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Categories: Bakeries, Tea Rooms, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Neighborhood: Upper East Side63rd St-Lexington Ave (F)
68th St (6)
59th St-Lexington Ave (4, 5, 6, N, R, W)
Mon-Thu. 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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I'm pretty sure there is no need for a male restroom at this place as female patrons outnumber male patrons 10:1 (perhaps 20:1?).
Gender imbalance aside, the tea-related food here is delicious. The scones are especially worth mentioning. Though 5x the size of scones you would get at high tea, they are warm, flaky, buttery, moist, melt-in-your-mouth, fresh-baked creations. Though I love the sweet berry-laden scones, the savory ham and cheese one is the real winner in my eyes. It's definitely more than enough for a meal. Unfortunately, it's not the best vehicle for the clotted cream and jam that they provide with the scones.
The brunch food is only ok. My friend complained her eggs florentine was too dry (lack of hollandaise), though the scone underneath the eggs was great.
The list of teas is long and intense. I love how they provide brief little descriptions of each tea so you know what you're going to get.
The wait is long on weekends, but they take your cell number, so you can rifle through the sales racks at Banana Republic or Bloomingdale's nearby while you wait.
Oh how my youngin days come to mine when thinking about Alice's Tea Party. Unfortunately, unlike most girls, mine was crushed and terrorized by the Alice's Tea Cup ride at Disneyland. After my older cousin, crazily spun the cup like there's no tomorrow... all those churros I ate never made it down my belly. Never again have I rode that ride since then and never again will I look at Alice's Tea Cups the same again.
Alice's Tea Cup (the restaurant) was kind of my learning threshold... it helped me know that Alice's Teas could be enjoyed. Really unlike our party of 3, we were the first one's there right at 8 AM. Anytime we're up this time of the hour is either we stayed up till 8 or ..... wait there is no or.... but in this super rare occasion our or will be Heidi C's red eye arrival to NY. Heidi C, Cindy C and I luggishly sat down in our tea table and ordered.
I had the Moonlight Blend with the Raspberry Scone with the Raspberry Jam and a side of potato chicken hash. The Moonlight Blend was a bit bitter for my taste, assuming green tea infused meant something of a sort of a lighter tea yet this one was rather still bitter and rich. The scones, the best I had ever! Warm and buttery, the sensation really what Lewis Carroll was probably feeling when writing the book. Absolute bliss! not to mention the jam, a must get! However, the potato chicken hash was absolutely terrible... dry, crusty, almost like it was from 2 mornings ago.... dry chicken felt like i was chewing on cardboard, no flavor no nothing... even ketchup and tabasco didn't help.
Even though the hash and tea didn't do it for me, the scones and the atmosphere and decor helped me realize there is the sweetness and cheerfulness of Alice's tea cup. This place is quaint and something different and can be enjoyed from all ages.... I wouldn't mind coming back here.
If any of the following words come into your mind early sunday morning, then this is the place for you:
Dainty, Adorable, Quaint, Adora-quaint, Herbal, Princess, Tutu, Tea, Crumpet, Pancakes
It's the kind of place i'd bring my illegitimate daughter to as a special treat since she'd be staying with her mother and probably harboring some level of resentment to me --- Its THAT good! You can even buy a wand or tiara for exorbitant prices.
A great adventure for anyone looking to entertain the little girl inside of them (OK, after writing that, I feel a little dirty, but it had to be said.)
I'd suggest just go for the scones and tea. My friend and I had the pumpkin and berry scones which were delicious.
And it really isn't worth the line. It's definitely cute and the service is good.
The chicken on the chicken salad looked and tasted like rubber.
