I'm surprised by the glowing reviews. My review is for tea service and I was left disappointed by bizarre charges, mediocre food, and ungracious service. For some context, I adore afternoon tea. I'll start with the good: the staff was friendly (but see below); the tea was lovely, with some really interesting blends (I had the fig black tea and enjoyed it); the scones were pretty good, although not as flavorful as I would have liked (I tried both kinds); the jam was really nice.But I was disappointed with the small things that added up and made me feel like I was at the Spirit Airlines of tea houses. I've never been to afternoon tea where I'm charged for milk. They didn't even have dairy, so we were left with almond milk. It was laughable how little milk they brought out for one pot of tea. We didn't find out about the up-charge until we paid.We were asked if we wanted to add lemon curd and clotted cream for a charge. We received literally a spoonful of each. The spoonful of curd was $3 and clotted cream a whopping $5. The lemon curd wasn't good. I love homemade lemon curd, so this was a bummer. Turns out it's thickened with corn starch, which is what made it taste off.The last straw was having to pay the 3.5% credit card fee. I'm actually going to reach out to Visa about this one.Half an hour before closing, the server brought out to-go cups for our tea and cleared the table because they needed to do the dishes. What?! If you want to go home earlier, change your hours. If I wanted tea in a to-go cup, I would've saved $50 and gone to Peet's.Leland Tea has some odd ways of approaching tea service that certainly didn't feel like the gracious experiences I've had both locally and all over the world. I will not recommend Leland Tea to friends looking for delightful afternoon tea, but it seems fine for takeaway tea.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Meg Dibley
Food and service is delightful. Completely charming!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: High Tea Sandwiches and Cookies
Wendi K.
A very low key, casual afternoon tea spot. Did the afternoon tea for 3 ($75, $100 after tax & tip) here!Comes with 2 pots of tea, salad, 3 scones, 3 types of sandwiches sliced into triangles, 3 madeleines and cookies.The sandwiches were delicious (we tried the tuna, egg, and chicken salad sandwich) and filling. Friendly staff :)
Chrizelle V.
The atmosphere of Leland Tea is so refreshing. After a long work week, this is a great place to decompress with a hot/cold cup of tea. The staff is so sweet and knowledgable of their products that their recommendations were perfect for my preferences. Dyana helped me today, and she is so sweet and welcoming. Will definitely come back!!
Lia K.
We always have a blast when we are here. The tea is amazing. It's always smooth and has great flavors. The service is amazing. Will makes you feel like family!!! Everything tastes freshly made and it's always prepared with love. My aunt has been coming here for a long time and brought me here last year and now we try to find every excuse to come. The scones are always fresh and soft they taste like they were just baked. And the clotted cream, jam, and lemon curd is so fresh and to die for. Thank you always for a wonderful experience! Also, the decor is sooooooo cute. I love taking photos in front of the flower wall!!
Carmen H.
This place is so charming and inviting. Me and my girlfriends were seated and the server was the sweetest and cutest girl ever. She was very knowledgeable about that teas, which helped us make a very good and delicious decision on what flavors to order. Then the owner came out and described the flavor of the sandwiches and how they were made and why he made them the way he did. It was amazing! Aside from being very good looking, he was very personable and sweet as well. The food and the teas were absolutely delicious! Please make a reservation now and GO! You won't regret it. I know I didn't. I will definitely be back again and again.
Jo Ann D.
My friends, god daughters and I had a really pleasant time at Leland Tea company. I tried to make a reservation a earlier in the week for a Sunday afternoon but I was told only walk ins were permitted that weekend. No worries, we showed up right when they opened at 11am and they sat us outside right away. Parking can be. Little tricky on Burlingame ave especially on the weekend but if you're lucky you can snag a spot in the lot right across from them.There were 3 adults and 3 kids. We did tea for 3 and got a child's tea. There was plenty of food (the 2 smaller kids ate snacks from home) and even had some to take home afterwards. The star of the show were the scones! Super soft and tasty and I don't even really enjoy scones that much. The tea menu is extensive...likes pages and pages but the servers were super helpful in helping us narrow down the choices based on our taste preferences. There's a cute wall near the entrance for a photo op. Would come back again for a casual tea and catching up with friends.
