A Cup of Tea

This place is absolutely amazing! My sister and I come here when we want to treat ourselves to a fun girls day. I always get the peach apricot tea and they steep it so perfectly every time and they even give cream for the tea and it’s makes it even better. One of the best things about this place has got to be the scones, they aren’t super dry and crumbly like most scones they are more moist and they pair so well with their clotted cream they have available upon request. The scones also go well with the fruit and lemon spread they have there. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who enjoys a delicious cup of tea and exemplary customer service.

We absolutely love this tea room. Wonderful setting and such friendly and efficient staff. Truly a hidden gem in Kailua.

One of my bridesmaids booked A Cup of Tea for my Bridal Shower. The staff was really great. There was some last minute changes with our group and it was kind of chaotic and our server gave us a minute to figure it all out and move people around. One of our party was sick so she was not able to come inside but they made sure we had food that could be taken to her. The food was amazing. We were able to choose 3 teas. They were all 3 delicious but the Heritage was the biggest hit. Their ice machine was broken which I wouldn’t have even noticed but one of our party ordered lemonade and asked why it didn’t have ice. The owner or someone even went out and bought ice so we had ice in our drinks! The private room was the perfect size for all of us. we even had a small table for the kids in the corner.

BINGO! I don’t know why I have been in Oahu for almost 2 yrs and have not been to A Cup of Tea! I have fondly watched it from afar, followed and admired it but finally the move was made! Our Ladies group met here and it was nothng but a delight from the time I entered the tea house. Warmly greeted into a quaint and chariming private room. It is adorned with Tea time daintites,
We chose the Princess Tiffany Tea and were offered a varity of teas, my favorite was the Chapagne raspberry tea. I chose soup over salad, maybe next time I’ll have the salad. We were served tiers of scones, petit deserts, and quaterd sandwiches.
We were attended to, tho water and tea was a tad bit slow to refill but it was quite busy, so just be patient and enjoy the experience, they will be with you soon. t have purchased a groupon to talke my friend when she visits in July, I can hardly wait to return again and enjoy dressing up and being fancy… before we change out for the beach!
Noo…I better buy another Groupon and take my dear Husband there just to be sure I LOVE IT MORE!!!

There are not a ton of tea rooms located all over Oahu but of course there is one in Kailua and it’s a pretty good one!
For starters you get to select the type of tea you want there were about 25 different types so you get to smell each one if you’d like before choosing — they have little tin boxes for you to smell from. I strongly recommend the Long Island Strawberry! There is honey, sugar, and sweeteners on the table so you can make your tea they way you like it. Each person is given their own full tea kettle so their is no lack of tea.
They start you off with either their soup of the day or salad. Our soup was a good vegetable soup — 3 star rating and their salad is made with their own house made cilantro dressing.
Next we were given sandwiches cut up into small squares on white and wheat bread. The sandwiches were tuna, ham, and veggie so it was a pretty decent combination. Working your way up the platter there were two small raisin scones one per person as there were two of us. At the top level of this platter were two bite size cupcakes and brownies.
I think overall the food is filling enough for two people but I saw larger groups and it seemed as though they got the same amount of food, so if your going with three or four people it will not be enough food.
Parking is street parking or the parking garage just make sure to bring quarters.
You need to make reservations we had to wait two weeks. Also if you buy the Groupon deal make sure to tell them that at the time of your RSVP or they will rescheduled you!
I have been here twice and I was the only male both times in the entire tea house so if you’re a guy and that bothers you just be prepared.

I went there with my friend and we were having a good time. About halfway through our seating, I found one ant inside my tea cup. We were almost done and it was only one ant, so I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t want to make a big issue so I pulled the ant away without my friend noticing. When I poured another cup of tea, I saw another ant. I was surprised and I asked my friend if she saw an ant in her cup. She wasn’t paying attention and said there was an ant in her cup as well. It was hard to tell cause the ant looked similar to the tea herb found in the cup as well. I opened up the tea pot and there were dead ants in the tea pot! I don’t know how many my friend and I might have consumed. I called the employee, and showed her. She said sometimes in Hawaii there are ants indoors, and she said there were ants in her house. I was shocked that this was her excuse! She said she would let someone know. We were waiting for someone to come to our table and at least offer an apology for this situation. We waited for five minutes and the same employee came to our table and said she would get the bill. I was surprised no one came and said anything else about the ants, and she said the same thing about how there are a lot of ants in Hawaii.
Do not go there, no one wants to pay $ 30 for ants in their tea. I am seriously thinking about reporting them to the health department or something with the pictures I took.