When I used to attend Hunter College, Alice's Tea Cup Chapter II was my number one destination. Whether it was getting scones with Lauren or getting tea with Ana, the experience was always pleasant. My favorite item is the chocolate coconut macaroon (superb). The decor is cute and is definitely aimed towards the little girls in all of us (huh?). On a more serious note, if you have a daughter or just want a quiet place to sip tea with a buddy then this location of Alice's Tea Cup is the place for you!
the perfect place to go with your girl friends, your mom, or perhaps a bf/significant other you've been seeing for a while. the place is dressed up in an alice in wonderland theme (duh), there are adorable little tutus (just like the ones you always wanted when you were a little girl) hanging along the walls, and they have the most amazing scones i've ever had in my life - ham and cheese. perhaps a ham and cheese scone doesnt SOUND so good (arent scones supposed to be sweet, not savory?), but it TASTES amazing. and that's all that really matters.
they have a huge tea selection, and as would be expected by the name of the restaurant, adorable tea cups.
the wait here can get very bad on weekends for lunch/breakfast (read: 40 minutes), but if you have some semblance of patience and a desire to eat the best scones you'll ever have in your life, go here.
if you work/live near here, popping in to pick up a warm just-out-of-the-oven scone on the way to work might be your best option.
For an utterly genuine NYC brunch experience, come here on a weekend late-morning. If you're lucky, you'll have a set-up like ours. To our left: an 8 year old's birthday party. To our right: a bunch of undergrads complaining about how awful they feel because of how hungover they are, and who slept with whom.
As for the food: the scones are wonderful. The rest... well, get the morning/afternoon tea. They clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the multi-tiered sandwich and cookies display. I, foolishly, ordered a normal brunch. Alice's Florentine was a glaring disappointment. Boilt, unseasoned spinach, and two hurriedly-poached eggs flung atop a buttermilk scone hacked in half. When the best thing about a meal is the side salad, that's a sad thing. And there's no sauce of any kind, which makes for a very dry meal. Spying on neighbors' meals, it looked like it might be highly variable (the mixed fruit crepes looked like a fruit salad was punished by being shoved into a pair crepes, but someone else had an egg meal that looked delicious).
So, i may come back. If i do, i'll order the morning tea. But if i'm just passing through, i'll almost certainly stop in for a blueberry-orange-chip scone. Yum.
On a cool fall morning I walked the streets of New York feeling that Little Girl in a Big City feeling. You know the feeling , it's like Mary Tyler Moore throwing her quaint hat up in the air.. oh ,I digress.
I was on a quest that began back in July, to visit Alices Tea Cup. I had wanted to in July on my trip to New York but I was very distracted by quest walk for a frozen hot chocolate ( see review ) .
So this trip I knew I must at all cost go to Alices. I had my Metro Card, my map and my desire. I walked the streets of the upper east side looking for my little perfect brunch spot. And then I saw it , I breezed in like a Local. I loved the look of the place , it was cutesy but no bubble gum cute just Beatrix Potter cute. The color of the place screamed
sherbet lime green with burgundy trim , how does that even work?
No idea but it does. Little Alice quotes are neatly painted through out, and I began to crave a pot of tea.
Seated upstairs, I ealiy picked out the Salmon Benedict which is a delight and so unfairly over portioned. What a tease. 2 huge perfect buttery scones were topped with succulent salmon, poached egg and a perfect Benedict sauce. No normal American girl can eat a serving that big. And what would I do with the salmon leftovers ? Walk through the Met museum with them? No it was cruel. Also on the plate were lovely potatoes and asparagus but who has time for those when you have these beauties staring at you? I also had a very nice pot of tea with a refreshing mango tea, Not too sweet not to teaish. Just right.
Loved my meal and crave it even now. Alices is now on my must go to list for New York.
My friend Lindsay said I must go there and I am so glad I listened to her.
Curiouser and curiouser! Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books and one of my favorite childhood movies. Oh, and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? Scarily awesome. So when the girlfriend was looking for a Sunday brunch place, why, Alice's Tea Cup was a natural choice.
It was a last-minute decision, and they don't take reservations the day of, so we walked down there and put our name down. The wait was an hour, so we rushed over for a quick stop at FAO, then rushed back the other direction. They're nice enough that if you put your name down, they'll call you to give you advance warning when the table will be available. That's a +1 in my book.
