FAQ

A Afternoon Tea is a British ritual and an institution that has been around since 1840, when the Duchess of Bedford used to get a bit peckish around 4:00 in the afternoon. She would have her servants fetch her a pot of tea, some bread and butter and a slice of cake to keep her going as she rested in her boudoir. No doubt she got a teensy bit bored all by herself with only a lap dog to keep her company so she invited a couple of girl friends round for a good ol’natter and viola’  tea and cakes at 4:00 rolled into Afternoon Tea! Hoorah for the Duchess of Bedford! Going “out to tea” in fancy hotels in London came about forty years later and is a whole other story. If you are keen to know more, then please ask Amy when you are in the tea salon and she’ll regale you with all the details… way more than you probably even wanted to know!

A On weekends reservations are definitely necessary. We get booked up in advance by 5 to 10 days before the upcoming weekend. During the week it is less crazy but it is always nice to know you are coming, so go ahead and book a table via the website or by calling us directly on 415-771-4252.

A We do indeed! And we may be the only tea room in the Bay Area that has a complete Gluten Free Tea Service! It will cost you an extra $6.00 per tea service but it is so worth it to not feel icky after eating copious amounts of gluten, if you are in fact gluten sensitive or suffer from the dreadful Celiac’s disease!  Now if you are vegan or have a load more allergies… it can be tricky so ring us in advance to discuss options.

A We have a fab party room, up on the mezzanine, which makes the perfect place to host a lifecycle event. A Wedding shower, baby shower, a grown up or children’s birthday party will work as well! We host our Planner Par-Teas and craft events in there, too. If you have an idea for a gathering of tea loving folk then give Amy a ring and she will sort you out! There is a ten guest minimum and a sixteen guest maximum. Click here to get all the info!

A No, but if you feel like dressing up, of course, you are quite welcome to wear whatever you like. However, Chris frowns upon flip-flops, but that’s just his opinion!! Amy loves fancy frocks and hats so go ahead and make an effort… or not.

A We have designed our tea service to be enough food for one person. If you want to share it, might we suggest ordering an extra scone and crumpet so each person has one of each and there will be no fighting!

If you don’t want to do that, then we will be obliged to charge you a shared plate fee of $8.00. We really appreciate your understanding of this annoying policy.

A Do we ever?! We will be happy to bring the birthday girl or boy, of any age, a complimentary cupcake with a candle, blow bubbles and sing to them…badly!!

A We love a crowd, the more the jollier as the saying goes! For more than six people we do require a credit card to hold the reservation. We don’t charge you unless you don’t bother to ring us and cancel within 72 hours. If we have to chase you down 10 minutes after you should be sitting in the dining room and you’re off on holiday far away then we have to charge you $20 per person!! So ring us if you need to cancel your big group at least 72 hours in advance!! Oh, and a pre-order is a must, read about that below.

If your group gets bigger than 14 people then we may have to book the party room for you which is a whole other story. See here:  Also we strongly recommend a pre-order for groups larger than 6 people! See the next question for the reason why.

A We need a pre-order for a group larger than 6 or more more because we have a tiny kitchen, a lot of people to serve and a variety of options. What we don’t want is unhappy guests who have to wait ages to get their order because the kitchen gets backed up to accommodate a huge, varied order of Afternoon Tea, panini sandwiches, chicken pot pies and a couple rounds of toasts without warning. We want you to have the best experience and food that is timely and tasty! So please let us help with the menu choices when you book a large group! Thank you for your understanding!

A We love kids of all ages. Please do bring them along if you have any up your sleeves. Afternoon Tea is an excellent experience to remind them of their fine manners that you have been teaching them all along! Our “Nursery Tea” is the perfect introduction to the hows and whys of this loved ritual. We have a selection of non caffeine teas and of course our wacky famed hot chocolate for tots as well!

Just tell ’em “no touching the Fairy door.”  Those cheeky fairies are known to bite little fingers that try to open their pink door! But they are welcome to leave a note in the Fairy’s post box. We often feature them in our photo gallery.

