The Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room: Worth the Wait?

For those of you who follow our blog regularly, you may remember a post we did in September about Tea Rooms in Los Angeles. I began this journey trying to get a reservation at The Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room which was nearly impossible last year. The famous Tea Room had undergone a major remodel; it reopened May 2023 and it seems everyone wanted to take a look. Finally I was able to get a reservation; Harriet and I plus two of our dear friends visited last week. But this has been a nine month ordeal. Was it worth it? Let us give you our take….

The Ambience

The remodel is lovely. From the exterior of the building, to the foyer, to the interiors, the Rose Garden Tea Room has been updated but with a nod to it’s original atmosphere. The project was originally begun in 1911 and opened to the public in 1928. There have been mini tweaks over the years but this was the first major remodel. There was also an outdoor pavillon added which is lovely (although in January it seemed a bit chilly) just outside the Shakespeare Garden. Below I have included a few photos of the Tea Room.

The Rose Garden Tea Room is lovely. Are there other tea rooms in LA that are just as beautiful? There certainly are (The Peninsula or The Langham are gorgeous). But as it is set in The Huntington Gardens, the entire experience makes it worthwhile.

The Menu

Although I believe the menu has evolved since the May reopening, let me discuss our choices. There are two options to chose from: The Traditional Tea or The Huntington Tea. We selected the Traditional Tea which includes the Tea Menu, the Tea Selection and scones. We began with a Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Brut Rose’ rose which is not on the Traditional menu but can be ordered as an addition. Complimenting the rose’ was a selection of scones. The maple butterscotch scone was outstanding. It alone was almost worth the trip!

Next we selected from the Tea Menu. There were 16 different teas to chose from so the choices were difficult. Our favorites were Huntington Signature Blend, Pumpkin Chai Spice and Dark Chocolate Peppermint. These selections change based on the season so don’t expect to have an identical option. As an aside, we were able to purchase several of our favorites at the Gift Shop.

The Traditional Tea consists of Savory and Sweet: seven different savory choices and four selections of sweets. They were all beautifully prepared and quite tasty but the ones we loved the most were the Cucumber with Dill Cream Sandwich, the Cranberry Salad Sandwich and the Curried Carrot and Golden Raisins. All the sweet choices were fabulous.

The Value

As mentioned previously, there are several menu choices at the Rose Garden Tea Room. The Traditional Menu is $62.00 per person while the Huntington Tea is $75.00. There are also quite a few additions if you are interested in a more complete menu. There are also champagne and wine choices which range from $10.00 per glass up to $33.00. This is not an inexpensive tea; however it is certainly not the most expensive tea in Los Angeles. You must, however, purchase an entry ticket to get into Huntington Gardens which is $25.00 per person. That takes the cost to $100.00 and over. So is it worth it?

If you plan on spending time exploring the museums and gardens at The Huntington, then I would say it is worth the price. You then need to allow time to do both. Our reservation was at 12:30; by the time we finished the tea, it was after 2:00; there wasn’t a lot of time to visit much. We did manage to see the rose gardens, the Chinese and Japanese Pavillions (photos follow). If you have not visited Huntington Gardens, it is an expansive property which could literally take days to thoroughly enjoy. If you do choose to visit both the Rose Garden Tea Room and see some of the sights, allow plenty of time. If that is your plan, I would certainly go. I think spring and summer months are preferable because the gardens will be in full bloom.

We had a wonderful experience. You will enjoy this beautiful place.