Tea Room Review: Afternoon Tea at Lady Camellia in Alexandria, Virginia

My first afternoon tea experience was in 2014 at a tea room in Georgetown. Although I would drink tea on occasion whenever I would visit Ma and Pa, I was definitely more of a coffee drinker at the time. I still thought afternoon tea would be a cool thing to “try out once” and I could pretend I was Jo March from Little Women or Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. When I arrived to that tea room back in 2014, I was in awe at how adorable the decor was, how delicate and delicious the food tasted, and how luxurious and enjoyable drinking tea in a Royal Albert tea cup could be. This place was named Lady Camellia.

Since 2014, I visited Lady Camellia in Georgetown several times: with Xak, with my friends, with family members, and I even co-hosted a bachelorette party there. Unfortunately in 2020, I was saddened to hear the news that Lady Camellia had closed. 

In 2022, Lady Camellia announced they would re-open a new location, this time in Old Town Alexandria. Xak and I were thrilled for the revival of the home to my first tea room experience. We decided to book a reservation for October 2023 to see if we could relive the nostalgia and happiness from our previous visits.

October in Virginia can be hit or miss. Sometimes it feels like crisp Autumn, other days will feel like it’s scorching hot summer, and there’s even been snow in the past. Basically, October is a mixed bag when it comes to weather, and you don’t know what to wear until you wake up.

Fortunately for us, this particular day was quite pleasant and seasonally appropriate. Sweaters to keep away any chill, but still comfortable enough to walk around outdoors. A perfect day for afternoon tea.

Exploring Old town Alexandria

The new Lady Camellia is located on Strand Street in Old Town Alexandria, mere steps away from the waterfront, parks, and the popular King Street Mile. 

There is quite a bit to do in the area, and Xak and I specifically arrived earlier than our reservation to make sure that we were able to find parking and also to walk around on such a beautiful day.

Parking

Since Old Town Alexandria is such a popular tourist attraction, don’t expect free parking.

Although there are several options for parking ranging from street meters, above ground lots, and parking garages, these options typically range from $10-$20 and can vary from a few hours to all day.

Strand Lot is the parking lot right across the street from the tea room for $10 all day parking. It’s actually not really a parking lot: more like uncovered gravel on the ground. However, the proximity to the tea room and the price is a lot better than some other options I saw.

For this lot, you pay cash upon entering, and the parking attendant tells you where to park. Note: you cannot drive out of the parking lot and return without having to pay another $10.

Since parking can vary based on where you park (street meter vs lot vs garage) and when you park (weekday vs weeknight vs weekend), I would strongly advise you to spend a few minutes looking at the parking information on the City of Alexandria website before going to tea. 

It might prevent you from having to frantically download an app to pay for the garage that you parked in, only to find out… there’s no cell service. Doing the research helped us make sure we had cash on hand.

Exploring The Town

Since Old Town Alexandria is a nationally designated historic district, you can expect really intriguing architecture, colorful building fronts, unique boutiques, and a variety of international cuisine options. If shopping isn’t your thing but you still want to explore, a little further down is the Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Carlyle House Historic Park.

While not exactly the same as a saccharine Hallmark movie set, you will likely have the uncontrollable urge to take photos. For example, we noticed that the residents of Old Town really appreciated Halloween, as evident from some of the truly impressive decorations on display.

Xak and I had about an hour to kill before we had to head into our reservation so we walked around, spinning Pokestops, and admiring the decor on such a beautiful Autumn day. 

about Lady Camellia

Reservation Process

Reservations can be made on the Lady Camellia website via the Open Table service. A reservation is for 1.5 hours and can include up to 3 children. You can make a reservation up to one month in advance. 

Although the official tea room hours of operation are listed on the site, you’ll see available times for your selected day when you make your reservation. Our reservation was scheduled for 1:15 PM.

For large groups and private events, the reservation is handled through a different form and includes different options based on party size, as well as a minimum price and additional service. You can choose to rent out part of the tea room or rent out the entire place.

The Tea Room

After walking around Old Town for about an hour, we finally headed over to the tea room to make sure we arrived on time for our 1:15 reservation.

