Greentree Antiques & Tearoom in Lexington, Kentucky

On Wednesday last week, I had the pleasure of joining the Traveling Tea Friends for a lunchtime tea at Greentree Antiques & Tearoom in Lexington, Kentucky. The weather was a little overcast, but our spirits definitely were not!

The March Tea had a St. Patrick's Day theme, of course, and the tables were elegant and waiting for our arrival.

Here are some of the group settling in. From left are Phyllis, Maureen, Mary and Lynn.

On a cold day nothing warms like a hot soup, and I eagerly tucked into this Potato Leek Soup. Divine! I had skipped breakfast in anticipation of the lunchtime tea, so I was quite ready to eat by this time! The tea served was Irish Blend Tea, and we all noted how the servers were so great about topping off our cups without our having to ask.

Next came our scones, which were Irish Oat Scones served with Blackberry Jam and Fayette Cream. I've never had this flavor of scone before but I very much enjoyed it.

This is one of those tea rooms where you also get an entree for lunch, and ours was a heaping serving of Spanakopita, a savory Greek pastry made with spinach and cheese. I hear this is usually made in individual portions with the filling wrapped in an outer layer of phyllo, but for a large serving situation like this one it is made by the pan, and the phyllo is incorporated into the layers. All I can tell you is, it was amazing, and I ate every bite of mine!

Greentree has a unique way of serving the tea sandwiches and desserts. Once we had our Spanakopita, we were invited to the back of the tea room where this buffet was waiting.

The sandwich flavors included Corned Beef and Poppy Seed Egg Salad, both good, and my favorite, these Benedictine Tea Sandwiches made with a famous cucumber spread. Linda blogged about the history of Benedictine Sandwiches here.

Here's my plate of buffet foods, including the tea sandwiches mentioned above and the sweets, which were, from left, Bailey's Fudge, Pistachio Cupcakes and Greentree French Filled Wafers. I must confess that I was really quite full after the entree, so I ate my tea sandwiches and then managed just a bite of the sweets. I enjoyed it all, and I certainly did not leave hungry.

Naturally we had to check out Greentree's antiques before we left. Doesn't this display just take your breath?

Their selection of teawares was exquisite! It was a terrific lunch tea, and I enjoyed not only getting to go to tea in a lovely new setting but also getting to enjoy a different "style" of tea as well!