Tea Room Review: Afternoon Tea at Gryphon in Savannah, Georgia

I have an unofficial goal to visit as many tea rooms as possible off of I-95, the interstate that runs the length of the East Coast. I say unofficial because realistically this is an impossible task and I don’t want to set myself up for failure. However, I can’t deny the giddiness I feel every time we add another tea room to our growing list. 

During our annual December road trip, we wanted to check off two more tea rooms. In 2023, we made visits to two different South Carolina tea rooms, one called Laura’s Tea Room and another called Top Hat Special Teas. The challenge with December road trips though is finding tea rooms that are open not only during the holiday season, on the exact days that we’re passing through those states.

This particular year, we identified two places that actually fit our traveling schedule. During the  trip down, we planned to check out Gryphon in Savannah, Georgia. This would be my first time spending more than 5 minutes in Georgia and not at a gas station. I don’t know too much about Georgia besides the fact that it’s known for its peaches, so naturally I wondered if we would have a peach themed tea. We found out on December 23, 2024.

About Gryphon

Gryphon is located in the historic district of Savannah as part of the Savannah College of Art and Design campus. The architecture within the district is a sight to behold, and the Gryphon’s Scottish Rite building exterior fits in perfectly.

Before operating as a cafe and tea room, the building was originally used as a Solomon’s Pharmacy for several decades. Inside the building, remnants of Solomon’s still reside in the current environment, providing some of the most unique decor I’ve seen in a tea room.

Although the decor seems appropriate for a candlelight dinner, Gryphon serves lunch, brunch, desserts, and afternoon tea only.

Reservation Process

I like making reservations, particularly online ones that send me a handy email with all the important information I need for my afternoon tea date. Unfortunately, Gryphon does not have any sort of reservation process, online or through the phone. When we called to try and make a reservation, we were informed that it was first come first serve. 😕

Since Xak and I would be traveling from a hotel in South Carolina, we knew we wanted to arrive as early as (reasonably) possible before opening time to ensure that we arrived in time to get a table, have our tea, and make the rest of the drive to our family event in Florida. 

We begrudgingly decide to skip the hotel breakfast buffet… just in case.

Parking

The drive from South Carolina to Georgia takes a few hours, so we were perfectly fine parking a reasonable distance away from the tea room so we could stretch our legs. The most important thing for us is making sure we don’t get towed or that we’re paying more for parking than the tea itself.

On the map, we had seen some nearby parking garages that required only a short walk (about .4 miles) to Gryphon including one called Liberty Street Parking. The rates vary depending on the day and time you visit so it’s worth checking on the Savannah Parking website.

You’ll also find hourly metered street parking which can be paid through an app and free on Sundays. There’s also mentions of a free shuttle on the website so definitely check out the website for information.

The Tea Room

We arrived to the tea room about the 10 minutes before opening…. and there was a line! I’ve only visited one other tea room that did not take reservations, but there was no line to get in. I felt a little bit better that we did in fact skip the breakfast buffet.

When the doors opened, the line slowly moved through the entrance, stopping at the check in counter first before being seated. 

On the floor, there were several tables of various sizes all relatively close to each other. There was a bar with additional seating and also elevated platforms that had tables for two. 

Since it was the holiday season, a grand piano was topped with seasonal decor, and instrumental Christmas carols played through speakers in the background.

There was an enormous paneled chandelier in the center of the patterned ceiling along with smaller Tiffany style pendant lights lining the row of bookshelves and the bar. The windows above the bar area also had what looked like the pharmacy’s original stain glass featuring a mortar and pestle.

Unlike other tea rooms I’ve visited which have featured sun drenched parlors and walls of windows, Gryphon’s ambiance was dark but comfortable; one where you could sit in a worn armchair with a good book, a fireplace roaring, the ticking sound of a grandfather clock, and a hot mug of tea.

