Reynolds Tavern and 1747 Pub

Reviews 4

KR

Kristen Bishel Browne

My husband & I went yesterday with a group of 20 friends to experience one of their English afternoon teas. 1 star is for the tea & finger foods, which were delicious, & 1 star is for the friendly, helpful servers that waited on our group. However, the lack of 3 stars was for all the issues I encountered with the manager & the amount of miscommunication I received. We will not be returning to Reynolds Tavern for tea in the future. When I originally tried to book my reservation we had a group of 14 & I was told that if I brought at least 20, wed be placed in a private room free of charge. But, any number under 20 would incur a fee for the room. So, we managed to pull together 22 people to get the private room, which was great. 3 days before our reservation, I sent a final headcount to The Tavern (now up to 24). However, 2 people got sick & felt it best not to contaminate the rest of the group & did not arrive. However, at the end of our reservation, I was presented with a $50 check to pay for the 2 sick individuals that we not in attendance. Nowhere in their paperwork does it state that you have to pay for any group members who do not arrive & I was furious. On top of that, when I booked the reservation I was told that the group could choose between the 3 House Blend teas, but when we walked in the door we were not given any option at all. Every table was automatically given a pot of English breakfast, but we had members in attendance that were pregnant & not drinking caffeine, so we had to ask for a second option that was herbal (which they nearly charged us for). None of this info is made clear on their website or reservation papers. In addition, when I booked the reservation, I was told that any number of people under 20 would incur a $12.50 charge for the room, but when I was sent official reservation paperwork, it said $15 per person. I really did not appreciate the miscommunication between the person doing reservations on the phone & the paperwork with conflicting information from the party planner. For a business that has been doing these teas for a while, it seemed like no one was on the same page or had any idea what was really policy. The party planner lied to my face, saying that she agreed to honor what I was told on the phone, but when I went back through the emails Id received from her, there was no response or confirmation whatsoever. In the end, if you plan to bring a group, BEWARE - do not deviate from your final number AT ALL - you will be forced to pay extra for too few OR too many people! Absolutely ridiculous - Ive never encountered such a policy at any other restaurants when group numbers shift by 1-2 (everyone else seems to understand that people can get sick sometimes). Thankfully, Tea on the Tiber in Ellicott City just reopened & they will once again be getting all our tea party business from here on out. Reynolds Tavern only seemed concerned with taking as much money from our group as possible.

DA

Dani Paschke

I am so sorry to be writing this review because I truly loved Reynolds Tavern and over the years I have spent many birthdays and other happy moments here. However what should have been another happy memory was quickly turned sour this past Sunday. My lovely bridesmaids threw me an amazing bridal shower at Reynolds Tavern, a place that has always been close to my heart. My bridesmaids spent a great deal of money hosting a full tea for 26 guest, which brought the establishment a considerate amount of business for a Sunday evening. The first instance that should have been a red flag was that two of our guest were involved an accidents and were unable to attend, when my bridesmaid emailed her the evening prior we were told it was too late to amend the guest list and she would be required to pay for each of their portions, we were disappointed about that but we understood the policy and it was laid out in the contract, we were hoping they would be accommodating but business is business, but the next part was truly the straw that broke the camels sad little back. As with any bridal shower, I had a beautiful bride to be cake and when it came time to cut the cake the establishment then told my maid of honor that there would be a $1.50 per slice of cake...now this was nowhere in their contract, this was never mentioned prior, and now at the moment we would be cutting the cake this was dropped on the girls. The money wasnt the issue, it was the poor management and rude customer service. My maid of honor asked if we could just cut the cake ourselves and she was told absolutely not, and my maid of honor kept pressing the issue about how she was never told about this and how there was no mention of it in her contract and the manager said "well who brings food to a restaurant"...ummmm you knew we would be renting your room for a bridal shower, what shower doesnt have a cake for the bride, why wouldnt you mention this at the time of booking or have it laid out in your rental contract? I am so upset that what should have been another happy memory at Reynolds has left a sour taste in my mouth, we have actually decided to not have our rehearsal dinner there as well, we feel our money should go to an establishment that better respects their patrons and also isnt trying to make a quick buck over something so silly and insignificant.

YA

Yadira Liu

My husband and I went there today and we were rather disappointed. The tavern itself is quaint and on the cozy side which is nice. He took the sweet tea service and I took the savory one. The tea selections themselves were varied and interesting, but the food, when brought out, was under par. We were expecting the treats to be brought out on a tiered stand (I was particularly excited by this prospect) like other peoples, but they were brought out on plates that were placed in front of us. Whats the point of the British-like tea service if you dont make it fancy with the tiered stands? Total disappointment when we were looking for a feeling of "je ne sais quoi". We ended feeling that the whole service was overpriced. We also ordered the crab cake sandwich and the apple sandwich (cant remember the name) which were not appetizing (especially for what we paid for them) and the fries that came with them were soggy and felt liked they had been sitting out for a bit before being served. On the whole, if you are looking for a nice tea service for the experience its not bad. Depending on the tea service you are ordering, be sure to ask for it to be served in a tiered stand because it may not be brought out like that and it really takes away from the service. Food is passable, but overpriced. Also, dont dress way too casual as there is a tea service dress code worn by the customers though not necessarily enforced by the tavern management.

AL

Alice Wang

This place is adorable! They turned any girls tea party dream into reality. The tavern itself is historic, having been constructed in 1747, making it the oldest tavern in Annapolis and one of the oldest in the US. Its conveniently located in the historic district. The interior dining room is very elegant, reminiscent of the 18th century with china, portraits, teapots/teacups/spoons/etc placed around the room. I came here for a bridal shower, so the dining room was reserved for Afternoon Tea. Each table got an assortment of finger sandwiches, tarts, pastries, scones, and mini-cakes on a three-tier stand. Each table also got a pot of loose-leaf tea. I felt sophisticated and chic sipping tea in fine china and munching on scones and finger sandwiches like a proper lady. It all seems very affordable too; on the website, Afternoon Tea is $18 a person. This was a great idea for a bridal shower and I definitely want to come back. I think the finger sandwiches and pastries were all decent enough, but what I really enjoyed was my tea. It was loose leaf, which I preferred, and fresh and flavorful. Reynolds Taverns tea has been compared to that of Englands - impressive! The tea and atmosphere were the best, most enjoyable parts of this experience and I cant wait to come back.