Restaurant Review: Harmony Tea Room

Hope you all had a great Christmas, I know I did. We even got some snow in! Or should I say, a lot of snow in. We're currently stuck at my parent's house since they canceled our flight back to California because of the blizzard. I have to admit that I've been a little bit upset about this. I love snow, and I am very happy we got to see some while here, but I miss my cats and I'm getting anxious thinking about the mounting mail, laundry pile, and God knows what else is waiting for us when we finally get home. We'll have been gone for almost 2 weeks!

Since I've been so busy here with trying to get in as many visits with people and celebrating the Holiday, I have been away from the computer a lot, so I apologize that this is entry is coming so far away from the last one!

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I love the culture of British tea time. I think my inner girlie girl likes the idea of getting dressed up in florals while eating finger foods and gabbing with my girlfriends. Funny enough, even though I have relatives in England and have spent a lot of time there, it wasn't until after I came home from a summer program abroad that I finally figured out which teas I like. Once that happened I was hooked and I think I'm now mildly obsessed. Some of my friends and I have thrown tea parties, and any time I find a tea shop that serves traditional high tea meals it becomes an instant favorite. One in particular that I really love going to is in Westwood, New Jersey called Harmony Tea Room.

The first few times I went to Harmony Tea Room I wondered how they stay in business. I was usually the only person in the restaurant (besides whoever I was with at the time). But I've gone enough times now to see that they usually do have quite a few tables filled and have special events (like third Sunday brunch, birthday tea parties, showers, etc.) in their separate dining room too. There are times when it is very busy, and then the place feels cramped because the main room is so tiny. But overall, it's a very quaint and relaxing space.

The decor itself is tea and floral themed (really, would you expect anything else) and the places are set with mismatched tea cups and plates. My friends and I love to switch our cups around so we each of the one we like best and we always laugh about how the place turns a bunch of 20somethings into 6 year old little girls.

The tea list is long and while I always get Earl Grey, they have other black teas, green teas, herbal teas, and a favorite of all of my friends, Chocolate Tea. The food itself is traditional tea time fare, scones, sandwiches (I love the turkey and cranberry stuffing one), and cakes (chocolate and peanut butter, white chocolate raspberry, etc.). They also serve salad and soup, and everything changes on a seasonal basis with some of the traditional ones and other favorites (like cucumber sandwiches and chocolate chip scones) being available all year round.

Contrary to what you might think, I've also seen a lot of guys at the restaurant as well. Nick loves it as does one of our friends, and one of my friend's boyfriend is DYING to go.

Harmony Tea Room, is in my opinion, was of the best tea rooms I've ever been to. Considering most tea rooms charge upwards of $30 for a traditional tea and their prices start at $18, it's well worth the money.