As we entered the tea room, we stopped at the podium to check in. Although we arrived about 5 minutes earlier than our reservation, we were told we could be seated and headed to a table in the back near the large windows.

The huge windows showed a great view of… the parking lot. The good news is, if you parked in the $10 gravel lot, at least you can see your car from where you sit and feel some reassurance that it’s still there. Beyond the parking lot is the water, and you will likely see passing boats during your visit (we saw quite a few).

Decor

Despite the parking lot view, there was a lot of light pouring in through the windows and it made the surroundings seem very pleasant. The decor seemed quite elegant including some interesting chandeliers, mirrors, wall paper, white tables, and comfortable plush chairs along with bench seating against a wall.

I noticed a collapsible partition separating the room into two parts if it was closed. This is likely how the place hosts private events while still maintaining space for regular customers.

However, the place is extremely loud. There was some background music playing (which I discovered when I went to the bathroom), however it was completely inaudible due to the roar of conversations floating around the room.

We were seated quite closely to other tables and everyone could hear snippets of everyone else’s conversations. Definitely not the best place for a sensitive business meeting.

However, despite the noise, the place still seemed very lovely to have a nice cup of tea.

Tea Selection

There is a large tea menu to choose from, however you’re only allowed one flavor of tea per pot. English Breakfast was a no-brainer for me, but I did find myself briefly tempted by the Meyer Lemon. If it tasted anything like the Lemon Drop tea I had previously, I would be a very happy customer. However, nothing is guaranteed in life but death, taxes, and the deliciousness of English Breakfast tea, so I decided to stick with my reliable English Breakfast instead of being brave. Xak decided he wanted to try the Assam tea this time. He never gets the same tea twice.

At our table were sugar cubes (yay!) and tongs. The tongs were actually meant to grab the food off the 3 tiered tray, but I used it for sugar cubes instead because I somehow missed the spoon sitting in the sugar bowl. Our server asked if we wanted any milk for our tea and brought out a tiny pitcher

The teacups and plates were Royal Albert (Miranda Kerr collection), which is what the previous Lady Camellia in Georgetown had. The tea pots were plain white tea pots, filled with your selected tea leaf flavor. A strainer is available for each guest to place on the teacup and catch any stray leaves while pouring out the tea.

I usually let English Breakfast tea steep for about 4-5 minutes, however I realized I wasn’t sure if the tea was already pre-steeped and ready to drink or if I needed to wait. Since there were no timers on the table, I figured the tea was probably good enough to drink. Although not as strong as I liked, Xak and I both happily sipped our tea while we reviewed the food menu.

Food

There are several different tea experience options with a wide range of food combinations. One of the options that is unique to Lady Camellia is the inclusion of “High Tea.” While I’ve been to various tea rooms that advertise themselves as “traditional British High Tea,” in reality this is actually inaccurate. Most people likely assume “high” tea equates to “high society” however high tea is supposed to be a heartier meal and not dainty crustless sandwiches or delicate petit fours.

Despite what may be advertised, most tea rooms that I’ve been to serve “afternoon tea” which consists of your traditional sandwiches, scones, and desserts along with a cup of tea. In this case though, the use of “high” tea actually seems accurate since it included a “soufflé” or an “English pie of choice” intended to be consumed as a meal. 

In total, Lady Camellia offers the following options ranging from $30 – $65 (as of October 2023):

• Cream Tea: 3 scones/croissants and 1 tea flavor
• Light Tea: 5 desserts and 1 tea flavor
• Savory Tea: 3 tea sandwiches and 1 tea flavor
• Soufflé Tea: 1 Souffle , 1 tea flavor
• English Pie Tea: 1 English Pie, 1 tea flavor
• Full Tea: 2 tea sandwiches, 2 scones/croissants, 4 desserts, 1 tea flavor
• High Tea: 1 Soufflé or English Pie, 2 scones/croissants, 4 desserts, 1 tea flavor

There’s also an option to have “Tea for Two” which is the Full Tea option plus 1 additional sandwich, 1 scone/croissant, and 1 extra tea flavor. Xak and I ended up choosing the Full Tea for each of us meaning we had a rather large meal to look forward to.