I enjoyed my tea time here with the Groupon deal. You get a pot of tea, soup or salad, sandwiches, cupcakes, and brownies. The food was delicious! Portion size wasn’t huge but pretty decent size for 2.
The place itself is very cute. You just feel like you have been transported back in time to the old Victorian times. I felt like I was in one of those Charlotte Bronte’s novels, going to my afternoon tea. They have hats for you to try and take pictures with.
Here the one thing to keep in mind, if you have Groupon make sure you call and make a reservation 24 hours ahead. They do not do walk-​in for Groupon.

This was my second time here, and although the food and tea were delicious, there are a few things that struck a chord with me that made me want to write this review. We arrived almost 40 minutes early for our reservation, but we were seated immediately which was nice. I had phoned days ahead and informed them I needed a high chair, but there was none on our table. It wasn’t a big deal though, the high chairs were easy to access but it was awkward figuring out what to do with the spare chair. The woman who seated us (short, petite Filipino girl with a lip piercing) saw that we had a baby with us, but didn’t offer to help. Again, not that big of a deal since I know there’s only so many workers and there was about 4 other parties in at the time. We say patiently with our tea, waiting for someone to take our order. Unfortunately someone in our party cancelled, so I struggled to figure out what to do with the extra place setting. I asked our waitress (same one who sat us) if she could take the extra plates and cup away. The table was crowded enough as it was, and I was worried about not having enough space for our tea stand. She told me I could just leave it there? Which I thought was weird since I just explained to her why I wanted it to be taken away, so I explained it to her again. I needed space, have child, don’t want to break something, please help.
Now the reason why I’m giving this place 2 stars even though the ambiance, food, and tea are amazing, is because their high chairs are a death trap. My daughter slid from the high chair down under the bar and was dangling by her head! Luckily my husband caught her right in the knick of time and we struggled to get her back in the high chair. Why did she slide off? Because neither of the high chairs available had buckles to secure her down, and the strap that goes between the legs was so badly stretched out, it did nothing to save her. It wasn’t like we weren’t paying attention, any patron there could easily vouch that she was the center of our attention. Only one waitress asked if we were okay, if SHE was okay. We told her what happened but the manager didn’t come over to talk to us. My husband informed the staff at the register what happened and they said they’d get new high chairs.
Overall, I don’t think this establishment is safe for children that need to be in a high chair. This is a real shame considering they’re promoting themselves for mother’s day. So if you have a child that’s going to need a high chair, I strongly advise you bring your own unless you’re willing to risk your child’s safety.

It was my first time going and i loved it. I had the long island strawberry so good.

Went here for a friends bridal shower. The teas that we got to try were delicious but in the 2 hours we were there, six of us were served a total of 2 pots of tea. Hardly any tea in anyone’s cup– I was surprised none of the servers made sure we had ample tea to drink. The food was ok. I had chicken mushroom soup which was good. Tea sandwiches were fresh, but the fillings were nothing special and they tasted like they were on wonder bread– tuna salad, egg salad, and cucumber cream cheese. I was excited to try the scones, but they were doughy and not crusty on the outside. The chocolate pots for dessert, however, were delicious– best part of the experience. We also had brownies with a peanut butter topping that tasted like they could be from a mix. All in all I don’t think this experience was worth $ 27 per person.

What can I say from the time u enter the establishment, you get a friendly greeting! The whole atmosphere is quaint and warm! The tea was awesome and the salad was Ono! My daughter loved it! This was our first time here n we will be back! Thank you a cup of tea for a wonderful experience! We will be back!

