpected joys abound here, from an amuse bouche, to tea nametags on our teapots, and an included to-go drink from the tea shop next door. The presentation was flawless and the service was attentive, but never hurried. If you live in the Chicago area, we think this should be a top pick for inviting friends and family to experience an afternoon tea that will delight them from start to finish.
Loving the historic recessed storefronts, and how pockets of tiled floors in the window seating areas add character to four semi-private nooks for tea-for-two.
Glossy white no-frills tables are accented by black bistro chairs and turquoise walls and teacups (drawing on the TeaLula logo’s colors).
Tea people are some of the best people, right? “Our tea is sourced from reputable gardens that care about their employees as much as we care for ours.”
A simple, elegant place setting
Tea Selection
From their extensive variety of teas in the shop, we were grateful they had selected teas that would pair nicely with their prepared recipes. We went with the Milky Oolong (a favorite of Angela’s), Tea Royale, Raspberry Goddess and Madagascar Fine Bourbon, happily pouring for each other to find new favorites.
Each guest’s three-cup teapot was cleverly tagged so that we couldn’t mix up our teas. And our server Nadyia showed us how we could tip our teapot lids to signal that our pots were in need of refills. We smiled to see this custom, known to veteran tea drinkers, but not too often practiced in American tearooms.
A silver cream and sugar service with honey cup
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
As we awaited our teas, we were each served a Goat Cheese Hummus Cucumber canapé.
Our preferred balance of savory to sweet on the three-tiered tray allows you to try everything without becoming overly full: 4 savories, 2 scones with spreads, and 2 desserts with fresh fruit.
Another sweet touch that added to the fun – we used an ornate tart server to fill our tea plates.
Tea sandwiches with outside-the-box flavor combinations were each very yummy, including: Chick and Artie (chicken, artichoke hearts and arugula with blue cheese pesto on toasted challah bread), Strawberries and Cream (cream cheese, heavy cream, basil and strawberries), Egg-Sparagus (eggs and asparagus with golden saffron mayo) and It Shore Is Spring! (lobster and crawfish with white truffle mayo and crispy mortadella).
More the traditional English scone (not soft), we liked the 2-inch rounds that allowed us to try both flavors without overdoing it: Foxmont Country House Irish Scones and Chocolate Chip. These were served with house made clotted cream (possibly a mock clotted cream?), jam and lemon curd.
Cheesecake Domes and Coconut Cake served with fresh fruit finished the afternoon tea.
In TeaLula’s original tea shop, Angela found a Rose Marzipan blend to take home (so delicious!)
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.
