This place is always a little frustrating. I really want to like it. I love the idea in principle and the location is great. The tea is usually good and properly steeped. That said, the food is nearly uniformly disappointing. Most of it seems either resold from a retailer or else microwaved. The scones (an essential element of cream tea) are poor at best and definitely nowhere near what you get in England. All this is bad enough, but the way the owner insists on explaining each dish like they're gourmet creations coupled with the length of time it can take to get a bill explain why I don't come often even though I love a good tea break. read more

I adore coming to the Tea Leaf! I first found Sally and her wonderful tea room from a Groupon. I am now a loyal customer! I adore her sandwiches, the teas she has to offer, and her always cheerful demeanor. Her little store is quaint and comfy, and makes a perfect girlfriends afternoon out! read more

Wonderful little tea shop that serves a full tea service with all kinds of sandwiches, sweets, scones and more wonderful choices of teas than one then possibly imagine. The shop is filled with teas, pots cups and assorted other items. The proprietor is gracious, thoughtful and very helpful. We had a wonderful time there. read more

This is my first time having an afternoon tea. The place is cozy and can only accommodate around 15 people at a time so you MUST make reservation!!! But it keeps the place being very peaceful and relaxing. Although the food is good, but it's a bit pricy for what you get. An afternoon tea is 24 dollars per person, and I thought it was for 2 people... We spent about 2 hours there and I had a very pleasant and relaxed time with my boyfriend there. read more

Sally was the sweetest, most thoughtful person who created an amazing experience for my wife's birthday. All the food and tea were delicious! Highly recommended. read more

I took my 10 year old daughter there for the afternoon tea. We had a great time, the food was delicious, loved the scones the most and the setting was nice and relaxing. I also did park in the Municipal lot because it is quite busy. Sally, the owner, provided great service and was very helpful in recommending a new tea. Highly recommend for a girls day out and time to catch up over some very delicious tea and food. My daughter was also very happy to find a tea that she loves in the shop. We will be back! read more

My bridal party had tea here the day before the wedding and it was fantastic! Some of the group had never been to tea like this before and were very impressed. It was great! We made a reservation and she assumed we were getting the full tea (with tea sandwiches, scones, pastries, etc.). We decided to just go with it, and it was wonderful! Highly recommended. read more

This tea room is a high tea lover's delight. Lots of tea options (and the pot is enormous!), fun ambience, delicious food, and a friendly, attentive hostess who seems to love what she does. She knows her teas, too. We had afternoon tea, which costs $24/person, which seemed reasonable given the quality and amount of food and tea. It's a treat to visit this tearoom. read more

Had a truly enjoyable tea today. Sally is lovely and the place is a true find. The tea was excellent and the food quite nice. The only two downsides are that the room is a tad crowded with tables and Sally really wasn't ready to deal with the Groupon crowd. She seemed a bit harried with all the folks cashing in on their deals and probably could have used an extra hand. read more

Made a reservation for 6 and called ahead to tell them we only had 4. Once we showed up the woman there (owner I believe) told us we had to pay for the 2 people not showing up. She was so rude and nasty to us I felt so embarrassed. Some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. After she basically yelled at us we walked right out the door. read more

This place is simply wonderful! We, my Mom, my daughter & I have a tradition of making time, 2-3x, year to go to "Tea". It is something we, as adults and 3 generations, all enjoy together. Finding a place these days is not very easy as the art of "Tea" seems to be disappearing. My Mom recently moved from the Cape to the South Shore, my daughter is in Boston so we were looking for a small cozy shop in the Boston vicinity to enjoy the afternoon. Searching on-line I found this place. It said by reservation, so when I called the owner, (luckily it was before she had opened so we had a chance to chat), she was very kind & helpful. My daughter has gluten and soy allergies as well as being a vegetarian and was afraid she wouldn't be able to have anything to eat. The owner was VERY accommodating. She makes her own GF scones and has GF pastries & does not use soy. She assured me she would have a proper tea for her. Upon arriving it was a small cozy shop, busy, as was the owner, yet she takes the time to make you feel welcome. Loved everything about it! The pots of tea (no straining needed) were steeped perfectly & stayed hot. Mom was thrilled she had the Chai tea with frothed milk on side while we shared some Earl Grey. The food was set to what we needed & my daughter was beyond thrilled. It was all so tasty! It was the best food we have had at a tea so far. It was not only just enough food, we took some home with us. My daughter asked her about products etc that she used and she was more than helpful and forthcoming. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. We hope to return for another tea soon! We all highly recommend The Tea Leaf if you are looking for a quaint, cozy relaxing afternoon tea. She does it right and is genuinely a sweet person. As we were leaving she & my Mom ended up chatting & sharing stories over a person they both knew/knew of, which added to the total experience. Thank you so much for a wonderful visit and another great memory for all of us. We plan to continue this tradition for as long as we are able! Places like yours make that happen, thankfully. read more

