Culinary Trails
Tea Room Trail
Indiana Foodways Alliance recommends the following tea rooms to visitors who wish to sample local favorites throughout the state. Call to verify hours.
We recommend that you use an Internet mapping service for the detailed directions you might need to find the recommended restaurants and businesses.
Click here to download a PDF file of the trail information.
Almost Home
17 W. Franklin St. 765-653-5788
Greencastle, IN 46135
http://www.almosthometearoom.com
Owner Gail Smith won a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America with her recipe for strawberry pizza - now Almost Home's signature dessert. Striped awnings and welcoming windows draw diners into this cheerfully renovated full-service restaurant on the town square. In the entryway is an appetizing dessert display case. Other featured menu items include chicken broccoli casserole, homemade soups, a notable turkey asparagus melt and fresh seasonal fruit. The service is especially friendly, and you can pick up a copy of Gail's cookbook, A Collection of Recipes from the Almost Home Tea Room and an extra dessert before you leave. Open Mon.-Sat. 8 am-9 pm, Sun. 10 am-2 pm.
The Maple Leaf Inn Reservations Required
425 W. Maple St. 260-837-5323
Waterloo, IN 46793 http://www.mapleleafbnb.com
The Maple Leaf is a 1918 Bed & Breakfast, run by Ken and Candi Surber, but tea is served in the English style, as befits this grand Georgian Revival house filled with antiques. One, two and three course teas are available and can include scones served hot from the oven with homemade jam and Devonshire cream, finger sandwiches an irresistible desserts.
Aunt Sue's Tea Room
225 W. Spencer Ave. 765-651-9TEA
Marion, IN 46952 http://www.auntsuestearoom.com
Sue and Randy Wagaman returned from California to renovate a gracious 1906 Craftsman bungalow along the Mississinewa River and start their business with a heart in downtown Marion in 2005. An assortment of soups, sandwiches and salads are on the menu along with 33 teas served hot or iced amid antiques, teapot and hat collections. The Queen's tea is the house specialty – tea, warm scones and homemade lemon curd, almond cream and fresh fruit, assorted finger sandwiches and delectable sweets are served on a tiered plate and complemented with soup or salad for $9.95. Aunt Sue's red bush tea and cranberry scones are new classics. Open Wed.-Sat. 11 am-3 pm.
Cabbage Rose Eatery
118 N. Pendleton Ave. 765-778-1944
Pendleton, IN 46064
The rooms of a Victorian house in downtown Pendleton have been turned into a bustling lunch and tea room, filled with shoppers enjoying strawberry tea, cashew chicken salad, whole wheat croissants and heavenly chicken velvet soup. You can even eat on the front porch if the weather permits. Beth and Gary Yeary own the Rose, and a young pastry chef named Chrystin Adams makes the wide range of desserts that the restaurant is noted for. Coconut cream pie is the signature dessert, but bread pudding, caramel yummies and lemon cakes are among the seasonal specials. Open for lunch only, Mon.-Sat. 11 am-2:30 pm.
Jane's Gourmet Deli & Catering
524 N. Fourth St. 765-742-5000
Lafayette, IN 47901
Foodie Jane Ausman-Mudawar styles her vineyard décor restaurant as a lunch room, but the fruited chicken salad or spinach and feta on flaky croissants make a perfect tea menu. Godiva chocolates, Lithuanian tortes and rich homemade chocolate cakes join cookie specialties such as white chocolate raspberry bars and gingersnaps in the wonderful dessert case. These homemade treats taste just as good as they look. The vine-covered pergola outside the nicely "re-claimed" strip mall setting of Jane's allows for warm weather alfresco dining, and the small gourmet food and wine shop is worth a browse. Open Mon.-Sat. 10:30 am-2 pm.
Helio's Gifts & Tea Room Reservations Accepted
220 E. Main St. 317-844-4606
Carmel, IN 46032
A charming small tea room on Main Street, Helios is known for its homemade soups and croissants. Ashby of London teas are served in fat little teapots, and signature chicken, tuna and seafood salads are menu staples. An extensive dessert menu includes seasonal favorites like pumpkin crunch in the fall and lemon cake in the spring. Owner Kathy Kraft has filled the little white house near the high school with a unique selection of gifts as well as tea treasures, and the view of the rock garden outside the tea room pleasing. Open for lunch only, Mon.-Sat. 11 am-2 pm.
The Ruby Pear Reservations Accepted
1095 E. Conner St. 317-770-8322,
Noblesville, IN 46060 http://www.therubypear.com
The Ruby Pear is a vintage Tea Parlor on the first floor of a grand Victorian house. This particular "painted lady" is teal blue with a turret. Tea sandwiches, scones, jelly cream hearts, and fat rascal cookies are a few of the homemade offerings, served with fresh fruit and a very good lemon curd. If you still need dessert, chocolate covered strawberries, cream puffs and petit fours will fill the bill. Open Wed.-Sat. 10:30 am-5:30 pm.
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Pea-fections
321-323 Main St. 812-886-9177
Vincennes, IN 47591
The formal portraits of the signature desserts on the walls of Pea-fections are an indication that they may be works of art - and the impression is confirmed upon tasting Uncle Roy's Bread Pudding, a strawberries and cream torte, and the extraordinary Chocolate Bar a la Mode. Pastry chefs Becky Pea and Bill Stenger met at Johnson & Wales Culinary School, married, built careers and returned to Becky's hometown to lovingly renovate their 1800s store front into a multi-room food extravaganza. Their signature chicken salads and homemade soups are available for take out, and the top floor houses an extensive cake and candymaking supply shop, started by Becky's Mom. Open Mon.-Fri. 10 am-5 pm, serving lunch 11 am-2 pm. Open Sat. 10 am-3 pm, serving lunch 11am-3 pm.
Thyme For Tea
120 E. Franklin St. 765-584-3536
Winchester, IN 47394
This 1860s green brick townhouse started life as the residence of a superior court judge and was lovingly restored by Peggy and Bill West as a tea room five years ago. The carved woodwork, high ceilings and lace-curtained tall windows make a pleasant atmosphere for lunch or tea, where the motto is "as natural and homemade as possible." Real lemonade and hot or cold teas accompany almond chicken salad, hot chicken sandwiches, homemade soups and Peggy's signature pecan muffins and homemade yeast rolls. Fanny Bogue bakes the pies in the little kitchen behind the shop. Apricot and coconut cream pie were recent menu offerings, along with daily specials like quiche, fruit salads and Amish meatloaf. Open Mon.-Fri. 11 am-3 pm.
