This just may be your cup of tea

By Emily Sorensen

Looking for a nice, light lunch, or a place to hold a party? Try the Grand Tea Room, at 145 West Grand Avenue in Escondido.

The Grand Tea Room was opened in September 2011 by Louisa Magoon, and is a full-service restaurant and gift shop, specializing in afternoon teas and light lunches.

“It’s going great, we’re very busy,” said Magoon. “We have lots of parties. Baby showers, bridal showers, anniversaries, birthday parties, you name it, it’s been celebrated at the Grand Tea Room.”

The Grand Tea Room offers 43 different varieties of tea, and their menu ranges from a traditional, two-hour afternoon tea to a la carte options for those just wanting a quick bite to eat.

The traditional tea is served over two hours and comes in courses. You can choose from the Grand Tea, the Garden Tea or the Children’s Tea for the traditional tea.

The Grand Tea offers a soup and savory item, assorted tea sandwiches, seasonal fresh fruit, scones, petite desserts and tea for $29 per person. The Garden Tea is similar, without the soup and savory course, and is $26 per person.

The Children’s Tea is intended for ages 10 and under, and includes two tea sandwiches and a savory, seasonal fresh fruit, a scone, desserts and tea or milk for $18.

The Grand Tea Room also has a wine license, and serves a selection of fine wines.

The Grand Tea Room’s menu includes salads and soups a la carte, as well as the Light Lunch Tea and the Cream Tea, which come with a variety of items and are not served in courses.

The Grand Tea Room contains a gift shop the features loose leaf tea, tea sets, children’s tea sets, candles, jewelry and will soon include chocolates.

Magoon first attended a tea party 10 years ago at a friend’s house, and fell for it. “I thought everything was so pretty,” she said. After discovering some of her coworkers also enjoyed going to tea rooms, she sought out teas in San Diego as she traveled for her work, as well as holding her own tea parties.

Magoon worked for 21 years for the corporate office of the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurants, before losing her job when the entire corporate office was laid off in 2010 when the company was sold. “Instead of looking for another corporate job, I decided to go out on my own.”

Magoon decided to open her own tea room, and the rest is history. “There are so many restaurants in the area, but the Grand Tea Room is the only tea room in North County,” she said.

Magoon’s tea room has a full kitchen, which allows her to cater not only in a la carte items, but to walk-ins, as her restaurant has the facilities to whip up more tea sandwiches, scones and tiny treats for her guests if the Grand Tea Room runs low, something Magoon said was unusual for a tea room.

Though the Grand Tea Room accepts walk-ins, Magoon recommended that guests make reservations, especially on the weekends when the tea room is especially busy.

The Grand Tea Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and during December will also be open on Sundays.

For more information, including a full menu and information on tea room decorum, visit www.thegrandtearoom.com. For reservations and more, call 760-233-9500.