When the fast-paced life of the 21st century gets you down, there is a respite: Mrs. Burton’s Tea Room, where you can take a break from the daily grind and step back into the Victorian era for tea time.
Walking to Mrs. Burton’s in Old Town’s Heritage Park, you will feel oddly out of place, noticing that the Starbucks vendors you’re used to on every corner are conspicuously absent. Instead, the park is lined with Victorian revival homes, antique stores, a doll shop and bed and breakfasts.
The cobblestone path also leads to the Burton house, a two-story Victorian rendition, which now holds a lacy lingerie store, the Enchantress; a gift and handcrafted furniture shop; the Country Craftsman and Mrs. Burton’s quaint Tea Room.
At tea time, the room is usually reserved for baby and bridal showers, birthday parties and children’s teas, but will also cater to the curious passerby if unoccupied.
For $18 per person, high tea features a three-tier tray of chicken salad, pineapple cream, sun-dried tomato and cucumber cream mini sandwiches along with cranberry almond scones, lemon shortbread, fruit tartlets and pastries for dessert accompanied by unlimited refills of your favorite tea. For those who enjoy tea without the frill, Mrs. Burton’s also offers tea and cookies for $6 every day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Amid the lace and flower decor that resembles your great-grandmother’s taste, you can try your best high-class English impression with the provided feather boas, Victorian-style ladies’ hats and top hats for those men who reluctantly agree to attend. And if a tea party isn’t cheesy enough, guests can even play croquet — with flamingo wickets — on the wonderland-like veranda outside.
While it may take a man comfortable with his masculinity to participate, Mrs. Burton’s Tea Room brings back the social aspect of tea time, offering an atmosphere to meet and chat rather than just a long line to get a much-needed caffeine lift between work and school.
In our busy world, everyone could use a break from reality. Who is to say that cheesy isn’t fun?
Mrs. Burton’s Tea Room
2465 Heritage Park Row
Old Town