Sapphire's Cafe: A Birthday With Tea!

I honestly can't remember the first antique store I ever visited. My parents used to collect Depression Glass, and my earliest memories of antiquing are filled with peering over table tops, balanced on the tips of my toes. I remember the light shining through colored glass, with all the shades of the rainbow.

When I'm feeling a little homesick, I still find my way to those isles filled with the exotic and the mundane. When we found our way to the Antique Gallery in Lewisville, TX, I was surprised to discover a little restaurant in the back, and intrigued when I saw they offered high tea... and at $17.95 a person, less than half the price of anywhere else I'd seen.

With its tasty-looking menu, Sapphire's Cafe seems to be a local go-to location for bridal or baby showers, as we've come across one or the other nearly every time we've come in to the store. 

We decided to venture back when I hit the big 3-2, and it ended up being a pretty wonderful experience. Because of some email glitches, Jake made all the arrangements over the phone. When we arrived for our 3:00pm reservation, I was more than a little surprised that they had made the reservation for closing time.

A low white rail separated the dining area from the rest of the store. Just inside, a small baby shower was finishing up at one end of the seating area, with an atomic family enjoying lunch across the way. The rest of the tables, with their antique chairs, looked packed up for the afternoon. Their white linens lay bare, and most the color in the room came from the dark woods of the antique bookcases and bureaus against the walls. Blue and white china vases and hanging plates made up the rest of the decor. 

The first staff member we met was a very young, very new waiter who seemed to have an obsession with the silverware. It seemed like every few minutes he was setting it out or picking it up... everywhere but our table. We had to resort to swiping some from another table before his next wave of in/out came through!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when the food came out, but it was phenomenal, and they were incredibly kind and accommodating about my allergies. The first course was a delicious and chunky chicken salad croissant sandwich with small salmon and palmetto savories to the side. With the chef's recommendation we went ahead and ordered the Lavender Earl Grey by Sterling Tea, and it went very well with the course.

By this time, we were alone in the dining area. I know they had actually set the reservation for this time, but it felt more than a little awkward, especially because it was taking so long between pots of tea and courses. The staff was very nice, but even though we were being totally pampered, I still couldn't quite escape the feeling that we were doing something inconsiderate.

For the second course, we had some truly lovely warm scones with Devonshire cream and a thick, sweet lemon spread. This round came with Sterling Tea's ReVive (a lemongrass and mint green), but the wine-glasses full of fruit and sweet cream stole the show. I did notice that even here they were paying close attention, because there wasn't a single allergy-inducing scrap of apple to be seen.

Finally, we came to the third course. We had a pot of Sterling Tea's Lemon Velvet (a citrusy dessert tea) but the chef came out to tell us that due to the email snafu they had not had enough notice to get the petit fours done in time. Instead we each got a generous helping of their silky peach cobbler, as well as a more than healthy slice of a sinful chocolate cake that the chef had set aside especially for my birthday. I felt very, very spoiled... and also very stuffed at this point!

When we decide to go back (and we will - I still want to try the petit fours!), there are a couple things I'll keep in mind: I'd definitely make sure our next reservation fits solidly inside normal business hours. Also, it was a little difficult to get ahold of them – I emailed them over a month ago and my husband emailed a week ago, and neither of us ever got a response. Next time I'll call during their business hours, because that is how Jake managed to arrange for our lovely afternoon. 

All in all, this was a wonderful experience, and made for a fantastic birthday treat!