My gal pal brought me on Friday at 11:45am for my birthday. We were almost 45 min late, we called, and they were so accomadating! The place is soooooo cut and fun! So much to look at and admire. Wins award for best powder room! We enjoyed getting to smell the variety of teas before choosing our tea at our table. The hats available for guests to wear were so cute, all in excellent condition and appeared clean!
Our server was a pleasant young lady with a bonet! Cutest! Our teas came already steeped and filtered in the most adorable kettles.
ALL 5 stars from here! Now for food:
FRENCH ONION SOUP– very salty and generic -.5
SALAD– simple but fresh
FINGER SANDWICHES — All VERY good, including the vegetarian! No seafood which was great!
SCONES– Moist!!! So good! +.5
No clotted cream, WTF??? –1
Lemon curd– Amazing!!! +.5
DESSERTS– brownies and mini banana muffin– worst ever, generic like from a store –1.5
CHOCOLATE RUM TEA– Amazing! +.5
All in all 3.5 almost 4 stars for this place. I came here expecting worse based on reviews, but I enjoyed it. The most areas that need improvement is thier soup, clotted cream (they need it, its a tea house for crying outloud!) and desserts (needed quality). I plan on returning for sure if those things gets resolved.

I’ve been here a few times in the past and had great experiences, but my most recent visit this past Sunday left a sour taste in my mouth.
First of all I think the dress up, super girly vibe is very cute and fun. The gift shop area has a lot of cute things to purchase, especially during Christmas time.
I love that you can smell the 30 or so teas they have, great variety. We got the Princess Heather and used the Groupon this time. I’m not sure if they are just overrun from everyone using the Groupon, but service this time was some of the worst I’ve had in my life.
First of all soup was «nearly out» so we had no choice but to get the salad. My tea pot was overfilled (spilling occurred) and our sandwiches weren’t even explained to us. We literally had to guess what we were eating, as our waitress ever came back to check on us. A new waitress came near the end of our meal to bring us ice cream, in which she forgot our spoons and was very visibly irritated when we asked for some. She clearly couldn’t handle the stress of the job that day, as the table next to us got their food really late as well. (And they came before us!) Also my favorite egg salad that’s always featured wasn’t given this time :(
3 stars because my first few visits were all great, but this last visit was 1 star… hopefully service gets better!

This is such a lovely place to celebrate a special occasion. My mom took me to high tea for Valentine’s Day, and it was really enjoyable. They have soup or salad, scones, tea sandwiches, and decadent desserts, as well as large selection of upscale teas.

I don’t look it, but I have a soft spot in my heart for being a girly-​girl! What best to achieve my inner girlyness than high tea? Especially with my BFF.
Actually, I’ve been here twice. I came once last year with some good friends and did a joint celebration with my flatmate. With only 5 of us, they only allowed us to choose 3 teas, which I thought was weird… because what if I had gone in alone to have tea — are they going to give me HALF A TEAPOT?! My experience then was all right. We chose 3 teas, which is now fuzzy in memory but I do recall we had the Long Island Strawberry and White Champagne Raspberry. Forgot the third tea. Delicious! Both teas were great.
This past weekend, my BFF J-​gurl and I went to celebrate her January birthday (yes we’re late). We’ve been planning this outing for months. A Cup of Tea is in Kailua in a quieter section on Uluniu Street. We parked around the block in public marking. It’s meters — bring your coins!
We were early for our 2:00 reservation so we scoped out the knickknacks… which were a bit pricey but beautiful craftsmanship. We inhaled the tea fragrances from the sampler boxes and chose our teas. J-​gurl chose the Long Island Strawberry and it turned out to be one of the more popular flavors there. I wanted a rich black tea so I went with Irish Breakfast. We both selected Princess Heather lunch and chose soup. I liked my cream of vegetable soup (I’d say 3.5 stars out of 5) but my BFF was less impressed, as she can cook pretty well herself. J-​gurl LOVED her tea. I liked my strong black but it wasn’t anything unique, necessarily. I was disappointed they did not offer sugar cubes… which seems almost a prerequisite for tea… so they offered me honey. I took it but it just isn’t the same. Taste-​wise, it’s great, but I was just disappointed.
There were 3 types of tea sandwiches, tuna with cilantro, ham, and vegetable. I liked the latter two more than the tuna, but that one was okay. The sandwiches didn’t look super freshly made (maybe been sitting around a few hours) but it did not impact the TASTE. The tray came with slices of oranges and strawberries, one scone each (these get 3.5 stars out of 5 as well — I am super picky about my scones), and two different desserts. Both of us were not too impressed with the desserts as they did not seem unique or special in any way. They do not offer clotted cream with their scones here at A Cup of Tea. That is one big failing in my book. I LOVE CLOTTED CREAM. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND? I once looked up the recipe — looks super hard to make… so I understand logistics and overhead and all… but dude… you’re a tea place. Y’know? You got to offer clotted cream! Just sayin’.
The décor of the place seems a little too contrived, as one other reviewer did mention, and I agree. It’s appropriate but seems a little slapdash and half-​hearted. I think with some tweaks, it could become really amazing! Their restroom wins, though — it has an amazing décor theme.
I recommend this place only if you’re on that side of the island, but since J-​gurl and I are both townies, it’s not worth the «trip» over there just for this. I’d take Tea at 1024 or Halekulani anyday.

