Bloomsbury Tea Room

«This place is genius!» as my 5 year old daughter says. I went all the way and ordered the English Tea Extravaganza. They also offer a small selection of Gluten-​free goodies and great vegetarian delights. The service goes beyond helpful and all are very sweet. I came here with my 5 year old daughter for a birthday treat, very adorable and terrific tea.

My sister and I used to go to different tea rooms with my Mom and since she passed away it’s been hard to go again. After I moved here I waited until my sister was here for a visit to go. It couldn’t have been a more perfect tea experience to celebrate my Mom’s tradition… great atmosphere, amazing variety of teas, delicious food and amazing service.

I love this place! The service is wonderful and their soups are to die for. They also give you a hat to wear which I loved.

I had a great time at Bloomsbury Tea Room over the weekend with some lady friends. I called ahead and made reservations for Saturday. We decided to make it a tea and beach day. We arrived at 11 (opening) and found easy parking in their lot. Bloomsbury is in a cute house converted into a tea room. The rooms seemed spacious and well laid out. We were seated right by the front window and fireplace. Once we were seated our server asked if we would like the fireplace on. It was an overcast day for August and the fireplace was a very nice touch. We were immediately served water after we sat down and offered lemon for the water. All three of us got the Bloomsbury tea though it was a hard choice between that and the Victorian High Tea, which the selections for seem to change out often. For the Bloomsbury tea I got creamed artichoke soup, a full sized personal crab quiche, a slice of chicken salad tea sandwich, a slice of egg salad tea sandwich, one lavender scone, one raisin blueberry scone, and a serving of a sweet strawberry and banana jam type dessert they call Marilee’s Delight. We were also served lemon curd and clotted cream with our scones. The spread definitely felt more like a lunch spread rather than a high tea type spread and was served on a single dish each rather than a double or three-​tiered plate. Everything tasted very good and the service was very nice. I noticed that the serving-​ware seemed to be real silver rather than stainless steel which was nice to see. The atmosphere was very relaxed though elegant. One friend pointed out the décor and atmosphere of the place was very Beatrix Potter-​esque. Another friend commented that the food, service and atmosphere was everything you would expect from a high tea place. I never felt rushed at this place though they did seem to get pretty busy. At the end of our tea the check came in a vintage book in which people wrote comments and thanks which I thought was cute. Overall I was very happy with place and would highly recommend to anyone looking for an elegant, yet relaxed place for tea.

Bloomsbury is definitely in my top 10 favorite places in Santa Cruz.
I used to come here with my grandma when I was little, and when I went back today with a friend it brought back several wonderful memories.
The food was superb, and we both left with our bellies full. Everything was delicious and bite sized, so you can get a little bit of everything! The staff was very friendly and wanted to make sure your stay was as comfortable as it could be. The interior is so cute. It is a perfect theme for a tea room. It’s quaint and cozy. You even get to pick your own tea cup to use and, if you want, your very own hat to wear! I promised myself after going to Bloomsbury today that I would not wait as long as I did to go back again! I can not wait to go back!

Oh my goodness this place is too adorable. I came here with 2 other girlfriends and right when we walked inside it looked like straight from a tea party from a movie.
The server came and gave us our teacups first. We ordered the Light tea. It came with our choice of tea each and a plate of 3 sandwiches, 2 scones, fruit, and a fruit smoothie. The food was surprisingly sooo good. The sandwiches were amazing with really good and flavor and actually filling. I got the curry chicken, the kalal chicken, and the cucumber. The curry chicken was my favorite sandwich. Super tasty. The scones were still warm when we got them, one being a normal flavor and one being a lemon white chocolate flavor. They gave us some cream and lemon sauce for them. Complimented the scones so good. And the cream was one of the best creams I had ever tasted, light and fluffy and perfect with the scone. I didn’t think I was going to get full at all but I was stuffed from the food.
They have hats hanging around the place that you can wear throughout your meal and take pictures with. All in all this place is adorable and a must try if you want to have a fun time with the girls or for any occasion!

