A Leisurely Afternoon at Laura’s Tea Room

A borrowed hat, a chosen teacup and a pot of flavored tea set a pleasantly playful tone at Laura’s Tea Room, where an old mercantile building in downtown becomes a setting for a proper pause in the day.

The place offers two distinct ways to visit. Downstairs is a café for lunch, dessert and pots of tea; upstairs, reached by stairs and a mezzanine landing, is the fuller high-tea experience, paced in courses and built for lingering over the table.

It has the right ingredients for an occasion without requiring one. Birthdays and anniversaries fit naturally here, but so do an afternoon with a friend, a family outing across generations or a solo seat with a cake fork nearby.

The upstairs service is not a quick sandwich-and-go arrangement. Food and tea arrive in sequence, allowing each course a little room before the final tiered tray appears with its savory and sweet assortment.

Soups, sandwiches, scones with cream, cakes and other tea-time sweets all belong to the general rhythm of the meal. The presentation is carefully handled, so the table has some ceremony even before anyone puts on a hat.

A full service commonly includes an iced tea and hot-tea selections or pots. At times, the opening may include lemonade and a staff-selected tea before another tea choice is made; seasonal infusions may also be paired with particular courses.

Plan on roughly 45 minutes to an hour or more, with timing naturally stretching for larger groups. This is a meal meant for conversation, refills and a little unhurried decision-making over the sweets.

Laura’s Tea Room takes its tea seriously without making it solemn. Alongside a broad range of selections, flavored hot teas have included names such as snickerdoodle and birthday cake, a nice nudge toward trying something more whimsical than an everyday cup.

Seasonal tea infusions add another layer to the experience, particularly when they are matched with the food coming to the table. Tea drinkers can settle in with familiar preferences, but the menu also gives a group an easy reason to compare cups.

Blueberry tea has appeared among the memorable choices, while the overall selection gives the room more range than a standard lunch spot with one or two bagged teas on hand.

The food is homemade and attractively presented, which matters in a tea room where the small bites get examined closely. Scones with cream are a dependable pleasure, especially when the table has already settled into its second pot of tea.

Strawberry cake is one dessert worth watching for. Cakes and other sweets finish the high-tea sequence with the expected bit of indulgence, but they are not merely decorative additions to the tray.

Visitors who want a simpler meal can stay downstairs. The café serves soups, sandwiches, desserts and pots of tea, with tomato bisque and club sandwiches among items that have made lunch feel more substantial than a quick pastry stop.

Before taking a seat upstairs, guests may select a teacup of their own. It is a small ritual, but it changes the feel of the meal: instead of being handed a generic cup, you begin by looking for the pattern that suits your mood.

A porcelain pitcher of hot water may be brought out for rinsing the chosen cup before service begins. That bit of old-fashioned table choreography helps establish the room’s ceremonial, gently theatrical character.

The hats are the more obvious invitation to have fun. Borrowable hats are available for the tea experience, and the waiting area includes photo cutouts. Nobody has to dress up, of course, but the option gives a group an easy excuse to loosen up.

The setting adds as much personality as the china. Laura’s occupies a beautiful old downtown mercantile building, with a cozy, quaint interior that has room for little discoveries instead of reading as one plain dining room.

The upstairs tearoom is spacious while keeping its whimsical atmosphere. Seating choices can include quieter spots away from other tables, a useful possibility for a long catch-up conversation or a more private family celebration.

On the way upstairs, the mezzanine landing creates another pause in the visit. It has served as a place to try on hats and take pictures, including with royal-themed cutouts, before continuing up to tea.

The downstairs café makes Laura’s approachable even on days when a full tea reservation is not on the agenda. A bowl of soup, a sandwich, dessert and a pot of tea can make a complete, relaxed lunch without the multi-course format upstairs.

There is also a gift-shop element threaded through the building. Teas and tea supplies are available alongside other merchandise, giving visitors something to browse after lunch or while waiting for their table.

That shop portion is worth allowing a few extra minutes for. A tea tin, infuser or other small find can be a more useful souvenir than another trinket, particularly after discovering a flavor you would like to take home.

Reservations are available for the upstairs tea service, and the booking process is straightforward. The downstairs café offers the more spontaneous lunch-and-dessert route.

The tearoom itself is upstairs, accessed by stairs with the mezzanine landing along the way. Parking near the charming downtown area has been described as simple.

Vegetarian accommodations have been available, though current options are best confirmed when making a tea reservation. Menu details, tea flavors, pairings and desserts can shift, which gives repeat visits a little room for surprise.