Lady Camellia Tea Shop

As some of you know, I am on a quest to find the best  afternoon tea in the DMV.I compare them to our high tea at the Savoy in London last year (see previous post). Lady Camellia is my latest try with my lovely sister-in-law Karen.

First, getting a reservation was very difficult. To have a chance at a weekend reservation at a reasonable time, you need to call at least three weeks in advance and pay up front. We went on a Thursday afternoon and saw why it was so difficult. The tea shop only had 8 or 9 tables. It was smack in the middle of Georgetown off of Wisconsin Avenue and it is not well marked. It is on the first floor of one of the row houses so popular in the Georgetown section of DC. There is parking directly across the street for a fee of $16.


Once we were seated, the single server came over and explained the menu. The menu was mix and match.There were 6 choices of tea from a light tea at $19 to the full high tea for $38 per person.We chose the full tea at $32 per person because it included three types of tea sandwiches which made it closer to the Savoy tea.

The tea was absolutely delicious. Both Karen and I were amazed at the rich flavor. The sandwiches were egg salad, cucumber, brie and apple, and smoked salmon. Of the 4, the brie and apple was the only one that was fresh and tasty. The scones were ok, but the croissants were not very tasty. The pastries were also just ok.

Service was very slow, but we could not figure out why. There were two tables filled and we were one of them.

All in all, Lady Camellia did not deliver the kind of tea I was expecting. It does not compare well with the Savoy, or the Black Market Bistro, which is still my DMV favorite.