I have not even been to this place and the customer service record is already stained for me! I bought a groupon for light tea for my mother and I to shore. She called to make a reservation and the lady could not have been in more of a rush to get her off of the phone. "I am much to busy serving tea to talk to you right now" She said she would call back within half an hour. Once it hit about two hours we gave up and we are not even going to bother. read more

As a regular I could not be more satisfied with the Tea Leaf. Sally is friendly and accommodating. There are a large selection of teas. Seasonal tea sandwiches are always very good. Two fresh scones per person with home made strawberry preserve. Some reviewers mentioned being annoyed by it being "by appointment only" but this is how tea rooms operate and it ensures those in attendance are well taken care of. As someone who aspires to own her own tea room some day and coming from someone who has visited quite a few tea rooms in Boston including having afternoon tea at some of Boston's finest hotels, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed in the Tea Leaf! read more

One star is too many. I was outraged by the horribly rude and inconsiderate treatment we received. I understand if it is not a kid-friendly setting, but don't be rude about it. Be up-front and say over the phone it's not a good idea. We would respect that. My friend and I called to reserve a time to bring our daughters to tea. We thought it would be fun, but clearly discussed this plan with the owner when we called. Our girls are young and we wanted to be sure that this was alright, they would be accommodating, and that the setting would be appropriate. The woman was lovely and helpful on the phone and thought the idea was darling. She even said we wouldn't have to anything pay for them to accompany us. When we arrived, we were ignored for 10 minutes. My friend's daughter made some noise (she was starving after her nap) just as the owner came up to us. Before even a hello, she said, 'We just can't have this...' gesturing to the child. She informed us that "people" were trying to have a relaxing tea experience and couldn't be disturbed. The one couple in the room, who had already remarked on our adorable kids, and said hello to them both, were cowering behind their menus, trying not to get involved. We mentioned that we had a reservation and the woman didn't care. My friend stepped outside to calm her daughter while I took on the woman, who infomed me that she doesn't have a rule against children under five, but MANY tea houses do. She just can't have this in her shop. I very politely told her that we had well-behaved children and we were responsible parents who certainly wouldn't want to disrupt those nice people or her business. I told her we would of course remove ourselves if our children were out of line in any way. She all but threw me out, even after that. Then she suddenly touched my arm and commented in a "confidante" sort-of-way that of course she didn't mean me and my daughter, glancing at my friend out the window. That fired me up, of course. We went a few more rounds about the kids being hungry and if we could just sit and eat, all would be well... also reiterating that we had called for permission before coming. She begrudgingly backed away finally and I sat us down. We got nasty looks while she took the order of the other table. Our girls were fine and getting settled when one excitedly slipped off her chair, wailed once, then got up and sat back down. The woman started towards us, face grim, and we promptly gathered our things to leave before she got to the table. I have never felt so unwelcome, so furious and so insulted. In the empty room, you would think she needed the business. As we left I heard them all comment how cute the girls were! Needless to say, the ice cream shop down the street got our vote and our business that day. read more

