Huntington Library Chinese Garden Tea House

This place is amazing. Saw a proposal by the Japanese Garden. Just beautiful. You feel as if you’re traveling throughout different countries but yet you’re just in California. Chinese garden is a must!

Was treated here for a birthday tea. Let me start by saying that I’ve never been to tea so I don’t have a comparison except for what I hear or see on tv. I just have to say that I loved it. Great tea, awesome service and good food. Our server went out of her way. She was super attentive and happened to notice it was my birthday and brought me a cupcake and sang happy birthday. Beautiful gardens are an added bonus. The cost of the brunch and cost to enter the gardens is separate.

This tea room may be hard to find, but it is also hard to forget. The staff is ever so friendly and the food is satisfying. This tea is the best I’ve had in a long time. The most popular teas are Raspberry and Rose Petal. Rose Petal has a light flowery flavor with a black tea core. The views of the garden are breathtaking. One stop in this tea room will remind you or introduce you to the magic that is tea. If you have the chance, make a reservation and enjoy the majesty that is the Huntington Library Tea Room.
Note: You must make a reservation and you need to pay the admission to get in. Also, the path to the tea house is quite confusing, so come early.

Good food quick and easy. Eat in the serene and lovely Chinese Pavilion overlooking the lake. We have season passes to the Huntington, and the gardens make a great place for a quick stop. Get off the freeway and grab lunch in a wonderful setting.

Situated next to the Chinese Garden. Rather
limited choice but they do have Chinese tea. Nicely situated by the pond.

The Chinese Gardens are 5 stars. When I first stepped into the gardens, I laughed to myself that some parts of the gardens looked like every huge fighting scene from a Bruce Lee movie. Haha! But the gardens are so much more than that. Best description I have heard from a friend that loves the Chinese Garden; «my mom and I can sit there and not have to speak and feel close to one another.» Incredible. This place is pretty much why I got my membership.
As a bonus, they do have food. However, the food is 3 – 4 stars. It has beer & wine (Excellent to have a glass of wine while looking at the gardens!). I tried the Shrimp Spring Rolls and Udon Stir Fry and it was good but not great.

It’s really cool to meet Unilocalers in real life!
I was reading many, many reviews of Landmarks in Los Angeles, when I stumbled across the Huntington Library Chinese Garden Tea House. I read Stevo O.‘s review of this place and I was so intrigued that I complimented him on it! He responded promptly, and that’s how our Unilocal friendship was formed!
Stevo invited me and my friends to view this beautiful place! I felt like I was a tourist in China again! It was so much more… We didn’t get a chance to dine there, but maybe next time! There were so many things to look at that we didn’t have enough time. Words and photos cannot capture the ambiance you feel when you are there… check it out!

The boys and I had a great time following all the trails. The koi fish are beautiful. The walk through the bamboo forest and then zenith garden were our favorite part of this garden.

Chinese restaurant:
Garlic shrimp spring rolls-​not bad. Fresh shrimp.
Vegetable chow mein Shanghai style-​below average. Too oily and not worth the price.
Tea house:
Assorted sandwiches-​average. The only good one is smoked salmon sandwich with caviar.
Assorted cones-​average. Served warm.
Fruits-​honeydew, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple.
Desserts-​average. Chocolate fudge brownie, walnut honey pie.
Tea-​average. Seasonal special raspberry with black tea-​weird combined flavor. Definitely not worth 31 bucks.

The Huntington Library is going through some significant changes in the Chinese garden and it’s partly due to some generous donations and a smart trustee for the estate. All the work done in the garden is of authentic Chinese materials and design, which is culturally important from a historical standpoint. in commercial manufacturing, this is just the opposite.
However, when wandering through the garden, you feel like you’re in another country and can appreciate the serenity of the lake, koi and ornamental structures made of rock, concrete, marble and other stones. Culturally, this fits the San Marino community, which has over half of its residents coming from an Asian background. I would say the Huntington Library is the Jewel of the San Gabriel Valley, whether it be diamond or jade…

My compliments to the chef. I had these chicken wings without bones! What?! How do they do that? I call then spooky wings because it is spooky how good they were despite the lack of bones. I actually came here a few years ago and I was a little dissapoimred by the way the chinese food was made as you expect great chinese food based on the prices and I am a chinese food buff but recently the food has been quite good. Would definitely recommend.
They also have the Blue Boy (the gardens not the resteraunt)!

Favorite area at the Huntington. So beautiful and I always love coming here! :) :) There is a whole restaurant at the tea house! It is perfectly located by the water.

We became members in 2012, and keep renewing because this is a great stopover any time of year when we head to LA or locations east. We usually stop in and have lunch in the newly expanded Chinese Gardens. Do not miss their fried shrimp and teas enjoyed while sitting overlooking the lake and new buildings. The Tea garden and café are good stops too. The grill has great grilled tacos, with beer and wine available when you’re feet get tired and you need a break.
The new entrance and beautiful gift/​book shop which opened January 2015 are a vast improvement over the temporary entrance, but they are still working on the education center, so there’s a bit of walk around the back side of the museum. We were a little early for the cherry blossoms, but the extensive camellia walkway by the main lawn was in full bloom mid-​February.
The Huntingtons built their mansiont to display their collection, fully planning for it to be a museum after their deaths. The mansion is stuffed with Gainsboroughs and Reynolds. Blue Boy and Pinkie have become old friends, as has Lady Hamilton.
Allow a few hours to wander through the Australia, succulent, cactus, bonsai, and Japanese Gardens, just to name a few of the extensive gardens. We caught the tail end of the blooming stinky plant in the conservatory on one visit. Or become members andexplore a couple of gardens at a time.
The library collection includes a Gutenburg bible and original Audobon plates. I always find a new interesting factoid in the science room and in the temporary exhibits. Between the changing exhibits and various blooming times we visit several times a year. Besides, we have to get our money’s worth from our annual pass. Three visits and you are ahead of the game.