Unlike most other tea rooms I’ve visited, instead of a set menu where the tea room serves you what they want you to have, the customer actually gets to select every single option. This is either great or awful depending on if you like to make decisions.

The menu is quite large and there are also some seasonal options available not listed on the menu. When we were seated, our server verbally told us pumpkin macarons and pumpkin creme brulee were available. Unfortunately, another seasonal option, the mimosa macaron, was out that day.

Since Xak and I wanted to try as much as we could from the menu, we decided to avoid ordering overlapping selections. This meant carefully selecting our choices, writing down what we wanted, and then reviewing the list together to make sure we didn’t mess up what we were ordering.

And here I thought afternoon tea was supposed to be a relaxing thing. 😄 Needless to say, it took us quite a bit of time to make sure we knew what we were ordering.

We were however, very pleased when our order arrived.

Tea Sandwiches

Unlike most tea places, Lady Camellia actually gives you a full sandwich. I’ve been to some tea rooms where the sandwiches are pretty but downright petite. These sandwiches were hefty. While they weren’t necessarily the neatest or prettiest sandwiches (ex. crusts weren’t cleanly cut off), it’s all about substance over style for me.

The menu says you get two sandwiches, but really you actually get 4 finger sandwiches (1 sandwich = 2 halves). This is especially wonderful if you go with another afternoon tea lover (like Xak) because then you can split sandwiches for variety.

For our sandwiches, we chose the following:

• Egg Salad
• Cucumber
• Chicken Salad
• Brie & Apple

For my choices, I stuck with the classic egg salad and traditional cucumber sandwiches that are so customary for tea. Xak chose the chicken salad and brie & apple. The only sandwich we weren’t able to taste was the smoked salmon. Although both Xak and I enjoy salmon for dinner, he’s not a big fan of smoked salmon (or lox) on bagels which is what the sandwich would likely be similar to. I was a little disappointed because I do enjoy smoked salmon, but trying 4 out of 5 sandwiches is still pretty good.

We each loaded our plate with one half of the sandwiches (4 halves for each of us) and dove in.

Cucumber Sandwich

I can never resist ordering a cucumber sandwich while I’m out for tea. They are so classic, iconic, and so refreshing. However, by now I’ve realized that the way I make cucumber sandwiches is different from how a professional tea room makes them. The sandwich was jam packed with thinly sliced cucumbers, reminiscent to how apple slices are cut for a pie. While there was an herby flavor that I enjoyed in the cream cheese, it was an extremely thin layer.

If I had my way, I would have swapped the ratio of cream cheese with the cucumbers!

Egg Salad Sandwich

I love egg salad and deviled eggs and I make both often at home. I like to use paprika and relish in my deviled eggs because it adds a little extra crunch and a lot of flavor. Most egg sandwiches that I’ve had at tea rooms typically do not have much seasoning and tend to taste like a cut up hard boiled egg without any salt. This particular sandwich did have something to it… but not too much seasoning or flavor. The green in it might have been watercress. This was better than most tea room egg sandwiches I’ve had, but still not very exciting.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

I was surprised that Xak chose chicken salad sandwiches because we had made them recently for an afternoon tea at home. However, I am so happy he ordered them! These sandwiches had a much different flavor from the ones that we make. While our sandwiches taste more like a deli rotisserie chicken salad, Lady Camellia’s version had a very assertive, well seasoned flavor with some crunch. It contained a sweet or tangy ingredient that puzzled both Xak and me, but nonetheless was extremely tasty.

Overall, this was my favorite sandwich and one of the highlights of our visit. I wish we had gotten all chicken salad sandwiches! 

Brie and Apple Sandwich

The first time I ever had a brie and apple sandwich was at the original Lady Camellia in Georgetown back in 2014. Since then, I’ve tried to recreate it myself at some of my own afternoon teas since I never seem to find it at other tea rooms or in cafes. Brie is a delicious cheese as is, but also really tasty when baked or part of the leek tartlets I like to make.