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Well, if you want to bring a cake or even a cupcake, that’s not a problem.. a lobster… hmm… probably not unless it’s on a leash. BUT… keep in mind if you do bring a cake or cupcakes from somewhere else, you will make us very sad because our pastry chef extraordinaires make the most amazing cakes and sweets ever! And we will charge you a $3.00 cake plating fee per person if we serve up that cake to you and your guests… clean plates, forks and fresh napkins add up! So instead look here for ordering a cake for your special event and you won’t even want to bring something from somewhere else!

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So here’s a bit of information for when you go to the UK and order Afternoon Tea in a lovely tea salon or a fancy hotel… you don’t ask the chef… “hey what’s cookin’ good lookin’?” You get what you get and you don’t get upset! Well guess what… that’s what happens here! Because we like to emulate the fine establishments that exist in the UK for Afternoon Tea we carry on the tradition of freshly made, everyday, quality ingredients created by our chefs to serve to you from our tiny kitchen. If we let you choose  your sandwiches, etc… it could take you ages to decide, the Trolley Dolly might get the order wrong and you have taken up half your tea time trying to figure out what sandwiches and sweets you want! Good grief, let us take the pressure off and serve you our latest and greatest options. If you dislike anything we have served, then let us know and we will fetch you something else that will please you and we won’t be offended! If you ask us what the tea sandwiches are for the day we are thrilled to tell you and you can pick and choose from them especially if you don’t like surprises or have dietary restrictions. We have over 24 sandwiches in our repertoire but we make up to six different ones a day… surely we will have something you love! Thanks for your understanding!

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Oh yes please! We are delighted that you can carry on drinking our delightful teas at your leisure in your charming homes! We sell all our loose leaf teas by the ounce in fun, pink bags and a cute label! Just ask your Trolley Dolly or Dandy for the price list and we can whip up an ounce or more for you! Prices start at $8.00 an ounce. If you get back home and you keep dreaming of the delicious tea you imbibed in with us and forgot to buy some, just ring us immediately and we will send you some in the post. Soon we will have an online shop and you will be able to purchase it that way, too!

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We sure did! It was a doozy of a shop in the Ghirardelli Square location and  how Amy misses those glorious days of shopping for it, but alas there is not room for one in either of our 2 locations. In the meantime, we do have a small selection of tea related gift items to be purchased at Crown & Crumpet. Look in the antique vitrines on our counters.

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We have always thought that the word “server” is so dull and “waiter” or “waitress” is so very un-pc in these parts. We rather like the cool 1960’s London turn of phrase of  “Trolley Dolly” for a delightful, attractive server who mostly pushed a trolley down the aisles of jumbo jets. It has a sort of panache for our guys and gals who look after you in our establishment. However, we do call the gentlemen a “Trolley Dandy”. Please be assured the Trolley Dollies of yesteryear have assured us they are not offended by the use of this title in the modern age… they find it rather endearing. We hope you do too!

A Ah… parking, the bain of life in the city. Well, lucky for you there is a parking garage right across the street. It is the Japantown Center Garage and you can enter either on Post Street or on Geary Street. Sadly, they don’t extend validation tickets to us but you can get a validation in the mall!

A Why, yes… we do indeed! Of course, we prefer to see you and your lovely friends and family here at Crown & Crumpet, but if you have to host a tea party out in the world then you have called upon the right tea folks to make that happen! Click here to get all the info.

A Yes we do. We take all credit cards, and cash of course, but no checks, sorry. Chris will also take payment in vintage cars.

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If you are asking for a donation for your school event, non-profit party or old Aunt Millie, we are definitely keen to help you out. Well, actually Aunt Millie may have to help with the dishes if we donate anything to her, but we are always happy to consider making a donation to your event. Here is how it works: You send us an email, the standard letter your school/charity creates when soliciting for donations. We fill out the form that is attached to it and then we arrange for a super fun “Tea For Two” gift ribbon to be picked up by you in time for your event. Keep in mind the ol’ tax man keeps an eye on the quantities of our yearly donations so at some point in the year we have to cap it, but it never hurts to ask. Click here to send us that donation letter.