While walking into the Chinese garden I noticed a nice smell, yes, besides the plants and flowers. It smelled like beef and oh I like my beef.
At first I thought it was only a tea house but they serve food as well. From crispy shrimp spring rolls, veggie chow mein to beef with bell peppers and onions.
Friend and I had to try it out and ordered their shrimp spring rolls, two long cripy rolls full of shrimp. The marmalade sauce gives it a nice touch.
Had the beef and peppers and it was tasty, nice portion that included fried rice.
They offer cup or tea pot size teas as well. Small pastries and of course water and sodas.
Plenty of seating and a lovely man made lake to enjoy while you’re eating.
The food was good. Wasn’t bad for the price, it tasted fine. Wasn’t disappointed.

I tried the lotus cake, which was a little dry. Nothing special. The iced jasmine tea was incredibly refreshing, but I think it was because I was sooo thirsty and it was 90 degrees outside. The garden itself is kind of boring, but you have this giant lake with some Chinese-​style buildings around it. It makes for a relaxing dining experience. There isn’t much selection and I didn’t try the food, so I can’t comment.

I came here yesterday with a party of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids). We ordered two orders of the Garlic Shrimp Spring Rolls, an order of the Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Seasonal Vegetables, and Diced Beef Steak with Special Sauce… oh, and drinks too. This was a perfect amount of food for our group.
The Diced Beef Steak tasted like bland grilled steak and a thick hoisin-​like sauce drizzled over it, with added red and yellow bell peppers and cilantro. It was just okay. We were very hungry and this was not the taste I was hoping to devour, lol. It was edible, so that’s a good thing. The rice, however, was made with too much water as it was mushy.
You can forget the Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Seasonal Vegetables. One, because there was no veggies at all. Secondly, it was pretty bland except that the tiny thin slices of shiitake mushrooms that gave it a slight hint of flavor. It also had a splash of soy sauce, which wasn’t evenly distributed throughout the noodles.
I wish we ordered more of the Garlic Shrimp Spring Rolls. They are actually fried egg rolls with about 5 – 6 whole shrimp in it. It was juicy and delicious. The price was a bit steep but still worth buying. I’d say this was a solid 4 stars.
The lady at the counter could probably liven up a bit… needs to smile more. She wasn’t rude nor was she friendly. However, I did appreciate the older gentleman «busboy» and «server» who came to bring us our order and took our dirty plates away.
Overall, I’m giving this place a 3 because of the beautiful dining view of the Chinese Garden.
Will I come back? Probably. And you know what I’ll order! :-)

Once inside the Huntington Library gardens your food options are limited. If you opt not to shell out a wad of money for the tea house (which you need reservations for far in advance) you can instead eat at either the café at the tea house or at the Chinese garden, either of which are insanely overpriced.
I decided to grab lunch at the Chinese tea house location (the official name is the Liu Fang Yuan Tea House). You get in line, choose what you want from about 6 options (these apparently change from time to time), order at the counter and then go find a seat outside. Your order is brought to your table.
We ordered a beef plate and calamari plate along with an iced tea and Perrier. The total came to over $ 30. When you see the photo of my plate which consisted of a scoop of white rice and some pieces of beef with onion and green peppers, you’ll see what I mean by being overpriced. I think food at Disneyland is a bargain compared to this!
From a positive standpoint, it’s a gorgeous view to enjoy as you sit and eat. The beef was very tender and flavorful. My wife said her calamari was excellent. The staff were all very friendly and our plates were delivered to our table within a minute or two after we sat down. Even though it didn’t fill me up it at least satisfied my tummy for a few hours.
You aren’t allowed to bring in food to the Huntington so be prepared to open your wallet up wide if you get hungry.

Little tea and snack shop inside the Chinese Garden at Huntington Library and Gardens. I only ordered an iced tea here, so I can’t corroborate on the food reviews, but the tea was quite good! I had the iced orange pekoe, and it was very refreshing! I enjoyed my tea sitting outside on the umbrella’d outdoor patio, overlooking the pond. It was a lovely spot to enjoy the afternoon and kick up my feet for a few.
My tea was $ 3.50– I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about the prices. I see people happily throwing their money away at Starbuck’s all the time for zero ambience. I feel like any time you go inside somewhere with paid entry, it’s kind of normal to see prices inflated a bit. It’s not something I’m really excited about, but it’s not surprisingly unusual either.

After walking the grounds on a hot Memorial Day weekend, I stopped here for 2 iced teas. $ 3.50 for a 16 ounce cup of iced tea!?! Holy cow. After shelling out $ 7 for 2 drinks (no food), I found a place outside to relax.
As one Unilocaler said: Overpriced, underwhelming.

I have had a membership to the Library for several years and we normally eat at the Tea House. I had the kids with me and decided to eat here. I didn’t see any high chairs which was a bust with a 2-​year-​old. The portions were small and the prices were high for what you get.
I ordered the chicken chow mein which was more like Pad Thai. And the Pork Loin with Sweet and Sour Sauce was not very good. The sauce was a heavy tomato paste base. I didn’t care for it at all. Tea was $ 3 a cup. I came out spending more that I wanted to which I expected. But I didn’t expect for everything to be so bland and tasteless.