I used a Groupon here for tea service over the summer and it was forgetful at best, but really it was rather bizarre and awkward. I felt compelled to write a review because I saw that they are running another Groupon deal. First of all, the last Groupon deal was advertised as tea service for one, but can be shared between two people. When we called to make a reservation and only wanted to do one tea service for two people, the owner was extremely dismissive and made us feel like we were cheapos trying to cheat her into a deal. Um, it was the business' choice to do a Groupon deal, and in all my experience using Groupons never have I been made feel this cruddy for using a voucher. I didn't really want to go after the appointment phone call. When we went, we waited quite a bit after our appointment time, during which I got to appreciate how bizzarely creepy and wannabe cute this place was. Our tea service looked haphazardly thrown together. The scones were meh, and I heard the owner tell the next table the jam was just a national brand you can buy at the grocery store. I suppose at least she was honest. The sandwiches were also meh. The 'sweets' in our tray were the worst offenders. They were clearly store bought or frozen and thawed. There was a bland blueberry tart the size of a coin and a sprinkled sugar cookie that looked like Pepperidge Farm's poor cousin. I can't even remember what tea I had. Just don't bother with this place. I felt like crap using my Groupon and it wasn't even worth the discounted price. I can go to the dollar store and buy my own dry cookies thank you very much. It's a shame they're shamming more people into another round of Groupons. Reading other reviews I'm somewhat comforted that I'm not the only person she made feel like such crap. read more

I've lived in Waltham for years and finally decided to give The Tea Leaf a try. I walked in and was rudely welcomed into the shop by a lady saying it was by appointment only. I made an appointment, walked around town for a little while, and came back. We were then squeezed into the corner of the congested shop. My friend and I decided to start off with Garden salads and tea so we would have room for dessert. The tea came cold and wasn't strong enough for my liking so I asked to get a new cup and she looked at me like I asked her for her first born. I figured you couldn't go wrong with a salad, but when it finally came it looked old and tasted wilted and pre made from two days before. The woman that seated us looked as if she was understaffed, not only waiting on customers, but also appeared to be making the food. We noticed her playing with her hair and then went right after, without gloves and then proceeded to take money without washing her hands then went on, to gather our desserts which ended up tasting like something you could get at the corner convenience store for an extremely high price. Needless to say, after this experience I don't see myself eating here again or telling my friends to either. It really is a shame as you want to see local shops successful and friendly to the customers making their business stay strong. read more

Maybe my wife and I just hit this place on a bad day when the owner was working all by herself, but we were not impressed at all ... we waited several minutes just to be seated (when there were tables open), and were put next to a cluttered table that the owner said was her "office". Our teapots didn't arrive for half an hour, and they were followed half an hour later by "scones" that were the ersatz kind you buy at Trader Joe's and whipped cream instead of the clotted Devonshire cream that's promised both on the website and on the menu. The sandwiches were a disappointment as well, especially the cucumber/cream cheese one that tasted of olives, the weird eggplant combo, and the Alaska king salmon that tasted more like tuna. (Sadly, that's three out of the four sandwiches offered!) The spinach mini-quiches also came straight from Trader Joe's. Having a leisurely afternoon tea is one thing; waiting and waiting for food that's decent at best is another. read more

I've been to the Tea Leaf on prior visits and enjoyed each one. This visit however, was for the full afternoon tea. I made a reservation (which is recommend), with a longtime friend. It was her first visit to the Tea Leaf and she was both impressed and delighted! We were given the overview of the tea menu by Sally, the owner, who recommended a vanilla tea for my friend and a cream earl gray for me. Our tea arrived piping hot and both were outstanding. Next we were brought two mini scones which were served warm with a side of fruit conserve and fresh clotted cream. My favorite was the ginger scone which was buttery and delectable with just a subtle hint of ginger. Next came the main attraction, a lovely selection of tea sandwiches and sweets. The tea sandwiches, which were fabulous included; cucumber and cream cheese with a hint of dill, a lovely pickled tuna salad, traditional smoked salmon and a delicious roasted veggie. I can't single any one of them out as a favorite because all were equally tasty. In addition to the sandwich selection was a "two bite" quiche as the owner called it and that was buttery and quite delicious. Among the offerings of sweets were several mini-pastries and the show stopper, a huge fresh strawberry dipped in a rich thick chocolate which was to die for! The selection was wonderful and included so many sweets that we couldn't possibly finish, so the owner brought a couple of take out containers for us to bring the leftovers home. After lunch we took some time to browse the shop which has a little bit of everything, teas, tea accessories, candles, jewelry, boutique quality clothing and accessories, gift items and Victorian/Tea themed magazines. A lovely little place to enjoy a relaxing afternoon! read more