Jen Z.
An absolute gem of a tea house, perfect for hanging out and catching up!This is my favorite tea house to visit. There is a parking lot right next to it (although it can get a bit crowded sometimes), so it's super convenient if you can get a spot! I love taking all of my friends here whenever we want to chat for awhile but don't want to deal with the hassle of trying to talk over a meal. The people who work here are very kind and radiate good energy! I've had a lovely experience every time I've visited. There is a huge selection of tea that you can look at either through their massive booklet, or you can simply go to the tea rack and smell the different leaves to see what you might like! There is plenty of seating outdoors so it's perfect for hanging out with friends without worrying about too much noise. It's usually been pretty quiet when I've gone, anyway! However, if you prefer indoor seating, they have that as well. My friends and I always like to get the tea for two -- it comes with a house salad, two sandwiches, and some scones (with jam!) and cookies. Don't underestimate the amount of food in this, because we leave with very full bellies every time! What I love most about the food is that everything feels very light, and everything pairs extremely nicely with the tea. You can also get free milk and sugar upon request. It's just such a perfect hangout spot with wonderful staff, I can't recommend it enough.
TCPUDPATM PORTS
I came in to get some tea, and walked away having had an amazing experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Courtney York
Leland Tea is a gem in Burlingame CA! The tea is amazing and Will, the owner, even makes me gluten free food upon request. He is very knowledgeable in making healthy sweet treats. My recommendations for tea are:Black Tea: Black Orchid & Breakfast at Tiffany'sGreen Tea: Billie Holiday & Jasmine PearlWhite Tea: Coco Blanc & Garbo's Peachy BlendHerbal Tea: Body & Soul, Chamomile & MintYou can have your tea hot or iced, both very delicious!Leland has wonderful outside seating and bar seating inside. I love coming here for a pot of tea while getting work done. The ambiance can either be as productive as you wish or laid back.
I have been to many afternoon tea/tea service places (within CA and other states), Leland is by far the best in terms of service and tea variety/food quality. It is surprising to see such bad reviews as ive been here many times over 6-7 years and have never had a bad experience. I'd come here during my college years and had tea/studied, I've come here with girlfriends and even my husband. The sandwiches are filling, crusts perfectly trimmed, my favorite is the cream cheese cucumber - so simple but my go to. Kookiedoodle is by far my favorite black tea of any place I've been. The scones and pastries are perfection as are the jams/clotted cream.There is both indoor and outdoor seating. I was able to make a reservation for a Sunday afternoon 3 days beforehand with no issue. Will/his staff are very welcoming with amazing energy and are part of the reason I have no issue making the hour drive from the east bay to enjoy afternoon tea here.Overall, i will remain a loyal patron to this lovely business (oh.. and i hear they're going to start serving champagne and wines).
Courtney Y.
Leland Tea is a gem in Burlingame CA! The tea is amazing and Will, the owner, even makes me gluten free food upon request. He is very knowledge in making healthy sweet treats. My recommendations for tea are: Black Tea: Black Orchid & Breakfast at TiffanysGreen Tea: Billie Holiday & Jasmine PearlWhite Tea: Coco Blanc & Garbo's Peachy BlendHerbal Tea: Body & Soul, Chamomile & MintYou can have your tea hot or iced, both very delicious! Leland has wonderful outside seating and bar seating inside. I love coming here for a pot of tea while getting work done. The ambiance can either as productive as you wish or laid back.
sonia p.
We always have a great experience here. We had the honor of having William wait on us. He helped us with the menu and gave great advise. And Now serving wine!!!
Steve Engle
VERY cute spot for a fancy tea. Was here for an event and the back patio is nearly perfect for a friend's mom's birthday. All the finger sandwiches you expect, excellent teas, super-kind, personable staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kathy “Kaby” Birdsall
A lovely tea shop tucked away in downtown Burlingame. Magical ambiance, delicious teas and carefully prepared food. William will take good care of you. Such a nice afternoon escape.
