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    Robins Tea House

    4.1 (12 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Sea bass
    Scott G.

    This tea house Restaurant is in Lewis Ginter Botanical gardens and in my opinion within one of the more beautiful areas of the gardens. They always have an interesting menu that has rotated every time I have been. I have only been for dinner and not sure if they are open for lunch or not. Service is friendly and efficient. I had the crab bisque to start and it was delish, the ribeye for dinner which was much more fatty than I like but tasty and cheesecake for desert. I always enjoy having dinner here.

    Brunch menu for Mother's Day.
    Erika M.

    I went here with my mom for Mother's Day and we both were under impressed. We walked in and was greeted by an unenthused hostess who sat us at our table. 10 minutes later our waitress came out and apologized for being delayed and took our drink and food orders. My mom ordered the spinach pie and I had the Gravlax Benedict. 5 minutes after we put in our orders the waitress came back and imported us that the spinach pie was unavailable at the time. The restaurant opened at 10am and we had reservations for 11 and when we got here the place was less than half empty. We both were wondering why they had run out. Either way, my mom got the Benedict plate as well. The food and drinks came out quick which made me think that a lot of it was prepared before hand. The food itself was good. We both enjoyed that they put smoked salmon on the Benedict as opposed to the traditional Canadian bacon. It was very tasty and I would absolutely eat it again. The other issue I have with this place other than the underwhelming service and lack of menu items is that my mom and I had reservations for 2. My boyfriend decided to come into town for the weekend and I called asking if I could add another person to the party. They said "no" because they were full but when we were sat today we were at a table for 4 and the place was definitely not full. Less than half full when looking around. So that was quite disappointing. I think this place has the potential to be great but they have a few things to fix.

    Salmon bowl--smoked salmon; salad w grilled chicken was fresh; good veggie option of grilled cheese w homemade tomato soup. Yum!
    Tay E.

    Best Key lime pie in town and we have tried enough key lime in our yrs that we should be connoisseurs (eating, not baking)---Classic recipe and perfect balance w the crust as well. Lunch was good too. Inside Lewis Ginter so went before the butterfly exhibit to walk off lunch. Perfect afternoon delight in good ole RVA.

    Beautiful terrace
    Silvia L.

    I really wanted to like this place more. I've been here twice, and the first time I came it was a casual coffee and snack moment with my daughter. I loved it then. I found out the chef has celiacs, like me, and could prepare me a completely gluten free dish. Everything was delicious. The weather was perfect, and we sat in the gorgeous terrace overlooking the gardens. It was a little overpriced but I ignored it and decided I would give it at least 4 stars when I wrote my review. Then we went back for Mother's Day brunch, and this is when I became disappointed. We paid $35 per person for a three course meal that left a lot to be desired. The food simply was not that good. Normally I would have given this restaurant a 2 star rating, based on its food and the ambiance inside, which was warm and muggy, except to be fair, there are other things I love about it. Like I said before, the outdoor seating is the bomb dignity, and the chef understands food allergies. I will still be back here when I visit the gardens, but only for a cup of coffee and maybe dessert.

    Lamb,curry, feta meatballs, roasted red peppers, artichokes on penne pasta with light cream sauce side of rustic bread

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    Review Highlights - Robins Tea House

    Inside Lewis Ginter so went before the butterfly exhibit to walk off lunch.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    SBs Lakeside Love Shack

    SBs Lakeside Love Shack

    4.5
    (531 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    What an incredible place! Admittedly, the line was really long...but it was Mother's Day, so that…read moreis to be expected. Sitting at the bar, we were served immediately and were able to order food. If you are lucky enough, you will get to meet local legend, musicIan Jimmy Catlett, where you can even enjoy a drink from the menu "What Jimmy Drinks". Luke was a very attentive bartender, server and greeter. With good insight into what is what on the menu and behind the bar. We even got to meet Sara Beth herself (sorry Sarah if I used the wrong one) the SB behind the name! If you don't lead with "Glitter on the Mattress" you are missing out! The atmosphere was welcoming, inviting and full of nostalgic decor.

    I normally love coming here, which is exactly why I am so angry and disappointed writing this…read morereview. I had been telling my Dad for a while about how fun this place is, how nice everyone usually is, and how much I thought he would enjoy it. We were finally able to come together today, and he was genuinely excited to see the inside and have breakfast here for the first time. As expected, we were told the wait would be about 45-50 minutes. Fine. The place was busy, as it usually is, and we had absolutely no problem waiting. I spent years working as a server and hostess. I understand busy restaurants, long waits, and tables that don't turn as quickly as expected. After waiting about 40 minutes, I went to the host stand to simply ask for an update. We had watched people leave and groups continue to be seated during our wait, so I wanted to see where we stood. The young man at the host stand told me it would be ANOTHER 40-50 minutes. I genuinely thought he had confused our name with someone else's, so I explained that we had already been waiting for 40 minutes. He told me our names were "at the bottom of the list" and that people inside were moving very slowly. No apology. No double-checking the list. No attempt to figure out how a quoted 45-50 minute wait had suddenly turned into an hour and a half. He didn't ask if we were willing to sit inside, offer another seating option, or even suggest placing a to-go order. Nothing. He was completely dismissive. So I handed him the menu and my Dad and I left. Then, just 20 MINUTES later--not the additional 40-50 minutes we had literally just been told--I received a call saying our table was ready. I tried to explain that we were no longer there and WHY we had left. The second I said we had "left," I was HUNG UP ON. Honestly, that was it for me. Before that phone call, I was actually sitting in the car telling my Dad that maybe we could try again another day. Despite being embarrassed and disappointed after talking this place up to him so much, I was still willing to chalk it up to a bad interaction with one host. Getting hung up on completely sealed the deal. I'm not angry because the restaurant was busy. I'm angry because we were treated like we didn't matter. I'm angry because we waited patiently for 40 minutes, politely asked one question, and were dismissed with inaccurate information instead of someone taking 30 seconds to double-check. I'm angry because when I tried to explain what had happened, I wasn't even given the basic courtesy of finishing a sentence before someone hung up on me. My Dad and I have lived in Lakeside for over 30 years. We weren't asking to skip the line. We weren't demanding a table. We weren't rude to anyone. We were two local customers who were excited to have breakfast together at a place I had genuinely loved and recommended to other people. We will NEVER be back. And yes, we will absolutely be telling our friends, family, and neighbors about how we were treated and recommending that they go somewhere else unless they want to risk being dismissed, given completely inaccurate wait information, and hung up on when they try to explain why they left. Apparently this place is busy enough that treating people with basic courtesy no longer matters. That's fine. There are plenty of other restaurants that will happily take our money and, at the very least, treat my Dad and me like human beings. What was supposed to be a fun breakfast with my Dad turned into one of the worst customer service experiences I've had in a long time. I went from genuinely loving and recommending this place to never wanting to step foot inside again. Congratulations. You lost two longtime local customers in less than an hour.

    Photos
    Just an awesome vibe to the place
    Just an awesome vibe to the place
    Weekly special with meatballs and eggs
    Weekly special with meatballs and eggs
    Honey bun

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    Honey bun

    Robins Tea House - tradamerican - Updated August 2026

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