By Ms. Gastronome
What better way to celebrate Mom on her day than having a grownup tea party? Lady Camillia at the Waterfront is the place to do just that. Previously located in Georgetown, Lady Camillia moved to their waterfront location in Old Town on Strand Street in January of last year.
I have to admit that I am sort of embarrassed that it took me over a year to patronize this lovely eatery. I love tea and the idea of getting a little dressed up to go someplace for a “tea party” is very appealing. Full disclosure, I made this decision sort of last minute and all of my lady friends were otherwise engaged so I talked Mr. Gastronome into accompanying me. Truth be told, I think he really liked being the only “guy” in the room. He even held his “pinky” out while drinking his green tea.
Lady Camillia is a very pretty and very proper setting. The colors are muted pinks and mauves with touches of light blues. The seating is also very comfortable and I can’t say enough about the elegance of the place settings.
When we arrived, we were seated at a table for two by the window next to a group of three sisters celebrating an early Mother’s Day with their mom. They were half way through their “Afternoon Tea” party and were having a fabulous time. We followed their lead with some of our choices for pastries.
Since we were there on a rainy Friday, we opted for the “Weekday Afternoon Tea” Full Tea for two. This includes three tea sandwiches (we had the smoked salmon, egg salad and chicken salad), choice of three scones/croissants (we opted for a white chocolate cranberry scone and plain and pain au chocolate croissants) and four pastries. This was a tough decision since there are so many to choose from but we went with a red velvet tea cake, a lemon blueberry tartlet, a vanilla crème brulee and a lemon macaron. All of this accompanied by your choice of tea, of which there are many. The presentation was as impressive as the food itself.
Also on the weekday menu are a various sundry of choices ranging from the Cream Tea (three scones/croissants and tea), Light Tea (five pastries and tea), Savory Tea (3 tea sandwiches and tea), Souffle Tea (one souffle and tea), English Pie Tea (one pie and tea) and High Tea (souffle or pie, two scones/croissants, four pastries and tea). Prices range from $30 to $65 per person. If you are looking for something with a bit more kick than tea, mimosas, wine and champagne are available. I added a Poinsettia (champagne and cranberry juice) to my experience.
We were actually pleasantly surprised at how full we were after working our way through our food choices. Everything was exceptional for us and it appeared that everyone else in the tea room was having a similar reaction.
Our server was very pleasant and accommodating and made sure we had plenty of hot water for our individual tea pots. Speaking of which, the ceramic pots keep the tea very hot and are accompanied by individual strainers and sugar cubes are on the table. If you enjoy cream with your spot of tea, it is available.
The tea sandwiches, English pie, scones, croissants and the pastries are available to go and you can order online. If you are having the girls over or are in need of some impressive desserts, you may want to consider ordering from Lady Camillia. Along with being delicious, they are packaged in beautiful boxes. That being said, a box of some of your favorites would make a nice hostess/host gift or just a gift in general.
It was a fun afternoon and Mr. Gastronome was a really good sport. He did get quite a bit of attention so it wasn’t too painful for him to sit through tea with me, however, I am going to get some gal pals together soon and return.
Lady Camillia at the Waterfront
229 Strand Street
Old Town Alexandria
571-431-7705
Ladycamillia.com
Hours:
Closed Monday
Tues-Fri – 1pm – 6:30pm
Sat & Sun – 10:30am – 7:30pm