Tea Table

The line moved towards the check in counter for parties to be seated. When we were at the front of the line, the hostess mentioned that each table had two hours and then brought us to a small table for two, set with a white table cloth, a tea strainer, tea cups, silverware, and cloth napkins. To our left was a much larger party about an extended arm’s length from us.

Menu and Tea Choices

There were two menus: one for food and one for tea or hot beverages with specialty drinks listed on the other side.

The tea flavors listed on the menu were all from Harney and Sons which is a brand Xak and I drink at home (including a one pound bag of Harney and Sons Assam tea). The flavor of the day was Spiced Plum which seemed like an appropriate flavor for winter time. Xak was sold on the idea and chose that while I decided on English Breakfast.

There were other drinks listed for additional purchase including hot chocolate and specialty drinks that sounded refreshing on a hot day like the Blueberr-e Lemonade, but we decided to just stick with our tea orders.

Customers also have the option to purchase each tier separately instead of ordering a full afternoon tea. Perhaps a good option for those who don’t eat as much as Xak and me.

Our server, Jimmy, came to our table to greet us and take our orders. He also asked if we were interested in learning more about the history of the building, to which I eagerly took him up on.

We learned more about the architectural features including the original Solomon’s medicine cabinet in the back of the restaurant and the restaurant’s name originated from the Gryphon clock which resides in the building, the first electric clock in Savannah.

Jimmy took our tea order and shortly after came out with two teapots. He placed the strainer on top of a cup and poured out our designated tea.

We asked for milk and sugar, and soon a small pitcher of milk and a bowl of sugar cubes (yay) were brought out. I really do love a cup of English Breakfast tea so I was content. However, Xak’s Spiced Plum tea was not as “plum-my” as he hoped. While there were some after notes of spice, the plum seemed non-existent.  What a pl bummer.

Jimmy came out again, this time with our food. Our table was a little on the small side, so the only place to put down the three tiered tray was right in the center partially blocking my view of Xak. While this was unfortunate, at least my view was full of delicious looking desserts!

The three tiered tray contained the following:

Savories

• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Chicken Salad on Pumpernickel rounds

Scones

• Peach Cobbler with Dickinsons Strawberry jam
• Fruit (strawberries and grapes)

Desserts

• Raspberry Spritz Cookie
• Mexican Hot Chocolate tart
• Cranberry Orange Cream tart
• Gingerbread Cream Puff
• Sugar Plum Mousse

Savories

Several tea rooms we have visited tend to serve at least 3 different types of savories. Although Gryphon only served two types, it still amounted to about a full sandwich and a half per person.

The rectangular cucumber sandwiches had thinly cut cucumbers and plain cream cheese, resulting in the familiar neutral flavor commonly found at tea rooms. The chicken salad had creamy chicken and the pumpernickel had been cut into rounds making it easy to consume in two bites. 

Scones

We do not eat enough peach cobbler in our house. I am more of an Apple Crisp person, but I would not be upset if I was served cobbler for dessert. Cobblers are typically made of baked fruit with some sort of dough topping and sugar. It’s like a variation of a pie and should definitely be served with ice cream.

For a peach cobbler scone though, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. We previously had peach scones at afternoon tea before, but what makes something “cobbler”? The scone was served as a triangle with some sparkling sugar. Upon smelling it, I couldn’t really detect the peach. One of the reasons why I’m not a fan of triangular scones is because I can never rip them open without feeling like a 3 year old. 

After doing my best to apply cream and jam, even after tasting it I still was unable to detect the flavor. Too bad. The Dickinsons jam flavor was strawberry, but if it had been peach, I bet that could have helped achieve what they were going for. 

Desserts

The desserts tier that had been blocking my view of Xak the entire meal had a nice variety and both Xak and I were eager to move past the “non-peach cobbler” peach cobbler scones. 

Unfortunately, we realized there was actually only one of each dessert, meaning Xak and I would have to split everything if we wanted to have a taste.

As Xak carefully sliced everything evenly, I wondered if I had arrived as a party of one, would I have been served the same amount of desserts? I tried to casually look around the room to see if I could find the answer.