My main issue with Bloomsbury was the staff’s apparent inability to do their jobs without seeming harried, nervous and put-​upon. Does not make for a relaxing experience. I went with a Meetup group last night and arrived a few minutes early with a friend who is on crutches. Rather than get her seated right away, the owner overlooked us in favor of first seating two small groups who had arrived at the same time. I had to ask her to please allow my friend to sit. Later when I told the owner that the bathroom was in un-​usable condition, she didn’t take care of it right away — I don’t know if she ever had it cleaned, because I gave up waiting. Not a good thing after consuming half a pot of tea.
Also the credit card machine was not working and no one was alerted to this beforehand. In this scenario it would have been more professional to take the credit card information manually, but that was not offered as a solution. The host of our group, to whom we had all prepaid, had to offer to send a check — our bill likely came to more than $ 300. Thank God they didn’t expect anyone to go out in the rain to find an ATM down the road… but why would you not call someone with a reservation to tell them what was going on before they arrived?
Once seated and while not negotiating for payment and clean bathrooms, however, I was pleased with the décor — British Baroque, complete with mismatched bone china — as well as with the friendly service and the fine tea and food. We had a special holiday tea which was more than a bit too spendy, in my opinion, but quality… and it included a tasting of three different special teas, accompanied by chocolate, in addition to the two holiday blend teas, one black and one white, prepared for our meal. Our savories included shrimp salad pastries, turkey on croissant with chutney, tiny asparagus quiche, ham on lemon muffin with fig jam. Vanilla and peppermint stick scones were served with delicious clotted cream and lemon curd. Portions were so generous, there was little room for dessert — served buffet style and therefore, unlimited. The petit fours, cream puffs and tarts were as tasty as they were beautiful. We were even encouraged to take some home.
So, the owner could use some lessons in customer relations and perhaps a stress management course as well, but otherwise a good time was had by all and I would return… cash and perhaps a toilet brush in hand.

My cousin picked me up from the airport in San Jose & took me to this tea room, every thing about it was fabulous! I agree it is like being in a wonderful fairytale having delicious tea & the aroma is out of this world! The scones are fabulicious & the artichoke soup is priceless to the taste buds! So quaint & lovely, what a wonderful way we spent our rainy afternoon, catching up on life!

We were a party of 10 ten women, celebrating a birthday, with a reservation and when we arrived there was no one to greet us. We had to ring a bell and someone came out and showed us to the table with menus. When everyone had arrived, we waited for awhile until our order was taken. A small vase of roses was added to the table. We then waited 40 minutes before the food was served, seven of us ordered the crab quiche and artichoke soup. The quiche was warm and the soup was just warm, not hot.
The 3 ladies that ordered salads, commented that they were dry and mostly lettuce. The birthday girl did receive a small dessert with a lit candle.
There were no towels in the bathroom.
Overall, it wasn’t that special and the wait for lunch was so long that one guest had to leave as lunch was being served.
It felt like they didn’t plan for enough service staff and the food was just okay.

1 star for the very nice service
2^nd star for giving the checks in Jane Austin books
3^rd star for the prices
Had the light tea & it was 10 bucks for a large tea, 2 scones, 4 or 5 sandwiches, & devonshire? cream. Mmm. Nice place to sit & chat w/​a few munchies for a very decent price!
Check it out!

Wow! I had the Light Tea for $ 10 and I was very happy and full. The tea came in real china (we got to pick our teacups) the tea came in a teapot that sat on top of a tea warmer, the mini sandwiches were tasty, and the scones were warm and moist. And, the service was fast even with quite a few people in the small, quaint home/​restaurant.

I admit it: I’m a tea SNOB that felt immediately at home in this great Capitola lunch spot. Bloomsbury gives me my fix of lusciousness with no apology for the frills — lit pot warmers, real china, creatively cut sandwiches, salads, freshly baked scones, and baskets of fabulous hats everywhere just in case you want to wear one for the real British experience. The ambiance is Queen Mother with a book-​lover comfort for the menfolk. Plus, the «Light Tea» luncheon is only $ 10 including a pot of tea! Chocolate lovers: Try the Valentine’s Blend tea. When you’re done, drive down Capitola Ave. toward the ocean to Betsy’s Summerhouse Antiques — another Capitola charmer!

Very nice service, the kid’s tea is super cute and comes with sandwiches shaped like hearts, fruit, scone & dessert as well as a pot of tea or hot chocolate. You get to choose your own tea cup (cool) and there was a special fancy mini water glass & teacup/​saucer for my daughter. Not at all crowded, and the chef and waiter both took time out to make my daughter feel welcome. They even gave her stuffed teddy bears with plastic tea sets to play with! And my pot of tea & scones… heaven. Thanks! We’ll definitely be back. :)

