Status: Closed
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Help us make it rightEnjoy wonderful gatherings with friends, families and associates in our charming place while experiencing the delectable flavors offered in our unique menu.
I reviewed First Ladies Tea Parlor for Mother’s Day and would have given less than one star if possible. I decided to give them a second chance, thinking maybe they just weren’t equipped to handle a Mother’s Day event. We made reservations for 6 people for the Saturday Night Speakeasy. After leaving a message and personally speaking to 2 different people they still did not have my name or number in my party correct when we arrived. No problem the venue was 50% full so a larger table wasn’t an issue. And this is where it all went downhill. We had been told in advance that the usual band was not playing and a Jazz Pianist would sit in. I asked and was assured it would still have the speakeasy theme. Other than one waitress, I was the only one dressed for the theme. The Pianist played modern (BeeGees/Elton John) Elevator music, not jazz and certainly not 1920’s era jazz. There were printed menus on the table – we noticed that they were different from the menu advertised on the internet (ok that’s not uncommon). We found that Dessert was no longer included in the advertised price. Then the waitress told us the printed menu was also not valid and we’d not have a choice of vegetables but would have to have a squash/eggplant/new potato medley. 30 minutes later after asking twice we got our Prosecco – served in water glasses with ice! I said I would not accept a sparkling wine with ice in it, so the waitress said she’d put a bottle on ice and bring mine later (I’m pretty sure she just waited for the ice to melt and brought the same glass back). Water was never refilled unless we flagged someone down. All of the food was easily identifiable as Costco food. No effort was made to make it more appetizing. The cheese was the sliced bulk cheese, with the cheapest butter crackers. “Fruit” was tiny uneven chunks of watermelon and cantaloupe. We ordered soup. One showed up after the entrée was served. The other apparently didn’t exist. Dinner showed up about an hour later and the menu had changed again. We got sweet potato fries (buy in bulk frozen at Costco) and squash (probably fresh). Salmon was topped with what was clearly the mini crab cake appetizers you can buy at Costco (not Crabmeat as advertised). An array of strange unrelated accompaniments came out so we traded amongst ourselves and made due. We watched as the meager desserts disappeared from the dessert display. By the time we got to them we had strawberry parfait and bread pudding to choose from. We pointed out dessert was supposed to be included. The response was that’s an old menu but acted like they’d honor it. We all got charged for dessert. One person in the party said she could not have anything with flour in it. The waitress said she’d hook her up with a bowl of strawberries. The waitress insisted and since we thought it was included my friend relented. A strawberry shortcake showed up AND she was extra charged for it. The ONE thing they did (sort of) honor was the website said you get one glass of champagne included. They gave us a glass of Cava and that did not show up on the bill. That didn’t make up for how bad the service was or how low quality the food was or that the speakeasy theme was non-existent. The staff gave excuses like “we ran out” or “it’s crazy in the kitchen right now’ at 50% occupancy and at least half of those people had already been served when we arrived I find that impossible to believe. Second strike – they won’t get a third chance. We will never go there again. I was embarrassed that I subjected my friends to such a terrible experience. We all went over to Brickhouse and had a drink.