I'm surprised by the glowing reviews. My review is for tea service and I was left disappointed by bizarre charges, mediocre food, and ungracious service. For some context, I adore afternoon tea. I'll start with the good: the staff was friendly (but see below); the tea was lovely, with some really interesting blends (I had the fig black tea and enjoyed it); the scones were pretty good, although not as flavorful as I would have liked (I tried both kinds); the jam was really nice.But I was disappointed with the small things that added up and made me feel like I was at the Spirit Airlines of tea houses. I've never been to afternoon tea where I'm charged for milk. They didn't even have dairy, so we were left with almond milk. It was laughable how little milk they brought out for one pot of tea. We didn't find out about the up-charge until we paid.We were asked if we wanted to add lemon curd and clotted cream for a charge. We received literally a spoonful of each. The spoonful of curd was $3 and clotted cream a whopping $5. The lemon curd wasn't good. I love homemade lemon curd, so this was a bummer. Turns out it's thickened with corn starch, which is what made it taste off.The last straw was having to pay the 3.5% credit card fee. I'm actually going to reach out to Visa about this one.Half an hour before closing, the server brought out to-go cups for our tea and cleared the table because they needed to do the dishes. What?! If you want to go home earlier, change your hours. If I wanted tea in a to-go cup, I would've saved $50 and gone to Peet's.Leland Tea has some odd ways of approaching tea service that certainly didn't feel like the gracious experiences I've had both locally and all over the world. I will not recommend Leland Tea to friends looking for delightful afternoon tea, but it seems fine for takeaway tea.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Food and service is delightful. Completely charming!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: High Tea Sandwiches and Cookies
A very low key, casual afternoon tea spot. Did the afternoon tea for 3 ($75, $100 after tax & tip) here!Comes with 2 pots of tea, salad, 3 scones, 3 types of sandwiches sliced into triangles, 3 madeleines and cookies.The sandwiches were delicious (we tried the tuna, egg, and chicken salad sandwich) and filling. Friendly staff :)
The atmosphere of Leland Tea is so refreshing. After a long work week, this is a great place to decompress with a hot/cold cup of tea. The staff is so sweet and knowledgable of their products that their recommendations were perfect for my preferences. Dyana helped me today, and she is so sweet and welcoming. Will definitely come back!!
We always have a blast when we are here. The tea is amazing. It's always smooth and has great flavors. The service is amazing. Will makes you feel like family!!! Everything tastes freshly made and it's always prepared with love. My aunt has been coming here for a long time and brought me here last year and now we try to find every excuse to come. The scones are always fresh and soft they taste like they were just baked. And the clotted cream, jam, and lemon curd is so fresh and to die for. Thank you always for a wonderful experience! Also, the decor is sooooooo cute. I love taking photos in front of the flower wall!!
This place is so charming and inviting. Me and my girlfriends were seated and the server was the sweetest and cutest girl ever. She was very knowledgeable about that teas, which helped us make a very good and delicious decision on what flavors to order. Then the owner came out and described the flavor of the sandwiches and how they were made and why he made them the way he did. It was amazing! Aside from being very good looking, he was very personable and sweet as well. The food and the teas were absolutely delicious! Please make a reservation now and GO! You won't regret it. I know I didn't. I will definitely be back again and again.
My friends, god daughters and I had a really pleasant time at Leland Tea company. I tried to make a reservation a earlier in the week for a Sunday afternoon but I was told only walk ins were permitted that weekend. No worries, we showed up right when they opened at 11am and they sat us outside right away. Parking can be. Little tricky on Burlingame ave especially on the weekend but if you're lucky you can snag a spot in the lot right across from them.There were 3 adults and 3 kids. We did tea for 3 and got a child's tea. There was plenty of food (the 2 smaller kids ate snacks from home) and even had some to take home afterwards. The star of the show were the scones! Super soft and tasty and I don't even really enjoy scones that much. The tea menu is extensive...likes pages and pages but the servers were super helpful in helping us narrow down the choices based on our taste preferences. There's a cute wall near the entrance for a photo op. Would come back again for a casual tea and catching up with friends.
