Jan Norris, Florida Weekly, December 8, 2016
There’s peace and quiet at the Serenity Garden Tea House and Cafe, next to the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach.
The owner, Audrey Farrelly, hails from Dublin, where they know how to set a proper tea.
“Yes, we serve high tea,” she said. It’s tea as befitting the royals — with scones, clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches, pastries and fruit bits, served on tiered serving stands.
She also does a fair amount of catered luncheons in-house — salads, soups, and sandwiches, such as summer chicken salad, pear and gorgonzola salad, or a ham and brie sandwich with mango chutney.
Thursday nights find her open late to accommodate the Norton spillover — it’s their Art After Darkevent. She’ll offer wines and small bites.
Other events are group affairs — essential oil classes, where guests dine, then make and take home soaps, scents, and scrubs.
In the afternoon, there’s free wifi with $5 scone and tea plates, and a $4 glass of wine. “I get a lot of people coming in from their offices — it’s too noisy, and they need the peace and quiet.”
Wine pairing dinners are scheduled the first Wednesday of each month — with Cordon Bleu Catering helping with foods.
The quaint house is popular with ladies who lunch, but men find it just as charming, she said.
A private room accommodates nine, or a group can book the restaurant for a private event, which often is the case, she said.
Serenity Garden Tea House and Café, 316 Vallette Way, West Palm Beach; phone 655- 3911; www.serenitygardentea.com. Open Tuesday- Friday, 11: 30 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. Closed Monday for private parties, and closed Sunday.