Now I'm not normally down with paying that much for a pot of tea, but I'll give them this: their tea menu is exquisitely extensive. Seriously, if you're a tea lover at all, come. here. now. Their brunch menu features scones + tea pot for $10, which is a pretty decent deal. Continuing on with the trend, I'm not a huge scones fan (too dry for my taste), but was pleasantly surprised with the quality and moistness of the scones here. The girlfriend picked blueberry lemon; I went chocolate strawberry. Hers, naturally, tasted better. They're quite large, which didn't help with our brunch orders.
I went with the mixed fruit crepe, which was somewhat sour, but decent. She went with eggs and a tasty potato chicken hash. It was way too much food. We saw some other tables order sandwiches, which looked like they complemented the scones and tea quite well.
Teawise, we tried two different pots, although if you asked me to name the teas, there's no way I'd remember. It's actually quite difficult to pick just one, since you're sure to stumble upon multiple brews that sound intriguing. The cups are inordinately small; I ended up holding them without the handle.
This is a great place to bring a date, family, or kids. And, as clearly evidenced by my 5 stars, a great place to bring someone who's a fan of Alice in Wonderland, even if he doesn't particularly care for afternoon tea and crumpets (er, scones).
Alice's Tea Cup is a lot of fun. I work in the area and always wanted to stop in and finally did last night with my friend. I had the butternut squash soup for an appetizer which was delicious and vegan to boot. I can't recall the exact name of the tea but it tasted as if we were drinking a bouquet of potpourri but in a good way. We both had the grilled veggie sandwich that was pretty much what you'd expect from a grilled veggie sandwich. But it was very fresh. It came with fries or mixed greens. We ended our lovely meal with berries and cream. The decor in here is so cute and the whole atmosphere is just really relaxing and different.
Alice's Tea Cup has the cutest tea pots and a nice selection of white teas, which you don't usually find elsewhere. It's an adorable place to take your niece for Sunday brunch or to catch up with girlfriends. There are two floors - opt for the upper floor, there is much more sunlight. There is also a nice selection of sandwiches and salads, with ingredients like pine nuts, avocado, brie, eggplant, etc. Decent prices.
Alice's Tea Cup promises childhood fantasies, girly decorations, and the tastiest tea party you'll ever have!
I frequent Alice's Tea Cup whenever I'm in the area, this place is so great if you're tired after a long day of shopping or just want to have a nice chat with your girlfriends. The decorations are so sweet; there are hand-painted poems and characters from Alice In Wonderland, goblets for water, and tiny mismatching tea sets that add to the charm of this gem. Go into their bathroom and you'll find that they've "Painted the Roses Red!", and red flowers dangle from the ceiling. It's definitely cute.
I definitely recommend coming here for a relatively cheap nosh, especially if you're sharing! If you order the tea sets, like the "Mad Hatter", it will come with two scones, finger sandwiches, a pot of tea to share, and an assortment of cookies! Definitely bring a buddy to enjoy your pot of tea with... it's the only thing to wash down all the cookies!
They also have really great meals, aside from their scrumptious pastries. Alice's Hamburger is served with "tea-infused mushrooms and onions", topped off with some melted gruyere, and you'll be grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Warm pumpkin scone and slather it with the creme fraiche and raspberry preserves that it's served with.
- Warm ham & cheese scone and slather it with buttaaaaah (what can be better than butter?!)
- Smoked salmon & cream cheese sandwich served on black bread (This is a good choice if you're going to get a tea set... Otherwise, I don't think it's worth paying $12 for)
- Alice's Hamburger, lapsang and rooibos infused sauteed mushrooms & onions
- Smoked Salmon Sandwich served with lemon dill butter on black bread.
- Rooibos Pheonix Tea - (Means an african red bush tea) red bush base with vanilla, caramel and honey flavors... Yeah, uh-huh in a TEA! It's really great.
- The only thing I don't recommend is their desserts, I think it's way too sweet and not carefully made... It tastes like it was made in a rush. But please please get their pumpkin scone!!
Alice's Tea Cup is a great escape from the city... at least for a few hours. Spend it having a nice cup of tea! (and a pumpkin scone!)
What a wonderful place! It's quite cute and strange, their decorations, just like how you would imagine Alice's Wonderland ( with food) would be!
My friend and I came here for weekday brunch, with absolutely no wait at all. My friend seemed quite fixated on the fact that their cups are all different than each other. The paintings on the walls are really cute, and so are their sofa cushions!