Apparently during our meal, every single table was completely filled including people sitting at the bar. I noticed that people were also waiting near the front door and the couches for a table to open up. Unfortunately, every single table also had more than one person in a party meaning I would never know how many desserts a single person ordering afternoon tea receives.

Xak handed over my plate of halved desserts and we started with the Raspberry Spritz cookie. I don’t eat too many spritz cookies, but when I do, it is around Christmas time. The cookie was really tasty and had a nice hint of raspberry. I wish I had the other half of the cookie sitting on Xak’s plate. Xak also wished he had the other half of the cookie I had just consumed. Looks like we should start having more spritz cookies year round and not just during Christmas.

The next treat was the Mexican Hot Chocolate tartlet. Xak loves hot chocolate, but Mexican hot chocolate typically has some additional spices and actually uses different chocolate. Sure enough, he was not a fan of this tartlet, but he loved the whipped cream. I didnt’ really care for the whipped cream, but I also didn’t mind the spice in the hot chocolate.

The Cranberry Orange Cream Tart had some really stiff cream with a garnish of what looked like unnecessary rosemary. Luckily, garnishes can be removed. The tart itself was very tasty. Everyone should start serving more cranberry desserts. It’s an easy way to make any meal feel festive.

Red velvet cake is in Xak’s top 10 list of desserts. I much prefer chocolate cakes. While Red Velvet cakes contain cocoa powder, there’s a huge difference between them and a chocolate cake particularly due to the addition of vinegar or buttermilk and the appearance. I do enjoy the cream cheese icing that’s typically on top of a red velvet cake. The red velvet cake we were served had some extra icing on top, resembling a little gift bow. It wasn’t sickeningly sweet, which is always a good thing. Since the bite was so small though, it was fine but fairly forgettable.

I was quite eager though to move on to the next dessert: the gingerbread cream puff. I love gingerbread. I do not like cream puffs. Pastry week on Great British Bake Off is always the worst for me because it tends to feature a lot of profiteroles, eclairs, and croquembouche… all things I respect the talent it takes to make, but not things I personally want to eat. 

As expected, the flavor was great! In fact the entire cream puff was overall pretty good which surprised me. Before today, I had never met a cream puff that I actually liked. Maybe I should start making everything gingerbread flavored to see if I actually like them.

The final dessert was the sugar plum mousse. “Sugar plum” was really mixed berries. Since there was only one little cup, Xak and I passed it between us to grab a spoonful each. There wasn’t really a strong flavor and it was seedy from the berries. It seemed more appropriate for  a summery themed tea tray vs a winter tea. While not my favorite dessert, this could have been great if it was offered as a palette cleanser in between courses. Also, what a missed opportunity to call it “Sugar plum berry mousse” (get it? like sugar plum fairy 😄).

Restroom

The restroom was in the back of the restaurant, next to a few armchairs and the wall that held the original cabinets that previously housed the prescriptions. Since it was single occupancy, I had to wait in line, but I didn’t mind because I was fascinated by the surroundings and looking up what seidlitz powder was (spoiler: seems appropriate to be near a bathroom).

Payment

As we finished our meal, our bill was placed on our table in a book. I opened the book which actually turned out to be filled with messages from previous guests.

Since Gryphon is a cashless facility (stated on the website and the menu), we paid using a credit card via a payment machine that was brought to our table. Including a 20% tip, our bill was around $60~.

Final Thoughts

I really liked the historical aspect of the dining room and seeing the original features preserved and maintained. My favorite part of the meal was the desserts since there was quite a variety, however I was a little surprised we did not get two of each dessert and needed to share. I also liked that we had a seasonally appropriate themed tea, but I would be curious to see how offerings change each season.

While I do prefer making reservations (and avoiding waiting in lines), considering the price for afternoon tea was $23 per person, I’m not sure I can really complain. Overall, Gryphon was a nice experience, especially for the price.