I enjoyed the princess Heather tea for two using a Groupon for $ 30. This set comes with either a soup or salad, assorted sandwiches, scones, dessert, and tea. They let you pick your own tea, and your tea comes in its own pot. This set usually cost about $ 26 per person.
The restaurant was very crowded, full of people enjoying their tea as well as having meetings. The waiting area is quite crowded, not only with people, but merchandise like jewelry, hats and of course, their tea.
Service wise, we were seated before the person who was waiting there, but ordered after her. They didn’t really come to ask us how we were doing or refill our waters. When the check came, they forgot to add our group on so we have to go up to the register where it was easily corrected.
Location wise, it was a little difficult to find, even with my GPS. My GPS may have been a little off. It’s near Walgreens. There was a sign for parking around the corner, but I found street parking, so I’m not sure how much it costs.
I might go there again if I was on Kailua side, and if I had a Groupon. Price wise, it may not necessarily be worth it.

Came here on a Groupon, Very much enjoyed myself.
CONS: It took my friend days to make a reservation, they rarely answer the phone and no one returned her messages. Our reservation was for 2pm and we arrived perfectly on time, all the seats were taken and we had to wait (not too long) but why make a reservation if they do not actually reserve a spot for you? Main con was when we entered, the woman in the front did not acknowledge us at all and she was right in front of us and did not say anything to us at all until about a literal minute in. It was very awkward just standing there waiting for her to be ready for us. Once seated and eating, the waitress failed to refill my water, I waited probably a good 30 minutes if not more and when she did check on us she didn’t notice my empty water glass, I had to stop her as she walked away and ask for more. Also it was very obvious they were trying to rush us along because she kept asking to wrap our food and when we denied she had this look of disbelief on her face. The staff was not appropriate in manner for a Victorian tea room, a few of them had very tasteless manners.
PRO: Though the place is small, we were very comfy. The French onion soup was delicious (dunk your bread!) But don’t let it get cold as the taste changes when it gets cold. The food was delicious, we noted their fruit were very high quality! Scones were great, the lemon curd tastes fantastic on them and all the sandwiches were tasty except the vegetarian one (simply because I do not like cucumbers) We wished we could have had more of those tasty cup cakes! Come here on a Groupon though because with the small spread (considering what you pay) and the sub par service it would have sucked if we paid full price!
TEA. Damn good, definitely try their interesting flavors because it’s worth it. I got the strawberry long island and my friend got the sobriatea both were SO good that we bought to go.
All in all I will return as this was a lovely experience and a great place to sip and talk.

I absolutely love this little charming tea room. From the table placements to the kitchen window to the bathroom, everything is so pretty, girly, and dainty. Compared to other places I’ve had afternoon tea at, A Cup of Tea would get the best decorated award hands down (if that award existed that is).
Would it get the best tea and sandwiches award, probably not. They do have a large selection of teas to choose from. I did noticed though that there are no loose tea leaves in the teapot, which could explain the lack of flavor. Between their salad and soup, I prefer the salad. The soup seemed watered down. The sandwiches are nothing special. They are pretty simple and not very tasty. The scones are good, but not my favorite. I do love the lemon curd, however. It’s sweet and tart at the same time. Service was on point. No complaints about that.
Besides the mediocre food, I did enjoy my time here. Without a doubt, I will be back.