We shared their scone on their brunch meal and it was filling enough for us to share it with toast and feel quite full and sated. I really enjoyed it a lot!
I think I would like this even more if I was a bigger fan of tea, but I don't care about tea too much. Nevertheless, great place to come for brunch - it's quite inexpensive for the amount you get. I shall re-return here!
It's like my childhood puked and manifested itself in a single restaurant. I was a bit overwhelmed by the profusion of butterflies, pink, and glitter-Lewis Carol would not approve! I hardly believe this is what Carol fantasized on LSD trips.
Nonetheless I was pleased at the fast selection of different Chai teas.
Chai w green tea and almonds.
Chai w rooibus tea
Chai this chai that.
3 stars for the chai and service
A good place for young girls and old(er) women. Kid-friendly.
Decor is key to the success of this place because we know service sure isn't. Servers/waitresses are busy delivering bad service to other tables apparently.
An overwhelming assortment of tea choices with descriptions that couldn't possibly help you make the decision any better .. go in there knowing what kind of tea you like.
I want to say it's sort of over priced for tea and sandwiches for 2 people ... so it better be some magic tea for what I'm paying for.
3 stars for decor and good food.
"Yay! I'm a fan" doesn't even begin to describe my love of Alice's Tea Cup. After the Plaza Hotel closed and discontinued their high tea, my mom and I were desperate for a new tea room for when we visited NYC, and while perusing around Lexington, we stumbled upon this little gem. The passion tea and scone (take your pick, they're all amazing) were fantastic! We brought my dad back on our next family NYC outing and, even though the decor clearly screams 'pretty pretty princess,' he really enjoyed himself! Put any form of eggs Benedict on a rosemary scone, and you've made yourself a new best friend here.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that while the Alice's team (who are fantastic and so sweet) has tried to keep up with their increasing popularity by opening a total of three 'chapters' (ha ha...books), it seems like they've also tried to smush as many people as possible in each location. While I appreciate any and all efforts to cut down time waiting for brunch on a Sunday, I don't really want to hear about the scone dilemma among the patrons at the next table over. Reservations could definitely help solve some of these issues, but not like I'm gonna stop going here. Ever!
I went to Alice's Tea Cup for brunch on Labor Day afternoon. The wait time was only about 10 minutes for a table for two, and the servers even took my cell phone number so they could call me directly when my table was ready. They did call, within 10 minutes, and this was only the beginning of what would be a wonderful experience.
We sat at a small table upstairs, which was a double glass top with Alice in Wonderland memorabilia in between the two pieces of glass (very fun!). My dining companion and I each ordered a different pot of tea (chocolate mint for myself, which was delicious), two scones, a veggie wrap, and scones benedict. All of the food was great, especially the pumpkin scone and the blueberry chocolate chip scone. The pumpkin scone tasted like pumpkin cake with a crisp crust - absolutely delightful.
The only reason I am not giving 5 stars was because of the slow service. It wasn't too packed in the restaurant, but it took nearly 15 minutes for a server to come to our table, and the food took nearly 30 minutes to come out (and the scones did not come out with our meal...we had to wait even longer for them). I will definitely be going back, but will make sure I have plenty of time to sit back and relax when I do. All in all, a great brunch spot if you are not in a rush.
Growing up, I never quite paid attention to Lewis Caroll's tale of Alice In Wonderland. I recall the characters - Alice - a cute blonde sporting a headband and blue dress with white apron, the eggs - Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and of course the curiously pink Cheshire Cat.
Never once did I associate this tea house with the Mad Tea Party, until I got to Alice's Tea Cup (Chapter II, no less) and found myself sitting down and staring at the big Cheshire Cat mural on the back wall.
We were lucky. It was Sunday. The place was a short stroll away from Plaza Athenee. We got there at 11.30 and was ushered to a table rightaway. Ten minutes later I turned my head to the door and there was a line-up.
I happily sipped my loose-leaf English Breakfast tea with milk and sugar (came in a huge pot and matching Victorian-style cup), took a bite off my orange and banana scone (with heavenly chocolate bits) and my mixed berries scone, and read my FT Weekend edition.
