The Tea Room

One of my favorite tea rooms is in the beautiful city of Savannah, GA.  It is always a pleasure to visit “The Tea Room” on Broughton Street.  The decor is inspired by art nouveau artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  Decades ago he designed five tea rooms in Glasgow, Scotland.  There is one still in operation today called the Willow Tea Rooms.   

You can see the Mackintosh influence here in the architectural details, high-back chairs, vintage china and glassware, etc.  There are gorgeous flowers on the tables and orchid blossoms on the three tiered tea trays.  Their chef does an outstanding job on the menu, with many special touches.

You enter the tea room through a well stocked gift shop.  There is a whole wall of large tea canisters behind the front counter with dozens of loose teas to choose from.

I always bring home at least one tin of a new kind of tea to try.

There is a terrific book by Bruce Richardson titled “The Great Tea Rooms of America” and The Tea Room in Savannah is included.  I was fortunate to visit during a photo shoot for his latest edition.

 Mr. Richardson and his lovely wife Shelley were very gracious and happy to answer a few questions and pose for a photo.  I’ve always regretted that I was not able to have afternoon tea at their tea room in Kentucky, the Elmwood Inn, before it closed in 2004.  Check out their excellent website here.  The historic building now houses their offices.

I’m accompanying my hubby on a business trip to Savannah in July.  We’ll be staying in the historic district, only a short walk from Broughton Street.  You can bet I’ll be spending a lot of time at The Tea Room, as well as visiting The Gryphon Tea Room on Bull Street and the great historical squares, River Street, many wonderful shops, etc.