I love cute names and Podunk totally wins all the points for cute names and its adorable in person, too. Located in the East Village of New York City, it’s not your traditional high tea you’d expect at a more uptown location. Instead, you’re greeted with whimsy, character, and eclectic charm…all the elements you’d hope to find at a downtown tea house.
With mismatched chairs and tea pots, shelves stuffed with books and nicknacks, and the cheerful owner who greets her customers at their tables, it’s more than afternoon tea in NYC…it’s more like afternoon tea in your childhood home. (Or maybe just the home we sometimes associate with the childhood of our imaginations, even if it didn’t actually exist quite like that, you know what I mean?)
The menu is just as eclectic as the decor, offering many variations to suit your palate. I opted for the Blunt and Savory, which included mini-tea pies, savory filled scones, cheddar biscuits, focaccia and goats cheese, and of course tea. My tea dates went with the sweeter option (think sweet scones and cakes) and gobbled them up just as fast. The food definitely wins for being the tastiest of any tea joint I’ve tried in NYC…each piece really packed a punch of flavor, rather than the bland so-so scones we grow too accustomed to at hotels. Oh, and another bonus? Priced between $17 and $35 for the entire setting, it’s about half the price of Uptown afternoon teas, too.
Man, I love cute teas, don’t you?
Insider’s Tip: Despite being a restaurant, this place unfortunately has no bathroom (I didn’t even know that was legal?) So go before you go. Or walk down the street to Bareburger and use their WC, the hostess is super friendly. Also, the teahouse is quite small, so making a rezzie will only work in your favor, promise.
What’s the cutest tea house you’ve ever been to? Share below!
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