Half hoping that maybe Ruth Madoff, whose duplex is right across the street on 64th Ave, would drop by for a visit. How could she not - this must've been her local haunt!
Most of the food is ok, but it's just a super cute place. I love love the scones here though. They also have scones of the day which is cool because you get to try a new flavor. My friends and I come here a lot, more than 10+ times now. It's a great place to hang out with friends since everything is alice in wonderland themed. They have a lot of choices for tea, and it comes in these cute tea pots. I hear the breakfast aka eggs benedict are good but since I don't like eggs I can't say much about it besides that. We usually get their finger sandwiches (i like the apple curry one) but it's nothing amazing. I do like their fries though! Surprisingly! It must be the seasoning. Other desserts are ok, just get the skones with whipped cream and jam please :)
Delicious Pumpkin scones! Delectable Curry Chicken sandwich! Scrumptious Tea selection! Fun and erratic decor! Can be a bit pricey, though.
I've been here 3 times. The staff is so friendly and the atmosphere is so homey. There's an assortment of tea but I prefer just plain black or green. LOVE the desserts. The s'mores and the chocolate cake....drool. It's a fun place to go with your friends or family. :)
Return of the Bombay penthouse livin cousin - Chapter 3
For our meetup on her latest trip, I decided to bring my cousin to Alice's Teacup, because she loves tea. She is extremely hard to please - but was immediately impressed that the hostess could pronounce her name properly. We were seated upstairs in the serene open space with several other tea-lovin-travelers - you can hear ambiguous accents in the air here! My cousin ordered chai and the grilled veggie tea sandwich and I had the Hawaaian Paradise Tisane iced a with the carrot-cumin tea sandwich. (The sandwiches are a bit loaded for my taste, because tea sandwiches should be dainty not forced to stuff them in our mouths like mongrels.)
Our tatooed busboy accidentally spilled some of her chai on the table as he poured it into her cute cup. Of course, she snapped that he would pay for her drycleaning out of his "wages" if it had spilled a drop on her pants. Clearly knowing his snootypanted-UES-clientele well, he smiled at me knowingly and wiped up the table quickly.impressive.
I highly recommend this spot for brunch, lunch or high-tea. Enjoy!
A place where you can have top-tier afternoon tea in a casual atomosphere.
The teas here are exellent and the scones with clotted cream is definetly one of the best in NY.
The only bad thing about this place is that the decor of this restaurant is SOOO girly it takes some courage as a man to walk in here alone.
Big bow ties, floral country girl dress with a full skirt, mary jane heels, and maybe even a small basket with wild flowers. These are the things that would come to your mind, when you walk inside.
A Sunday brunch here is a great way to catch up with your gal pals. They have a great selection of teas, sandwiches, egg plates, crepes, scones and other treats to help you start your day. The serving size is generous, and you can get those cute multi-tiered afternoon tea platters. Everything was delicious, and I really liked their potato chicken hash!! On a side note, the coffee here is also served in tea pots and tea cups.
It seems like this place is a baby shower hot spot. During the 2 hours when I was there, I saw 2 baby shower groups. I also agree with Mirai's review below that it takes some courage for a guy walk in here alone. Everything here screams that it's a girl's get-together place.
WOW. I just devoured the most delicious breakfast I've EVER had in my LIFE. I could bold more words to emphasize my excitement but then the entire sentence would be bolded.
This morning, Ann C. and I waited outside of Alice's for it to open. We were greeted with a warm welcome from our waitor. We requested to be seated upstairs, and they gladly obliged.
We ordered the same thing for the first time during the course of our friendship. We usually like to order different items to taste a variety of food. But today, we made the right decision.
SCONES BENEDICT.
The idea of eggs benedict for breakfast is natural. Alice's uses their famous scones instead of an English muffin, and might I say, THAT is THE MOST BRILLIANT CREATION that can come out of any fantasy wonderland themed restaurants.
I poked my fork into the eggs as any normal human being would do. The egg yolk became some kind of catalyst for the cheese and warm interior of the scone to react in such a way that no words can describe.