I have been here twice for birthdays. The first time we ordered the full tea, which is explained in another review. Our server came out and let us choose our own teacups. I have to say I loved the tea sandwiches so much I could just eat a whole plate of them. We went during the holiday season and got 2 hugs fresh baked scones that were peppermint chocolate. Wow. That with the delicious desserts were so much food, I had to take a scone and part of the desserts home. This was for my mom’s birthday and she just loved it.
I went a second time for my daughter’s birthday party. Nine 10-​year-​olds took over the back room. The servers were all very patient with our requests and the girls had a great time. They absolutely DEVOURED the fresh scones and Nutella tea sandwiches. I had the Paris tea and it’s simply amazing; I could drink it all day (that and the Devonshire cream…).
I recommend having a full tea your first time so you can experience a little of everything there. Then when you return, you can pick and choose what you liked. I will have a pot of Paris tea and a bowl of Devon cream please!

We were a group of six for a co-worker’s birthday. We called ahead to let the staff know that there were two of us who had severe fruit allergies, and what those fruits were, we were assured that there were other options on the menu and that the allergens could be avoided.
So we arrived 15 minutes before our reservation. There was only one party of two inside and yet the staff seemed very harassed and ignored us for 20 minutes. When we were seated, we reminded the staff that we called about allergies, they said that they remembered us, and yes, everything was taken care of.
The menu is not for an English tea, it appears to be more of a Californian take on tea. We waited another 15 minutes for our order to be taken. I took the opportunity to use the restroom, unfortunately there was NO toilet paper — NONE! I tried to find someone who worked there to tell them, but the entire staff of three seemed to disappear! (7 people were waiting to get in and the party of two trying to pay their bill and leave) So I went back to the table. The staff did not re-​appear anywhere for another 10 minutes.
We got to order finally, and then when order came, it was quite a shock. I and my co-​worker got fancy Jell-​O and scones on our plates that had the very fruit both of us were allergic to! When we pointed this out to our server, and that we had called, and confirmed that with them when we arrived, she said, «Yeah whatever», took our plates and left, we didn’t see her again for another 20 minutes!
Everyone at the table was not impressed with the food. The scones without fruit were so sweet (and they are not supposed to be) that I actually spit it out into my napkin. The quiches and salads were not fresh, everything savory was over salted. Tea water was not refilled and we had to ask 3 times to get any milk for the tea.
Then just when we thought that our server wasn’t coming back and we were getting ready to leave. She turned up with the bill and very sweetly said, «I hope you enjoyed your tea.»
So all in all, the food, and the service are abysmal, none of us will EVER go back again, and we are telling all our friends and family what a horrible experience we had.
This establishment deserves no stars!

This place is perfect. Quality, atmosphere, service… it’s all great. I’m so glad there’s a great little tearoom in Santa Cruz! I go there very often (work right next door at Caress Day Spa) and we all love this place. We’ll even order a tray of tea to take over to work on our lunch break (proper teapot, cup, scones, cream, the works) or a regular lunch. Their food is wonderful and everything is freshly prepared. They have a new scone flavor out — peppermint. Tender flakey scones with tiny flecks of peppermint candy inside. I was a baker for many years and never heard of peppermint scones… and they are wonderful! Portions are great. I often get the full tea and split it with a friend. If I split it with my husband I only add a cup of soup and it’s still a perfect amount. I always leave totally happy and satisfied.

We were able to take advantage of their tea with Alice and the Madd Hatter and it was WONDERFUL being in Wonderland. The tea was incredible and the food more so. We were able to have Queen of Hearts strawberry tarts and the most amazing magical mushroom pastry. Alice and the Hatter with the March Hare truly were able to pull off their roles well. The menu catered to young and old alike. Make a point of going in at their events! I know we will be.

I’ve been here twice and can’t wait to go again. Perhaps the varieties of tea offered has expanded since my visit, but I was pleased with the choices I made both times. The food was excellent, all made right there and nothing beats fresh scones right out of the oven. The food menu was great, there were lots of options and all of them delicious. The staff was wonderful and didn’t make us feel rushed at all, and the ambiance of the tea room is great as well, nice tables and not too crowded. The owner was delightful, and I wish her great success.

I went there two different occasions recently and was very pleased with the restaurant. It lives up to your expectations and more. You can have the traditional tea of small sandwiches, scones, small salad, 3 bite sized dessert and two different teas or the smaller tea service. The menu has regular sandwiches or quiche or large salads. This is truly a «ladies» restaurant, however, men should not feel that the portions would be too small for them. Both times the women who ordered sandwiches took half home. This tea room is an American experience not the British style, all though you will get Devon cream and lemon curd with your vanilla scones.