An absolute gem of a tea house, perfect for hanging out and catching up!This is my favorite tea house to visit. There is a parking lot right next to it (although it can get a bit crowded sometimes), so it's super convenient if you can get a spot! I love taking all of my friends here whenever we want to chat for awhile but don't want to deal with the hassle of trying to talk over a meal. The people who work here are very kind and radiate good energy! I've had a lovely experience every time I've visited. There is a huge selection of tea that you can look at either through their massive booklet, or you can simply go to the tea rack and smell the different leaves to see what you might like! There is plenty of seating outdoors so it's perfect for hanging out with friends without worrying about too much noise. It's usually been pretty quiet when I've gone, anyway! However, if you prefer indoor seating, they have that as well. My friends and I always like to get the tea for two -- it comes with a house salad, two sandwiches, and some scones (with jam!) and cookies. Don't underestimate the amount of food in this, because we leave with very full bellies every time! What I love most about the food is that everything feels very light, and everything pairs extremely nicely with the tea. You can also get free milk and sugar upon request. It's just such a perfect hangout spot with wonderful staff, I can't recommend it enough.
I came in to get some tea, and walked away having had an amazing experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leland Tea is a gem in Burlingame CA! The tea is amazing and Will, the owner, even makes me gluten free food upon request. He is very knowledgeable in making healthy sweet treats. My recommendations for tea are:Black Tea: Black Orchid & Breakfast at Tiffany'sGreen Tea: Billie Holiday & Jasmine PearlWhite Tea: Coco Blanc & Garbo's Peachy BlendHerbal Tea: Body & Soul, Chamomile & MintYou can have your tea hot or iced, both very delicious!Leland has wonderful outside seating and bar seating inside. I love coming here for a pot of tea while getting work done. The ambiance can either be as productive as you wish or laid back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I have been to many afternoon tea/tea service places (within CA and other states), Leland is by far the best in terms of service and tea variety/food quality. It is surprising to see such bad reviews as ive been here many times over 6-7 years and have never had a bad experience. I'd come here during my college years and had tea/studied, I've come here with girlfriends and even my husband. The sandwiches are filling, crusts perfectly trimmed, my favorite is the cream cheese cucumber - so simple but my go to. Kookiedoodle is by far my favorite black tea of any place I've been. The scones and pastries are perfection as are the jams/clotted cream.There is both indoor and outdoor seating. I was able to make a reservation for a Sunday afternoon 3 days beforehand with no issue. Will/his staff are very welcoming with amazing energy and are part of the reason I have no issue making the hour drive from the east bay to enjoy afternoon tea here.Overall, i will remain a loyal patron to this lovely business (oh.. and i hear they're going to start serving champagne and wines).
Leland Tea is a gem in Burlingame CA! The tea is amazing and Will, the owner, even makes me gluten free food upon request. He is very knowledge in making healthy sweet treats. My recommendations for tea are: Black Tea: Black Orchid & Breakfast at TiffanysGreen Tea: Billie Holiday & Jasmine PearlWhite Tea: Coco Blanc & Garbo's Peachy BlendHerbal Tea: Body & Soul, Chamomile & MintYou can have your tea hot or iced, both very delicious! Leland has wonderful outside seating and bar seating inside. I love coming here for a pot of tea while getting work done. The ambiance can either as productive as you wish or laid back.
We always have a great experience here. We had the honor of having William wait on us. He helped us with the menu and gave great advise. And Now serving wine!!!
VERY cute spot for a fancy tea. Was here for an event and the back patio is nearly perfect for a friend's mom's birthday. All the finger sandwiches you expect, excellent teas, super-kind, personable staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A lovely tea shop tucked away in downtown Burlingame. Magical ambiance, delicious teas and carefully prepared food. William will take good care of you. Such a nice afternoon escape.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5