It came with a side of chicken and potatoes for $12.
In an atmosphere of a wonderland, with a friend looking out the window on a brisk morning, we had the most orgasmic breakfast in the world. In Alice's world AND in the real world (no, not the TV show).
And right now, I am risking my life at work to type this review because it was just that good.
I LOVE THE MAD HATTER! share it with a friend over your 2 choices of tea. The sandwiches are good --… Read more »
Everyone's right about the scones, and I'm not a fan of scones at all. I got the blueberry almond and my friend got the pumpkin scone (but it looked like a buiscut). They were so moist, almost cookie-like and nothing like the dry scones of my past! Food was so-so... I got the egg white omlet (I felt the need to eat healthier that day), which had chewy-tough asparagus but awesome pan-roasted pears! Terrible service though... I think we could have sat there all day had we not flagged the waitress!
I was intrigued by the idea of the Alice in Wonderland experience. The place is lace with Alice in Wonderland pictures, but I was expecting a bit more. I guess in my mind, I was picturing the tea Alice had with the Mad Hatter.
I ordered the egg salad sandwich and was not all that impress. It was mixed with herbs but it made the egg salad a bit sour. The red velvet cupcake was pretty good. When the cupcake came up, I was amazed by the size of it. It was BIG! Not too sweet, but the icing wasn't too cream cheesy enough for me. They do have an extensive tea list which one can order from. All in all, the place was alright, but I will still like to go again and try the proper tea.
Disappointed with the salmon and eggs benedict. The scones that the eggs were served on were also very dry. The bakery display case in the dark corner in the back did not make anything look appetizing.
Service was not great, but they had really cute teapots.
Unfortunately, I have to drop this to 3 stars. Though, if the experience I had on Saturday had been my FIRST, it would only be getting 2.
My friend and I planned to have brunch there, her having heard good things and also taking my word for it, so we were both looking forward to it.
After about a 25 minute wait (quoted 10, but not really complaining), the hostess sat us upstairs - I was previously under the impression that this was for private parties only - in the middle-ish/back room. We were about 10 feet from a private party (bridal shower?), which was at FULL VOLUME, and only separated by a folding screen, no door. I'm talking about what sounded like a room full of junior high school girls, cackling away and SCREAMING at each other. There was an open, clean table in the front room another 15 feet away (and considerably quieter), which we requested to be moved to, so we sat down there. BUT 40 seconds later, the hostess booted us from that table, for a reservation that they were expecting in "about 20 minutes." Excuse me?? PS: That "reservation" didn't show up until we were having our plates cleared...
So, here we are, back in a room where we are screaming at each other from 2 feet away, just to have a conversation. The other diners at neighboring tables were visibly bothered by this as well. When we were finally greeted by our server (this was delayed and she looked totally defeated), we asked nicely if there was anyway that the party could be asked to keep it down just a BIT, pleeeeease. The answer we received was "they paid for that room, so there's nothing we can do about it."
Now, I might be completely off base, but I understand that they paid for THAT room, so shouldn't their noise be contained to it? Isn't the restaurant being a bit greedy imposing their party onto the people that are sitting just feet from private space?
Fast forward through a noisy meal, which was decent. It then took forever to get the check and have the check processed.
2 days later, my friend sends me the following email: "Looks like Alice Tea Cup charged me twice!! How nice of them...."
I check my bank account, and they've charged me twice, too. This whole fiasco and neglect of other diners seems to be a result of poor management with the private party. Just not ok in my book.
I'll only return to pick up tea and scones at the front.
Early one rainy Sunday morning, before a day of shopping, my boyfriend's sister and I were starving… Read more »
Pumpkin scone: pretty good, just the right amount of cinnamon (i'm not a fan), yes its melting in your mouth
Banana Blueberry scone: i like this one better, smells more like scone (ya know not cinnamon ;))
Alice's Tea -- Geeezzz, love it! it sweet and fresh. Comparable to teanychino...well, both are equally good, just in different ways.
curiouser and curiouser....
Lovely and imaginative setting, we had a seat right next to the window.