Although it’s been a couple years since I’ve had a brie and apple sandwich at tea, it was as delicious as I remembered! The brie slab was cut quite thickly, but it had a good amount of creaminess and saltiness while the apple had the right amount of crunch and sweetness. Paired together, it was really delicious!

Xak definitely chose the best sandwiches today.

Scones and croissants

While most tea rooms will usually offer scones as the second tier on the tray, another unique offering at Lady Camellia is the 2 choices of scones, croissants, or a mix of the two for full tea. Xak and I both love scones and croissants and we were eager to try 4 out of the 5 selections. We ended up choosing the following:

• Plain Scone
• White Chocolate Cranberry Scone
• Apple Croissant
• Pain Au Chocolat

Unfortunately, since we were limited to four, we weren’t able to try the plain croissant during our visit, but hopefully Xak will make another batch of croissants soon. We decided to split our scone and croissant selections in half so we could both have a taste.

Plain Scone

I chose the plain scone since scones is what makes afternoon tea “afternoon tea“. I strongly feel that an afternoon tea without scones is just eating a large lunch (with dessert).

The scone was large and had toppled over instead of rising straight while baking. I took my half of the scone and slathered it with the provided Devonshire cream. On one side I used the strawberry preserves and the other with lemon curd. Usually I would eat the lemon curd plain on the other half of the scone, but I briefly forgot I had given Xak the other half! Oh well, I would just have to eat everything all together.

The scone was sweet and well baked, perhaps even a touch over baked since it was a little crunchy. I preferred it with the lemon curd. Overall, the scone was fine.

Pain au Chocolat

While I normally would eat a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) at a coffee shop, I was delighted to see this on the menu and chose this for my second selection. The pastry was very flaky and I enjoyed the little bit of chocolate filling in my half. Overall, it was very tasty and I wish I didn’t have to share half of it with Xak 😀

White Chocolate Cranberry Scone

I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate, but I do eat it when it’s paired with raspberry or cranberry. Xak likes to use white chocolate in his bakes and chose this for his scone selection. I couldn’t really detect the white chocolate flavor and the cranberry in the scone had a little bit of an overdone fruit flavor. The scone bake seemed a little bit on the overcooked side with some crispy edges. It was surprisingly not as sweet as the plain scone. Luckily, it made a good vessel for the lemon curd.

Apple Croissant

Xak chose the apple croissant because it seemed like a perfect seasonally appropriate treat. It reminded me of an apple turnover or an apple hand pie. The pastry was buttery, nice and flaky and the filling had some warm spices. We both enjoy apple desserts during fall (like apple crisp or apple cider donuts) so this was a great choice. This was listed on the main menu so you can likely get it year round, but don’t quote me on this!

Overall, our favorite selections were ironically the croissants and not the scones.

Desserts

Choosing 4 desserts each is a big task. Choosing 8 desserts is even more difficult. There are quite a bit of macaron flavors on the menu and even though we LOVE macarons, we didn’t want to have an entire tray full of macarons (although that actually sounds delightful). Both of us are huge macaron fans in terms of eating and making them ourselves and we have great respect for bakers who excel at making this wonderful cookie. 

Our 8 dessert selections ended up being the following:

• Pumpkin Macaron
• Chocolate Hazelnut Macaron
• Lemon Macaron
• Chocolate Pot de Creme
• Red Velvet Tea Cake
• Chocolate Tea Cake
• Blueberry Tartlet
• Strawberry Tartlet

We split up our respective desserts onto our own plates. Unlike previous courses, we decided to be selective on which desserts to split. It’s pretty hard to cut a macaron or a thick pastry shell in half, and we weren’t in the mood to make a mess of things.

Pumpkin Macaron

Xak loves pumpkin flavored everything: lattes, scones, creamer, etc. If you wonder who actually buys those obscure pumpkin flavored items in the grocery store that pop up around October, you can bet it has made its way to our house.

When our server mentioned earlier that the pumpkin macaron was a seasonal offering (and not listed on the permanent menu), Xak (and I) immediately knew it would be one of his 4 dessert choices.

