I'm back with another Afternoon Tea review! Two places recently opened up in the bay area and I needed to try them! The first is the Hello Kitty Cafe Afternoon Tea at the new Hello Kitty Cafe in Santa Clara's Valley Fair mall.
Reservations were simple on the website and we had to pay a $35 per person deposit to hold our spot which was taken off the bill at the end of the tea. There was plenty of parking but the parking garages are confusing and kind of a pain to get into from my experience. It also seems to be kind of hard to get here via public transit for me. They did ask us if we had any dietary restrictions at the beginning of the meal as the menu is the same for all the tea services.
Ease of access (location, hours, ease of making reservation, dietary menu options): 6/10
The on theme branding and decor was top notch! Everything was pink or white with gold accents. Even the chairs had Hello Kitty's signature bow! All the dishes were themed as well which gave a cute cohesive look to the table settings. If you're looking for the ultimate branded afternoon tea experience this is definitely the place to go in the bay area!
Atmosphere (décor, place settings, staff): 10/10
The price of this tea was $70 per person so it's a little on the pricier side. We left full but not stuffed with the offerings at this tea and there was a good balance in my opinion of sweets and savories. Everything was very cute but some of the bites were delicious and some a bit disappointing. I think at this price it might be good to go very rarely for the experience on a special occasion.
Price (value for money): 6/10
The tea selection was pretty good not too extensive, they had a good mix of black green and decaffeinated teas. My husband got the birthday blend which was a blend of black and green teas and I got a black peach tea on the recommendation from our server. They were both really tasty!
Tea: 8/10
Scones were small and the server called them butter scones. I was afraid of splitting mine and having it crumble everywhere so I just put the jam on top which worked well! The jam came in a little pot beside a pat of butter in the shape of Hello Kitty's face, there was no clotted cream offering.
Scones (and/or crumpets): 6/10
Savories were a bit of a let down for this tea. My favorite bite was the egg salad in this tiny ice cream cone looking thing and it was so small! My second favorite was the chicken salad on a really delicious croissant but the filling was not enough for the amount of bread. The cucumber open face sandwich in the shape of Hello Kitty's head was a bit of a letdown as the bread was a bit dry.
Savories: 5/10
The sweets were more delicious for me. My favorite bite was the raspberry macaroon! The tart raspberries paired really well with the sweet almond cookie. I also really liked the apple pie tart thing. The pettifor was exactly as a pettifor should be and was really cute with the Hello Kitty design. My least favorite was this mouse
Sweets: 8/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Overall I got a similar feeling from Son and Garden that this tea experience is decent for the food but really more about the instagrammable moments. If you love Hello Kitty, or want an intensely branded cafe experience I'd definitely check it out! I don't think this is a great place for groups larger than 8 or a place to come back to very frequently.
JSK: Cats Tea party
Blouse: Alice and the Pirates
Headbow, Choker, Ring: Angelic Pretty
Socks: BtSSB
Necklace: BB&B
Bag: Emily Temple Cute
Shoes: Sheep Puff
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