The Tea Kettle Restaurant

Thank you for the great experience and meal! The lobster bisque is amazing. We will be coming back for sure!

I was a little skeptical walking in because it isn’t the most appealing location. My advice is too just walk in. The dining area is cute, and not tacky. The waitress was pleasant, and the food was outstanding. The sausage that they make on premises could be the best sausage I’ve ever had. We had the paleo Benedict and a blueberry pancake that had cut bacon pieces in it that was nearly perfect. It wasn’t the cheapest breakfast I ever had, but it was worth every penny.

amazing service, great food, lots of options and room to make changes to fit the dietary needs of the customer. Great place to check out and they serve breakfast all day which is lit! Gluten free options too!

Awesome place. Great service. Paleo options are wonderful. Karen is fun and friendly.

service is awful and food is worse. waited an hour for breakfast and the egg was raw and the home fries are just warm red potatos cut in large chunks. really bad will never eat here agaiin

Went here for breakfast at about 10am on a Sunday. Highly recommend sitting at the seats outside on a nice day!
We waited a while for our food, but the weather was gorgeous so we didn’t mind. It was also a Sunday morning so that was expected. The staff was super friendly and the inside of the restaurant was welcoming.
Ordered a peanut cup pancake and it was absolutely delicious! I thought they forgot the peanut butter cup chunks, but they were cooked into the pancake. The waitress was very nice and brought me out a small cup of extra chunks anyways. Very chocolaty, just the way I like! I would love to come back here and try out all of the different pancake specials!

Found this spot while on a road trip from Long Island. The friendliest service from GM Karen. Food is fantastic as is the coffee. Our party of five had sausage gravy over biscuits, grits, Belgium waffles, egg sandwiches. Sweet potato bacon hash, breakfast burrito. All homemade all fresh hot and delicious. Highly recommend.

Karen made it a lovely experience and was so accommodating. Biscuit with gravy was the highlight and sitting outside on the picnic tables.

The Tea Kettle is an epicurean delight. Everything is homemade. They grind their own beef here and brine their own corned beef. The Cajun shrimp and grits is a taste of New Orleans. The ravioli is fresh and delicious. Karen is an amazing waitress! A gem on the shoreline! Don’t forget the strawberry shortcake!

High quality brunch with great gluten free paleo pastry and killer burgers.
Although I would definitely eat here again, and suspect it will be a five star experience, and look forward to it, I have to give this place a harder rating this time, because there were some hiccups. They had run out of burger meat and had to make more, and so we waited quite a bit for our food. Then I asked for butter and didn’t get it, for a while, and had to ask someone else, and my pancake got pretty cold. In both cases there was clear communication about the burger and apologies about forgetting the butter, and with my pancake an offer of a fresh one, but I was far too hungry to wait any longer at that point.
The burger is spectacular, ground beef made onsite, a large American sized patty, epic, delicious, juicy, and my husband barely shared a bite. Next time I need a burger I’m skipping the trendy hipster bars and coming here.
Paleo pastries are very good, pancakes didn’t give me a sugar crash because they were loaded with protein, and the waitress was careful to check whether I was paleo or celiac. Sausage patty made on site was decent. Flavor wise it’s ok, but I love knowing it’s not from some giant plastic vat of factory made sausage!
I agree with other reviewers that the word «Tea» is a little misleading as they don’t have any special teas, but, that was Probobly a marketing error and a little too late to change the name.
I’d eat here a lot more often but the price point is a little on the higher end for brunch, so it’ll end up being more of my «special occasion» or «major burger craving» spots.

If you haven’t stopped in at «The Tea Kettle» lately, you are missing their great new added menu items. .“Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and Scrambled Eggs! This treat is home made. All fresh ingredients with homemade sausage. «Puts the Old South to shame!» Chef David has perfected this wonderful dish… this just adds to all of his other great meals! Paleo bread, gluten free, he really cooks healthy but never loses the flavor. Karen keeps the service moving, but always has time to hear your requests or suggestion. They have so many choices… For everyone’s taste.
Great homemade food, Great Service, Fair Prices
Try your next Sunday Breakfast or Brunch at
THE TEA KETTLE. Old Saybrook…

Came here and had Karen as a server, she was awesome! The food is delicious, house baked turkey, fresh ground house burgers, lots of house made items including pickles!

Thank you for always having great food and great service! Everything is always fresh and delicious and we always feel so welcome!