The pumpkin macaron was very tasty and I was glad I snagged a small bite. Xak particularly enjoyed the appearance of the macaron since the color was dark orange on the outside and light orange on the inside. He also greatly appreciated the light pumpkin flavored filling. Not too sweet, not too dense, but just right.

Just like a pumpkin!

-a happy xak, in regards to the pumpkin macaron’s colorful appearance

Chocolate Hazelnut Macaron

Chocolate hazelnut is a good combination. I don’t know many people who would turn down a Ferrero Rocher or a scoop of Nutella. Xak is one of those people and then some. He also drinks Chocolate Hazelnut tea often at home which is why he chose this as one of his four desserts. Unfortunately, since macarons are typically made with almond flour, the hazelnut and the almond flour made the macaron predominantly taste more nutty than chocolate. Xak stated that the filling was dense and he would have preferred just a chocolate macaron (or even another pumpkin macaron).

Lemon Macaron

As a huge lemon fan, I had high hopes for this. Since I decided against getting the lemon tea, I was happy to still have some lemon as a part of my meal. Unfortunately the bottom of each macaron cookie tasted a little overdone and left a slight lingering unpleasant aftertaste. Although the lemon flavor did come through, I found myself sipping my tea to wash away the overbaked flavor. I sadly looked at Xak wishing we had picked (yet again), another pumpkin macaron instead.

Chocolate Tea Cake

For some reason, thanks to hours of watching Great British Bake Off, I was expecting my chocolate tea cake to consist of a cookie base topped with marshmallow and then encased in a chocolate dome. The chocolate tea cake I actually received seemed more like a denser chocolate cupcake with a very thick and rich layer of chocolate icing. I’m not a huge icing fan, but I do love almost all chocolate cakes. I personally would have liked it better with less icing and more cake, but overall not bad.

Strawberry Tartlet

Tartlets are always so pretty during afternoon tea. I love seeing the fresh glazed fruit on top of a pillow of cream, enveloped in a crispy pastry shell. Fruit tarts always have such vibrant colors and look so appetizing. Xak and I decided we would each eat our own tartlets.

For this tartlet, the strawberry was delicious, and I felt like I was having breakfast at Wimbledon only I was eating a modified version of the famous strawberries and cream. The pastry shell was quite thick, but in general tartlet shells tend to be thick to provide support and prevent leakage. The tartlet shell flavor wasn’t too memorable, but I’ve always seen tartlet shells as just an edible receptacle to keep your fingers clean and to not have to use silverware. Overall, i did enjoy the strawberry and the cream filling which tasted like the Devonshire cream.

Blueberry Tartlet

Xak enjoys eating and making tartlets but prefers blueberries over strawberries. In fact, he chose this tartlet at our previous visits to the Georgetown Lady Camellia. However, today Xak was a little disappointed. Being a crust fan, he was surprised to find that his normally favorite part was actually his least favorite part of the dessert.

Red Velvet Teacake

I am more of a devil’s food cake person while Xak prefers red velvet. Even though red velvet is a chocolate-ish cake (using cocoa for the coloring), the standard cream cheese icing makes a big difference. While Xak liked his tea cake, I could also see that he was starting to reach his tolerance level for sweet desserts.

Chocolate pot de crème

I’ve never had a pot de crème before, and I googled it prior to ordering. I quickly realized that this is basically an adult pudding cup and I’m totally ok with that. Pot de crème is french for “pot of custard” or “pot of cream” and because it’s chocolate, it reminded me of a chocolate mousse which I enjoy a lot. There was also a little bit of whipped cream on top. The chocolate wasn’t as sweet as the snack packs from my lunch box growing up, and in fact tasted almost a little bitter. However, as an adult now, I think that’s ok!

Dessert wise, both Xak and I had chosen some hits and misses.

Overall there was quite a lot of food to eat within our 1.5 hour reservation. During our meal, our server filled up our water glasses and asked if we wanted hot water refills for the leaves in our tea pots. I ended up drinking about 2 pots of tea, and we know what that means…

Restrooms

As always, I like to visit tea room restrooms since I feel like it says a lot about the place. Also because, when you drink 1-2 pots of tea, it’s probably a smart thing to do before getting in the car for a long drive.

