Thursday, December 20, 2012

The Madison Tea Room & Garden

Yesterday I met my friend Maureen (a/k/a tea blogger ParTea Lady) at the Madison Tea Room & Garden in Madison, Ga. It's about 85 miles from my house and was a very easy, pleasant drive. (Newnan friends: You take 85 North to 285-East and then I-20 East to Madison. You avoid downtown Atlanta traffic and when you get off the interstate, you're just a few miles from lovely downtown Madison and the tea room.)

So many tea rooms have closed in recent years that I was quite thrilled to learn of this one when I saw the ad in Tea Time magazine. When Maureen agreed to meet me there (it's a bit closer for her), I was so happy. And here we are at the tea room!

The hats are courtesy of the Madison Tea Room, which has lots of gorgeous ones you are encouraged to try on for photographs.

Maureen and I had made the earliest reservations for tea, and since we arrived first it was nice to be able to flit around a bit and check out this gorgeous tea room! I am very drawn to light, and the pretty white furnishings, tablecloths, and natural light on a sunny (and 67-degree!) day were just wonderful.

The decor at this tearoom was an early indication that this place would be a class act. The teacups, by the way, are for sale if you happen to want one you see or use!

And since several of us have Christmas teacups featuring this pattern, I thought you'd enjoy seeing these being used in Madison.

Whole tables of them for some Red Hatters who came in later! (Jealous!)

But enough of that, you're wondering what we had to eat, right?

Well, here are the savories!

Maureen "styled" her plate of savories, so I did the same. From top, clockwise, are chicken salad and turkey tea sandwiches, a mini-quiche, and cucumber and then egg salad tea sandwiches. The mini-quiche was my favorite of the savories, I think, but everything was good and very fresh-tasting.

Our scones were cranberry scones, and they were quite good. Very light, fresh and fruity. Good scones = good tea experience in my book!

Oh, and speaking of tea, here's the friendly proprietress, Kathi, pouring some of the "house blend" of tea, which was a currant-flavored black tea. Guests are encouraged to try it, but other teas are available for those who prefer something else. Maureen and I both liked the currant tea and sipped lots of it, because our server did a great job of keeping our cups topped off with tea. As a result we got to enjoy lots of "catching up" during the course of our teatime.

And the sweets? Well, I was running out of room for them (despite having skipped breakfast), but I did my best to eat the cream puff, lemon bar, brownie bite and a super light and moist cake topped with a fluffy white frosting dusted with coconut. I managed to eat at least some of everything--all delicious! I definitely recommend tea at the Madison Tea Room, and the $16.95 price was a good value. Tomorrow: The Madison Tea Room's gift shop and what I came home with!

15 comments:

  1. What a lovely tea room. Loved seeing the decor, tablescapes and delicious foods. Thank you for sharing it with us. Will anxiously await your post about the gift shop and the treasure[s] you brought home! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is a beautiful tea room, I had lunch there last month wuth a friend, thanks for sharing your day Angela.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How lovely! I wish that plate of goodies was sitting right here with me:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, what fun! That's a lovely tea room, I would like to take a field trip down there for tea one of these days. Thanks for sharing it, and I will look forward to seeing what you found in the gift shop.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The tea room is exquisite Angela, and the price very reasonable for all the yummy food. I had to smile at two tea bloggers fluffing their food for photos. You two look nice posing with the hats on.
    Oh, I'll eat more than necessary at a tea room too, just for the culinary experience. Thanks for sharing your day.
    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, this looks like a fun place to visit! Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. Can't wait to see what treasure you found!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for sharing this lovely tearoom with us! Hopefully I'll be able to visit someday!
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  8. This TeaRoom was on the Greenville Gals To Do list for Christmas but my surgery spoiled all our plans. But with your recomendation we will try again in the Spring.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing your lovely lunch with us. Looks like you had a great time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so happy you and Maureen were able to have tea at this lovely tea room in Madison. Thanks for taking photos of the pretty Christmas china for us to see.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is one classy tearoom. Beautifully done. I love the hutch. Who makes that Christmas china? Royal Albert?
    Smiling at your fun day and knowing how much we would all enjoy it too.
    Ruthie from Lady B,s

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh Angela, this tea room looks wonderful! Your photos are beautiful, it looks like Kathi has thought of everything for this tea room. The food looks delicious and how about that hutch, wow! I would love to take a trip over there one of these days. Thanks for sharing your review, Joanie

    ReplyDelete
  13. Everyone else seemes to have said what I wanted to say. What a lovely tearoom!

    ReplyDelete
  14. How lovely! Such beautiful decor would make tea time a serene experience. Love the hats!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, if I could find a tea room with prices like that, I would go much more often. $25.00 and up is just too steep. I am glad you enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment! It makes my day to hear from readers!