charm & charitea at dr. bombay’s in atlantaOctober 25th, 2011No Comments »
this little tea room charmed us with its location and its adorable assortment of vintage china on vintage embroidered linens – just like from grandma’s linen cupboard. located in a hip row of restaurants in atlanta’s candler park neighborhood, dr. bombay’s underwater tea party is an equally hip venue for tea, tea parties, and hanging out streetside or on the back patio.
even after googling the words ‘dr. bombay’ and then asking our service from whence the name came, we’re still not sure. but at the end of the day, we were taken by the theme and by the super-cute take-out box with a handlebar mustache as the logo. the atlanta-based owner is in-shop on weekdays, so our sunday visit left us unaware of whether he sports a mustache or not. we did learn from our server that the other partner lives in india, running the learning tea, a girl’s school that receives support from this atlanta tea room. take a look at the books spilling from bookcases, and for every book sold, a portion of proceeds goes to the school.
through the front door, dr. bombay’s underwater tea room is composed of an overstuffed room with counter and a large case of baked goods, tables and chairs, random bric-a-brac, and a line of aprons hanging above like kitschy pieces of art. i spied cupcakes and scones right away, along with signs relating the tea of the day and a menu of miscellaneous teas.
through a doorway to the right, there’s a “social” room packed with tables, chairs and guests, along with umbrellas suspended from the ceiling and clutter all around that we hope is never cleared away. beyond, the wood-fenced patio boasts red tables and chairs, teapots and pitchers overflowing with sprengeri fern, bamboo, caladium, coleus and rosemary. it’s the perfect spot to hang out with someone special, or maybe sunday’s new york times.
afternoon tea runs 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. bread is baked in-house, and we enjoyed pimento cheese on sourdough, as well as egg salad on country white. also on the two-tiered tray were mini red velvet cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, lace cookies and two large scones. the peanut butter scone was especially delicious, but we had no complaints about the pumpkin scone; both were made even more decadent by a pot of devonshire cream and little jars of jam. we refilled our china cups over and over from the vintage-style teapot, enjoying an apple ceylon tea that we’d chosen from a large menu of teas — an excellent choice, we have to say.
the patio is spared from sun by a huge tree overhead, but looking up, we saw strings of lights suspended above. this lazy afternoon was perfect, but we can imagine an evening outside, knowing it would be made even more special by the fact that events at dr. bombay’s underwater tea party also help fund the learning tea school.
with a weekend in atlanta at its end, it was time for the drive home, along with our little mustachioed take-out box. but as I folded my vintage-style napkin and placed it on the table, i noticed its tag: made in india. surely karma has kept this adorable little shop alive for the past seven years.
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