The two bathrooms are located away from the dining room area, and to the right of the cash register. The bathrooms are single occupancy, very large, and clean with no unflattering overhead fluorescent lighting. One thing that I especially liked was the in use/vacant notice depending on the door lock status. This means people know when the bathroom is occupied and you don’t have to worry about awkwardly knocking and hoping the occupant responds and vice versa. I wish more bathrooms had this.

Strangely enough, the bathroom is the only place you can hear the background music which turned out to be an instrumental jazz trio featuring a piano, standup bass, and some light drum brushes. I grooved out momentarily while washing my hands before returning to our table to settle the bill.

Payment

The total for our visit (2 people) was $150~. This includes an automatic 18% gratuity and also tax which is listed on the menu. Since I had looked at the menu online, the total wasn’t a complete surprise but I still felt some sticker shock since this is quite a bit of money.

Add the price for parking ($10-$20), and you have an expensive meal. We paid with a credit card at our table and waited to sign the final check before heading out.

Final Thoughts

While some of the food was hit or miss, overall the tea room is a very pleasant place and Xak and I could not help but continuously grin at each other like the jack-o-lanterns we saw during our walk throughout Old Town Alexandria. 

While I remember having to choose selections when I previously visited Lady Camellia before 2020, I’ve gotten used to being served a set menu decided by the tea room, and not having to personally worry about making several decisions before ordering.

If Xak and I return, we will definitely go with the less expensive “Tea for Two” option: 

• 2 tea flavors
• 3 sandwiches (2 Chicken Salad, 1 Brie and Apple)
• 3 scones/croissants (Pain au chocolat, Plain croissant, Apple Croissant)
• 4 desserts (2 Pots de creme, 2 Pumpkin Macarons (if available))

1. This makes the afternoon tea $82 (without gratuity/tax) versus $114 (without gratuity/tax). Still pricey, but that’s $32 that stays in my pocket.
2. Based on what we liked, we would be able to get exactly what we wanted versus ordering things we didn’t necessarily want that were included in the full tea.

I would also be interested in trying the high tea options because a hearty Beef Bourguignon English pie or a savory Spinach Mushroom soufflé sounds awesome. 

I do miss the quaint, very pink Georgetown location including the special table with the bay window seating at the front of the original tea room. This location will always hold a very special place in my heart. It is where I was introduced to afternoon tea, and also one of the reasons why I love it so much today.

My experience is sadly not the same as what I remembered, however I am still so happy that Lady Camellia has returned. It gives another option for those of us in the DC metro area to experience the joys of afternoon tea in a beautiful place.  

Bonus: Coffee at Misha’s (mini review)

As Xak and I walked out of Lady Camellia, instead of heading directly across the street to go to our car, Xak insisted we go back to a coffee shop we saw upon arrival. His rationale: coffee isn’t the same as tea. I can’t argue with that.

We stopped by Misha’s which was a whopping one minute walk away from Lady Camellia. Even though it was almost 3 PM, there were still quite a bit of selections in the display case including sausage rolls, Austrian Apple strudel, and a tray full of donuts (!!)

Although there were signs for some seasonal specials, Xak surprisingly ordered my standard order of a Cafe Mocha to go. While we waited, I contemplated if my stomach had room for the slice of coconut cake on the cake stand but decided to resist.

When Xak’s order was called, he retrieved it and returned, placing it on top of the counter for me to see his uncovered to-go cup. To my surprise, there was latte art! At most coffee shops we go to, to-go orders tend to not do anything special since the drink is covered with a plastic lid, so we were very pleased to see this little detail added.

As we headed out of the coffee shop and back to the gravel parking lot, we reflected on what a wonderful day it had been and when our next tea (and coffee) trip would be! Perhaps we’ll do another double feature soon with a proper scone and doughn(ut). 😊

Have you been to Lady Camellia? If so, what did you think?