Reviews of Garden View Lounge Tea

Reviews

15

Rating

5.73 / 10

Recommended By

67%



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Garden View Tea Room

Services: Table Service

Menus at Garden View Tea Room

Reviewed by JoanneS Review Date: 06/25/2014

Rating: (3)
Not Recommended

My friend and I were looking forward to enjoying a nice quiet tea. I made the error of telling the server I was lactose intolerant and the lovely tea took a bad turn. He had the chef come out and talk to me about my "issue". I was given NO choice as far as food goes. They told me they would bring me a plate of sandwiches, and while my friend enjoyed a nice variety of tea sandwiches, I got salami on white bread, and turkey loaf with tofu cheese. (also on white bread) And, when I say white bread, I mean Wonder bread. When it was time for dessert, my friend got her choice of pastries, while I was given no choice, but delivered a bowl of JELLO with frozen strawberries in it. I paid $30 for salami sandwiches and Jello. I was not a happy camper. Others may enjoy this, but for the lactose intolerant, this is not a good choice.

Pros:

Peaceful Setting

Cons:

Food Choices
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Reviewed by hsminnie Review Date: 06/12/2014

Rating: (6)
Recommended

Sadly, this family tradition is not what it once was. We've been traveling to WDW with our daughters since 2002 - when they were 10, 7 and 2. It is traditional for us to have tea one afternoon while dad gets a break. This time, because they grow up :), only my husband, our youngest daughter (now 13) and I were on the trip. Bob agreed to come to tea for the first time, and it was Abby's first trip as a tea drinker.

50% of the joy at the cafe is the setting. No matter how crowded the GF lobby becomes, the cafe is always a tranquil respite with beautiful views and good service. It also used to be a place to have good tea and delicious food. Some of this has changed - for the worse.

The tea is still good. In fact, our server made a special brew for my coffee loving husband (they were out of the tea he chose) and he loved it. Abby enjoyed the Imperial English Breakfast and I had the Gardenview Blend. Simple choices, good flavors. 🙂

We were told a la carte ordering was no longer an option - unless it was in addition to one of the 'packages'. This was frustrating because I knew Abby would not like the sandwiches. (1 picky eater of three - not too bad, lol.) We all chose Buckingham Palace.

The sandwiches used to be on thin sliced, dense 'appetizer' breads. Now, they are on regular breads. I did like most, but the pear and gorgonzola - my past favorite - has lost something in translation. I'm wondering if they prepare it differently, or if it was just the bread texture. The salmon is a 'spread' type filling, rather than a slice of smoked salmon, which I would have preferred. Our server brought Abby some PB&J when she noticed she only took one bite from her others. That was really sweet - and not necessary.

The onion tartlet is still yummy. I only take a bite or two - but they are delicious bites :).

The raisin scones are delicious, the jam tart is still an icky pile of goo to me.

Then, it was time for the best part. The VERY best part. Fresh, sweet strawberries with Devon cream. It's amazing. It was. It isn't now. They brought a dessert dish filled with pre-sliced strawberries in Cool-Whip. Cool-Whip. I recognized it because my husband started baking this year, and we discovered the joy and ease of fresh whipped cream. Cool-Whip is distinguishable because it tastes like oil. The strawberries were tiny slices and old. They had that fermented taste. Ugh.

Bob and Abby chose pastries. The eclair was ok - pastry can only survive so well in air - and the filling was sickly sweet. Bob had a chocolate peanut butter thing and they were ok with them.

Not that you would need it, but if you want more tea it's an extra charge. Abby loved the china, the tea cozy and the sugar cubes :). We all loved the relaxation the cafe provides.

We'll try to budget for this in the future, but I don't know if it will be a trip requirement. If they would allow a la carte purchases, definitely. But it's difficult to put aside $95 (tax and tip) for substandard eats. To reiterate, the service and ambiance is always a treat. We sit at our table for an hour or more and enjoy. It is always just a shame to see things slip from customer focused to profit focused in such a blatant way :(.

Pros:

Ambiance, staff, tea (the actual beverage)

Cons:

Food quality reduced, no a la carte selections
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Reviewed by Fitzboyzmom Review Date: 01/08/2014

Rating: (10)
Recommended

I can't say enough nice things about this place. We arrived almost 45 minutes past our reservation, and past the time they were seating people. Long story short, it took us almost 90 minutes to get from Wilderness Lodge to the Grand Floridian. I had been emailing the manager at the restaurant to let them know we were coming, but her last note said that they could not take us it was too late. However, when we arrived, the hostess was very gracious and told us to relax and come right in and relax.

This was a special thing we were doing for my step mom and kind of a surprise, so I was so happy that they let us in.

The tea was very nice and the food as well. A really nice thing to do with the ladies, although my son enjoyed his Mrs. Potts tea (chocolate milk). I can't wait to go back.

Pros:

Cons:

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Reviewed by jjcscanlon Review Date: 08/10/2013

Rating: (9)
Recommended

My husband and I, along with our teenage daughter enjoyed our Grand Floridian Tea experience. We had reserved a table for 3, but then my picky son decided to join us after he went and picked up some food for himself at Gasparilla Grill. I thought he'd stay at the food court, but he brought it to us - not sure they were happy with that, but didn't say anything to us about it (I wasn't happy he tainted the tea experience LOL).

We all had the Buckingham Palace which was $25 per person, but included a pot of your individual tea choice (kept warm in it's own "blanket" cozy, traditional tea sandwiches (which you could pick and choose from 5 different varieties), a scone and jam tart with fresh strawberry jam, clotted cream and lemon curd and choice of pastries or English Trifle.

The "courses" were spaced nicely and we did not feel rushed, but the amount of goodies you get certainly ensures that this outing can serve as a meal replacement - and looking at it that way, the price of the outing doesn't seem as bad.

the Tea Room was at about 60% capacity, but they do encourage reservations as the room is on the smaller, (yet bright and airy) side overlooking the pool area.

We really enjoyed all the menu offerings we chose and my daughter is still talking about wishing she had gotten the tea we had both had to bring home (a custom blend for the tea room called : Princess Breakfast Tea - A sweet custom blend of South African organic rooibos flavored with vanilla bean and a hint of strawberries. Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and naturally decaffeinated.)

Since we've been married 19 years ago, we've probably been to Disney over 40 times and we always try to do new things. The Tea was a first time for us and we will most likely do it again.

Pros:

atmosphere, welcomed respite

Cons:

none
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Reviewed by wendybarrie Review Date: 05/23/2013

Rating: (9)
Recommended

This was my second time at tea, and I still love it, and find great value in it. I did not give it an excellent because I still think there is some confusion that comes along with the tea if your server doesn't work to sort and make things clear. We opted for three different tea menus, and we did not understand that one had two courses, one three and the other four, so when my friend received her second course we sat and sat until the server asked why she wasn't eating then explained she was the only one with that course, which was fine I wish he would have better explained. Also, make sure to ask about the sandwich selections and substitute where you find necessary.

Pros:

Different and a nice midday pace

Cons:

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