Enjoyed the Mother’s Day brunch very much. Like another review said, some items, like poached eggs, just don’t do well in a chafing dish for buffet brunch. But the large majority of the buffet items were plentiful, delicious and fresh, and service was very good. The desserts were delicious also. If only they served fresh squeezed oj, they would have 5 stars from me.

Wanted to try a new breakfast place. The Unilocal reviews sounded encouraging! Photos also looked nice. We were greeted by a friendly Karen. We took s seat by the window and served our coffee and juice.
The menu and specials were presented. It was explained that the make their own bread and grunge their sausage and burgers. Hash is a specialty.
The omelet I had with onions, mushrooms, Swisse was the best I have had on the shoreline. Beautifully presented, warm, looking like an omelet and not on a plate of grease. It was full of veggies! The corned beef was very good with large chunks of beef and potatoes. Great OJ and a nice cold glass of water.
My friend had French toast made with their own cinnamon swirl baked bread. They serve both fake and real maple syrup! A must in my book!
We will be back. If I compare this to breakfast locations in Guilford, Madison, Clinton and Westbrook… This chef’s work wins out. Now if they only had a fireplace!
Other chef’s take notice.

Perhaps regular menu items are better here, but the Mother’s day brunch buffet was deeply disappointing. Items like eggs Benedict and French toast sitting in the warming tray for too long get stale and very difficult to cut much less eat. We were hoping having a reserved sitting time would mean fresher food items were available but we were not so lucky. Everything seemed to have been prepared way too far in advance and we didn’t find anything that we actually enjoyed. Adding to our dissatisfaction was the fact that when I made reservation, I had questioned if members of our party who have specific dietary needs could order from the menu, should the $ 24.95 buffet not have items they could enjoy. They originally said when we asked on Mother’s Day to order different items that they could not. I know they do gluten-​free and Paleo but they had no clue about vegans and vegetarians. They certainly do not eat fish. However I have to give them credit (& a second star) for ultimately offering to make something different and then not charging us for the members of our party who did not eat. Also they did not honor the 15% discount check-​in offer on Unilocal for Mother’s Day. Those of us who did eat would not plan to return.

Great for Breakfast or Lunch, and anything in between. The kitchen is out front on display not hidden in the back room and with their very friendly service this is our go to place.
We had some of their own made on site sausage — best I’ve ever had, must the right amount of seasonings. I’d give this place 6 STARS if that was an option. And the best news, I’ve heard they may extend their hours in the Summer.

My winter weekends lately have been dedicated to searching for the most delicious breakfast places. The Tea Kettle was another good find. They have a great pancake menu and showcase several gluten free and paleo options for breakfast. We selected and split three dishes: the eggs Benedict, a chunky monkey pancake, and a wonderful omelette filled with basil and mozzarella. Everything was good and it came out rather quickly. I thought the prices were pretty fair. Overall, I think a great option for breakfast.

Wonderful place. Was out and about and we decided to stop in for some breakfast. After looking at the specials, I ordered what amounted to Zucchini bread french toast and a side order of sweet potato and bacon hash. The food was excellent, especially the french toast. I was worried because sometimes Zucchini bread can get too moist in the middle — but theirs was perfectly done. I am definitely going to have to try this at home. The hash was very good as well, though a little overcooked and with not nearly enough bacon. However, it has an excellent smoky taste that I’m sure I will have again next time. Oh yes, there will be a next time.
The place is surprisingly roomy, much more so than it would appear from the outside. Oddly, i find the place strongly resembles an old pizza place or third tier italian restaurant. I’m curious what was there before the Tea Kettle. The décor is pleasant and comfortable with plenty of room between well spaced out tables. We sat by the front window, along which were arrayed several namesake Tea Kettles of various types and colors.
For the most part the staff were decent. The woman who seemed to be running the front was very helpful and friendly. However, there seems to be some measure of contention between the the front and kitchen staff. Both our waitress and another were in an argument with a young guy who seemed to be their cook. It got heated at times, enough so that many patrons were notably uncomfortable, and the cook wouldn’t let the matter drop. He escalated the issue several times, despite multiple requests by the women on the floor for him to let the matter drop. I’ve deducted a star for the unprofessional behavior.
Overall, though, I will definitely go back. Prices were good and the food was great.

The food is delightful … Tasty, well presented, and quite reasonable. The service is personal, friendly, and eager to serve. The manager told me they would make anything they had ingredients to do – I only need ask.
My pancakes were huge, buttery, and filling. The sweet potato and bacon hash was very sweet but just a little smoky.
Will definitely come again.