I had the pumpkin pancakes, and they were fantastic. He had the eggs Benedict, also very good.
Best part - feeling like you're at a childhood tea party while enjoying adult quality food.
Rating 3.75
Not quite a 4, but almost there! Woohoo! I found another place with awesome french toast!! It's not light and fluffy, a little denser, but flavorful and comes with a bunch of berries and three different sauces (creme, syrup, and jam - all in one) Deliciousness!! And they don't skimp on the fruit like other places. And only $9!!
It would be unfair to give this place a 4 just b/c I loved the french toast. My fiance had the scone benedict which was good, but didn't blow him away. I've tried the scones here before and they are nice and buttery. Definitely one of the better, if not the best, place for scones in the City. Not dry like you normally think.
Service was so so. As others have mentioned, it's a tea place so very girly and cute. I think my fiance felt a little weird b/c we were surrounded by women.
A minus star b/c they don't take reservations on the weekend unless you are a group of 6 or more. And on top of that, if you do have a large party, you have to call Alice chapter III to make a reservation at Chapter II. Strange.
But I'm for sure coming back here just for the french toast!
Alice's Teacup is super cute! A great place to come with your gal pals.
My friend and I came here for lunch on a weekday (we each decided to take a mental health day from work). We got an order of scones and a pot of tea (only $10, and the scones are HUGE). The pumpkin scone is great if you're a fan of pumpkin stuff. The buttermilk scone was only ok. Alice's tea was soooo good. You don't even need to add sugar or milk to it. We also got sandwiches, which were quite tasty.
Aside from the food, the place itself is so charming. You can book the second floor for birthdays, baby/bridal showers, etc. (there was a kid's party the day we went). The workers are also very attentive. There was a family of four sitting across from us and one of the workers came over to one of the little girls and gave her a pair of fairy wings and put fairy dust in her hair - so cute!
All in all, it was very fun and I'll definitely be back to sample more scones and tea (and maybe to get turned into a fairy, if I'm lucky).
The tea menu is pages longer than the food menu. As imagined, this place is adorable. Even though it's NYC, this place isn't totally mobbed (well, not on a Friday brunch). Unfortunately, we froze because ALL the day's deliveries were made during the hour we were there, with the door swinging open, delivery men wheeling boxes creating a current of nitrogen cold blasts.
Chicken sausage was good. Eggs okay. Tea schtick delightful. The bathroom was painted as the rabbit hole. Nice touch.
And a shout-out to the "golden key" concierge who, in a flick of his lashes, suggested this place for two non-newyorkers.
I went to Alice's before even reading a single review about it, so walking I didn't know what to expect.
First impressions:
Enticing signage outside-I like how they advertise the special scones of the day, they all sounded delicious and We were definitely going to order one, or a few =)
One note: I was coming with one agenda, for some great tea, as I'm a bit of a tea aficionado, I thought Alice's was going to be a tea house.
After entering, a nice hostess greeted us and sat up upstairs. The place looked very quaint, cozy, and I like that.
I quickly realized after checking over the tea menu, Alice's was more about food and the atmosphere than about tea. Even though the list was long, most of the tea was blended or flavored-which is fine if you're not looking for traditional tea.
Not a problem, I was still going to try out the tea anyways, but strickly going for their traditional menu.
After looking, we found that they had a few Darjeelings and we began the day with a tea and scone combo (2 scones and pot of tea).
The scones were delicious. The service was good, nice waitress. Unfortunately she didn't know much about tea-I was trying to figure out whether their Darjeelings were first, second, or autumnal flushes. She was very honest and said that she wasn't sure and was going to ask.
Again, I already realized that this place wasn't about traditional loose leaf tea, but that the tea adds to the experience. The scones were good, and the pot of tea was large-a positive if you don't drink that much tea and are looking to be quenched, but a negative if you usually drink tea the traditional way-gaiwan or gongfu style.
Me and my buddy polished off the scones nicely, slightly dry (but scones are kinda supposed to be) but the whip cream was definitely awesome.
