Comments on: Review: The Harlem Tea Room (closed)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:56:23 +0000

I live a block and a half up from the HTR, and have eaten there on a number of occasions. Honestly, the only reason we keep going there is because it’s so convenient. While the food and tea are acceptable, they’re nothing special and the service is consistently slow and unprofessional. I smiled when I saw the comments above about the owner, because I too have observed some of that behavior.

There’s a large condo coming up on 120th and Fifth Avenue, which I’m hoping will bring new casual restaurants to our area. The minute something better comes along that is close to our building, we’re dropping HTR like a hot potato.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:13:19 +0000

I just went there last week after not going there for over a year. The service is still terrible and unprofessional. My friend and I had to hear the “chef” be berated by what I would guess was a manager. They don’t carry honey or sugar in the raw. If you want to do high tea in Harlem, do HIGH TEA the way it is supposed to be done! How do you open a tea room and not have honey? I am so sick of people half-stepping when it comes to opening businesses and then we are the ‘bad guys’ for not patronizing our local black business. We are expected to put up with sub-par service for the sake of supporting the business.

I would have posted a comment on their website or emailed them directly but their website is down.

By: mara fortynine

mara fortynine — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:40:10 +0000

I was there on Saturday November 17th as well (I think my party sat next to #14). I won’t go in to my litany of complaints about the experience but I wanted to add my agreement to everyone’s comments.

The contradiction between the rigorous reservation system – I was told I HAD to have an exact head count for my party and to be on time – and very poor service/attitudes indicates to me they’re trying to meet sales projections. My tab for three people getting the “high tea” was $77 – $20pp + tax +20% tip – was an absolute rip off.

I wish I could say that Ms Clayton’s business is in jeopardy based on the above comments accept that the place was full the whole time we were there (although several people at the front seemed to be with some jewelry sellers at the front of the store).

Getting used to bad, expensive service seems to be something we in NY (it’s not just Harlem) will probably have to deal with for the foreseeable future.

By: T from Brooklyn

T from Brooklyn — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:45:37 +0000

I took my girlfriend to the Harlem Tea Room on Saturday, November 17, 2007 for a post birthday treat. Thank goodness she was patient and forgiving because the experience was one to forget. The wait for tea was twenty minutes and the wait for the food was about 40 minutes. We ended up leaving after an hour of waiting.

I don’t recommend going here for the ambiance or the food. The service was terrible and even the lack of commitment to providing good service was even less.

I believe in support Black businesses but not ones who don’t commit themselves to good service.

By: Real

Real — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:15:37 +0000

When I go out, I want to have an experience that is greater than my daily run to Starbucks. I supported the HTR on four occasions, and I cannot say that there was anything memorable. The food was fair. The service was extremely slow (to the point where it took 20 minutes to get a carafe of iced tea).

On one occasion, Patrice Clayton came in, and I could see that she was indifferent to both customers and staff. She looked stressed out, proceeded to refill water glasses, and completely avoided speaking to our party or even refilling our glasses. We are her contemporaries, and also happen to be black, and the only black patrons in the place at the time, so I found this completely off-putting. Is it too much to say “hello” to ALL of your customers? The place was far from crowded, with only about four tables occupied at the time.

Yes, customer service is a huge factor for me as well, and I would not patronize the HTR again unless I hear that there is a change. Hopefully Patrice will get it together, and realize that she has a responsibility to hire professional staff, and to learn to treat her customers with more respect.

By: You

You — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:49:32 +0000

I think that it’s important to understand that the concept of The Tea Room, is that a of a team room. Customer service is definitely an issue, and if the owner doesn’t send that message why should her employees do any better?

Then business owner wonder why they don’t have customer or why they are force to close their doors. The number one cause of business failure is customer service, at the end of the day we are paying for a service and will go else where to be treated the way we want to.

By: Prince Charles

Prince Charles — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:57:06 +0000

#7, Get a grip, the Harlem Tea Room may be in Harlem but do not forget Harlem is IN “New York”, named by the English where the spoken language is “English”, maybe the HTR can see the bigger picture and you cannot.

God bless the Queen and all those finger sandwiches.

By: Lena

Lena — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:29:27 +0000

this place is SUPER SMALL from what I remember

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:30:03 +0000

I agree with commenter #7…Patrice doesn’t come across as warm and friendly at all and neither does her staff. That is the type of thing that makes or breaks businesses in black communities. The food can be mediocre but if a customer feels welcomed they will go to the place they feel most comfortable 9 out of 10 times. Just my 2 cents on the issue.

By: roisinmcginn

roisinmcginn — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 20:57:01 +0000

It doesn’t look like the author is trying to be petty for the sake of it in their review. He/She has the right to their opinion on the tea room. I don’t think it would stop be going here as I love tea and scones, I just hope my experience will be a bit better.