We went to the Speakeasy dinner Saturday night. The music was fantastic. I really hope the band, 504 Supreme, plays at other locations because we will never be returning to this tea parlor. I even had a Groupon and still felt it was overpriced, but I'm at least glad I didn't have to pay full price for the cheap food that was served. The terrible service started when I called the place four times and left two voicemails just to try to make a reservation. I had to email the owner to make a reservation. I figured they were just busy, but this was clearly false based on the crowd the night we went to dinner. First, they were out of a lot of things on the menu but they did explain the replacement items that weren't listed on the menu. When my friend asked about the chicken, the waitress didn't have any clue. When my friend asked about the salmon plate, she also didn't have any details about the salmon. Clearly the waitress was terrible, so I made it easy and ordered the steak. I ordered it medium rare assuming they would overcook it to medium. It was served well done, not a bit of pink to it. It came with steamed asparagus as a side. Neither item was seasoned in any way; the food was really bland. At this point,still not a big deal, I never send food back. The next issue though, there was no drink menu with pricing. The only menu on Saturday nights is the prix fixe Speakeasy menu. It also said that dessert came with champagne. When the waitress came to ask us what we wanted to drink and we asked what the options were (since the menu didn't go into detail) she listed wine and champagne options. We each said we would like moscato. She filled the glass until the fizz reached the top of the glass and then she went away, resulting in a champagne glass that was like a quarter full after the fizz went down. She filled up my friend's glass three times over the course of the night, and mine twice. Turns out each of those sips she filled the glasses with was $8. And she tried to charge us for six of them instead of five, thinking I had a third glass when I told her specifically that I would not have a third. The price wouldn't have been such a big deal if they didn't make it seem like it was just part of the evening, or if there were an actual drink menu with prices, or if we had actually gotten full glasses of moscato. Also wouldn't be as angry if I thought the actual bottle of moscato itself were worth more than $8 instead of probably being a $6 bottle from the 7/11 down the street. But the nail in the coffin was the fact that they calculated their tip based on the after tax total. I always tip 20% but always on the pre-tax total. Well for the first time in my life I did not leave additional tip. These people clearly do not know how to run a restaurant, or even cook for that matter. Avoid this place like the plague. Plenty of higher quality restaurants in the area for the same or better prices.
It was my first time to this tearoom and I brought out of town guests. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!! First of all, I noticed in the dessert case had cakes from Costco (which turned out to be the dessert)-you could be a bit more discreet. We were there for 2 1/2 hours (would have been there longer had we not asked for the dessert right away after the sandwiches). It was 20-30 minutes between courses so by the time the sandwiches arrived (at hour 2, the tea was cold and we had to ask for more). The condiments were sparse for the number of people at the table. We were not even asked if we wanted to champagne.
Asked to speak with the manager to voice our concerns who was very polite and provided a discount. However, I went to the ladie's room and while there overheard presumably the owner talking to her wait staff about me (the customer) in a negative way. She never once came out to address any issues herself. Bad experience overall and NOT worth the money!
Food was not very good, and service was very slow. Took over 1 1/2 hours for lunch. I guess that's why they are closed.
This is my first time writing a negative review as the experience is rarely horrible enough to warrant one. However in this case one is definitely warranted. Lunch service for two adults and one child took three hours. We received our entrees after two hours and our dessert was cake from Costco. We had to pour our own drinks and had to ask for fresh tea four times which we never received. Would...
I reviewed First Ladies Tea Parlor for Mother’s Day and would have given less than one star if possible. I decided to give them a second chance, thinking maybe they just weren’t equipped to handle a Mother’s Day event. We made reservations for 6 people for the Saturday Night Speakeasy. After leaving a message and personally speaking to 2 different...
I went to the Saturday night dinner with my husband after purchasing a Groupon. I am so glad I had the Groupon but even then we paid far more than what we got in return!
Service: Friendly but seemed very disorganized and inexperienced. Almost the whole restaurant was full (I think because everyone else had a Groupon too) and there...
We held my daughter's birthday party here, and should've known better. There is never a return phone call - and no organization. The menus are personalized with the birthday party's guest's picture, etc - they showed up midway through our experience - by showed up, I mean were delivered to the site 45 minutes into our visit there. The food...
First Ladies Tea Parlor LLC is located at 2170 William Styron Sq S, Newport News, VA. This business specializes in Restaurants.
This place offers an air of sophistication in which customers may enjoy high tea or other morsels to eat. The menu here includes scones, muffins, cakes and biscuits as well as sandwiches, quiche and salads.
Enjoy wonderful gatherings with friends, families and associates in our charming place while experiencing the delectable flavors offered in our unique menu selection of foods & teas presented in an elegant European fashion.
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