We wanted more tea however, or at least wanted to see if they had tea that was close to premium quality. We got another scone and tea combo, this time, the Gyokuro. We figured if it was good, then it was a steal because Gyokuro's (Japanese green tea-usually highest quality, silky, sweet and fresh) are expensive. It was exactly as we thought, not great, but drinkable but cheap.
Final thoughts:
Alice's tea cup was a pleasant experience. We didn't get bad service or dry food as most people wrote, but I understand we had one sample size and I'm not trying to refute those reviewers. That might have been because it was early afternoon on a weekday and there was one party in addition to us, and they only needed one server. I want to go back when it was crowded and see if there's consistency.
Tea review 2 of 5: If you drink traditional tea, don't look for it here. But then again, that's not what Alice's is about I realized.
Food review 3 of 5: Only tried the scones and they were good.
Service review: 4 of 5: Nice and attentive, didn't know much about tea, but not sure if they require their staff to know, but very timely.
Atmosphere: 5 of 5: Relaxed, bright, calm.
Will I come again: No, but not because it wasn't pleasant, I'd just rather spend the time going to a tea house I like or cafe, I'm just not too into the afternoon, brunch feeling.
Omg I love this place! I go there every week for their scones that come with cream and jelly! I don't think it helps ne stay thin but I have to say it is worth every calorie! I think everyone has to sample this cute and very friendly place to eat!!!! Great place to also bring kids If u have them!!!!!!
Alice's tea cup is one of my absolute favorite haunts. I love the tea, the food and of course the decor. I love Alice and Wonderland and feel like an urban fairy princess when I have brunch there. The lines can be long and annoying, and sometimes the hostesses can be unrelenting about letting you reserve space for a large group-- but the food and the experience is worth it. I would be there all of the time if the wait and the seating issue weren't a part of the deal. It is also refreshing to see all of the cool toys for children and our inner children, from fairy wings to progressive political buttons and decorated tea cups they have it all. I am getting hungry just thinking about Alice's Tea Cup. Sigh, I need one of those buttermilk or pumpkin scones.
I came back to Alice's Tea Cup Chapter II recently for a friend's birthday dinner. It was quite delightful. This time I got The Nibble, which includes a sandwich, scone, cookies, and a pot of tea. Yum.
Low-key with friendly staff - this is a great place to chill out with friends. You can reserve the upstairs back room for private events (e.g. bridal shower, baby shower, etc.).
Decent prices and lots of options.
Amazing scones. The 64th St. location is great for large parties. One of my friend's had her… Read more »
This review is for take-away only.
Alice's serves Scones with a capital S. There are different varieties daily, sweet and savory, from pumpkin (which has a caramel-y glaze) to ham + cheese to classic buttermilk to peanut butter + chocolate. But my all-time favorite was raspberry chocolate chip, which I had last summer. Good god, it was delicious. Even if I felt like a lump after eating the whole damn thing.
Their cookies are huge and tasty (peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal... pretty standard varieties), and their cupcakes look promising, but I've yet to try them.
I'd have no desire to eat *in* here -- it's kind of cloying and too-cute inside, while dimly subterranean -- but it's a convenient place to pick up a breakfast treat or afternoon goodies to bring back to work or home.
Servers at the take-away counter in the front have always been pleasant.
Plan to share, much as you might not want to. Solo ingestion of this much sugar and flour and cream in one fell swoop guarantees a belly-ache.
I've been here several times and it's always a treat.
First, if you can make a reservation for a weekend breakfast/brunch, DO SO. The line tends to get incredibly long. I was told they only take reservations of parties of 6 or more so if we're a little short I lie.
Food is delicious. The french fries are a must. Scones are delicious, though I don't like that they put lime in their clotted cream. The pumpkin scones are the most popular, but I prefer the plain ones. Tea is the heart of the menu. I love the indian spice tea - it's like a chai made with a milk base. Get that with a scone, sandwich & fries, and you're set for the day.
I love bringing my daughter here because they have fairy wings you can wear and servers come around and put fairy dust in your hands and ask you to make a wish. How lovely is that?
This is a great place to book a baby shower, girls day out or take visiting relatives. It's casual, well priced and satisfying both in terms of taste and atmosphere. It's a unique presence in NYC's tea rooms.
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