My first time at a tea room PERIOD!!! My entire experience was enjoyable. This was for my lil cousin’s 8^th birthday party with all her friends from soccer and school. She and her friends had a separate table and us adults sat at another table. They reserved the private room for the birthday which gave us privacy from the regular patrons coming in for tea and sandwiches.
The adults got to pick some tea from the selection boxes; we chose the long island strawberry and white champagne raspberry. The long island strawberry is one of their most popular teas to order. I enjoyed it more than other flavor and the aroma was absolutely relaxing. Personally made me feel like I was in a pile of roses and lilies, making flower angels and witnessing flowers dancing and singing right in front of me (sounds like a dream you would have when you are intoxicated). The little ones got hot chocolate and lemonade.
Then the tea sandwiches with grapes, scones, brownies and pumpkin crème desserts came in a tower platter that you see in those victorian style shows :) Delicious and delightful. I like eating the scones with the jams spreads they offered with little knifes. Pumpkin crème desserts were alright, nothing spectacular. Brownies were yummy (must avoid eating chocolate before my skin starts breaking out shhh).
Apparently, the tea room offers bingo game for private parties held there. My cousin bought gift cards and wrapped gifts as prizes for getting bingo for both the girls and us adults to win. I thought that was the perfect way to end the party before bringing the birthday for my lil cousin. The girls and the adults enjoyed themselves.
Their restroom is a private stall filled with poodle and french décor. I took pics of what it looks like inside. Weird but i’m sure you took pics of a cute bathroom at least once.
Parking is junk. It’s street parking with meters. If you want to be cheap, you can park at the mall and walk over. You really don’t want to sweat, park on the street and make sure to bring your quarters, gonna need depending how long you are staying in the area.
Make sure to wear your dresses, heels, and Downton abbey hats :)

Honestly, my friend and I were pretty disappointed with our visit today. We got there early and had a chance to smell the different loose leaf teas they had available which I thought was a good idea of theirs. The room had about 10 – 12 tables and they were moderately busy as it was early afternoon. We were seated early which was nice of them but this is where the visit started to go down hill.
We put in our tea order and while my pot came out right away, my friend had to wait almost ten minutes for hers. I was unimpressed with the fact that they didn’t carry sugar cubes or rock sugar like the usually do in tea houses. Our table had a cup stuffed full with Splenda & Equal packets… There wasn’t any real sugar and we asked for some the girl looked confused and asked if we wanted honey. No… Sugar. We want real sugar. She disappeared for a bit and then brought us some Sugar In The Raw packets.
I asked for milk for my tea and was informed that people don’t usually put milk in my choice of tea. Um. ok, but all the same I’d still like some??? A lukewarm cup of milk was brought out for me. *sigh*
At this point we ordered our menu items. I got the Nikki’s tea for $ 21.95 which comes with your pot of tea, a very small scone, 2 tea sandwiches, a small chocolate dipped strawberry, and a completely burnt and crunchy brownie. What a waste of money. So very unimpressed. The brownie tasted
Like the box kind that I make at home but know when to take out of the oven so that they don’t burn. The sandwiches had very little filling but a LOT of butter. And while the scone was definitely the star of the show, it was quite small. You should have gotten two for how small they were. All in all I felt ripped off for what I got. My friend got the next tier up from me that came with a small side salad but was $ 6 more. Again, complete rip off. She ended up not liking her tea choice and asked if she could get something else which they said was fine but she had to wait almost 15 minutes for the pot to come out and then got significant eye rolling when she asked for a new cup.
Maybe I’m just used to the nice tea rooms in San Francisco and London but this place was definitely not worth my time or money. I could provide a better tea experience out of my own kitchen with no warning than what I was served today. I do not recommend wasting your money at this establishment.