I was able to go to the new tea place in Halfmoon Bay that recently opened called By The Teashore; the name is very cute and creative!
This was a decent 25ish min drive to the coast of the peninsula in Half Moon Bay. There is no real public transit option to Half Moon Bay from where I am and the drive itself is kind of windy through the mountains (my ears were not happy!). One of the other party members made the reservations but it seems pretty simple. They had Gluten Free options and only 4 sandwich options 2 of which were vegetarian.
Ease of access (location, hours, ease of making reservation, dietary menu options): 8/10
The decor and place settings was classic tea room kitch which was really adorable in the old house that served as the dining space. The owner's story was that she collected all of these things and the dishware over the years at various second hand places as she put together the vision of her dream of owning a tea place! The owner came by a couple of times to see how we were doing and have a chat, it felt very friendly small town in that way.
Atmosphere (décor, place settings, staff): 9/10
I went with the middle of the road option between the 3 on offer called the Halfmoon Tea. This choice was $46 and included a bottomless pot of tea, choice of 2 sandwiches, choice of 1 scone flavor, salad and various desserts. Overall it was a good amount of food and it was nice that we all got our own individual tower! I think overall it was worth the price for the amount of food that was pretty tasty and a cute classic atmosphere for tea.
Price (value for money): 9/10
The teas themselves had a good variety of black, green, and non caffeinated teas but not so overwhelming that it was too hard to pick. There were several I wanted to choose from so I got a recommendation from the server for a tropicanna black tea which was very delicious! Several of my tablemates got teas I was also eyeing so I got to try most of the ones I was deciding between!
Tea: 9/10
The scones were a choice between a Blueberry Orange or Earl Grey. I chose the earl grey and it was good! The scones were quite large and not too dry. The best part was that the lemon curd and clotted cream were both made in house! So for once there was fresh clotted cream with the scones!
Scones (and/or crumpets): 10/10
The sandwich flavors were kind of limited but classic tea sandwich flavors. I chose the curried chicken salad and the egg salad sandwiches. They were a decent size and very delicious classic flavors- not too overpowering but not under seasoned. The salad was decent but I'm not a huge fan of salad at tea as the plate usually gets all smeared with dressing which makes using it later for the sweets course harder. I also got kinda surprised by the quiche on the top tier- I thought it was a custard dessert but nope! I wish it had been placed on the bottom tier with the rest of the savory items.
Savories: 9/10
The desserts were a macaroon, a lemon lavender tea cookie, and fresh fruit. I wished there was a small chocolate something like a brownie or bonbon to round out the dessert tier.
Sweets: 7/10
Overall Score: 8.7/10
Overall this was a lovely place for tea! I will definitely be returning especially if they have any seasonal menu items in the future after they get their footing as a new tea place. The dining room area was a little small though so I think this might not be the best for very large parties though I'm sure you could do up to 12 without too much difficulty, split between 2 tables.
I of course forgot to take a picture of my coordinate again...But I wore my black colorway of Wonder Story as I thought an Alice type theme would work well!
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