Lime Lounge

There is nothing I enjoy more than afternoon tea. I didn’t grow up in England or the South or even in a home where we had china (we did have good paper plates though), but there’s something about sitting down for afternoon tea with friends and conversation that just makes a day special.
I’ve had high tea, I’ve had casual afternoon tea and now I’ve had low tea and I love them all, however; the Lime Lounge offers a comfortable relaxed yet chic vibe I haven’t seen before elsewhere. You may be wondering «what exactly is the difference between high tea and low tea?» Don’t worry, I was too. Low tea merely refers to a tea service being served at low tables near chairs or sofas. Trust me when I tell you, the low tea set up is very cozy and comfortable.
We were given a choice of teas which consisted of eight total choices. The teas were: Black Teas (Baroness Grey, and Royal Bengal Tiger), Oolong Tea (Goddess Oolong and Orange Blossom), Green Tea (Strawberry and Jasmine), and White Tea (White Mischief and Sakura Cherry Rose). After making our selections, we were each given our own individual pots. I had the Orange Blossom which was perfect without any needed sweetener.
The low tea service consists of several tea sandwiches, scones, and some sweet bites. We started with our scones which were freshly baked mango and pineapple coconut scones served with Devonshire Cream, lilikoi yuzu curd and orange apricot marmalade. We then moved on to our assorted tea sandwiches which included wasabi crab with bacon and avocado, black truffle egg salad, madras curry chicken with apples and currants, prosciutto & brie pâte à choux, cucumber «namasu» sandwich with dill cream, and a cured salmon pastry puff. The favorites in our group were the madras chicken curry as well as the black truffle egg salad with the least favorite going to the cured salmon or the prosciutto which both fell flat.
Finally we moved on to our assorted petite sweets which consisted of chocolate decadence cake, Greek yogurt pana cotta with oatmeal crumble and mixed berry coulis, vanilla bean cookie butter macaron and honey lavender crème brulee. The crème brulee was the hands down favorite in our group with the macaron being in close second. I found the chocolate decadence cake to be a little too moist and not at all cake like in consistency.
Overall, I very much enjoyed low tea at the Lime Lounge, however service did leave much to be desired. Prior to making the reservation I noted my nut allergy and upon our food being brought out, the server did not notate what food (s) were allergen friendly, etc. and I had to ask. Thankfully I was only unable to eat one item, but the purpose in calling ahead was to ensure that items could be substituted as needed as is always done at other tea venues. Additionally, our server did not check on us while we were there and we had to call someone over to request sweetener for someone in our party and again to refresh our tea pots. I would definitely go back for low tea but not anytime in the distant future due to the fact that they do not rotate their menu and because of the lackluster service. Despite those two negatives, it was overall a positive experience.

I love to relax with afternoon tea. There’s just something so charming about enjoying sweets and savories while sipping on fragrant tea. Stage Restaurant in the Honolulu Design Center now serves Low Tea in their Lime Lounge. Low Tea is typically served on low-​sitting tables, offered during the afternoon to satiate your appetite in between lunch and dinner. While I think having tea on low sitting tables, like at the Kahala Veranda is very lady like and intimate, I rather enjoy tea seated at a dining table. I think it’s more spacious and comfortable and I don’t have to worry about keeping my legs crossed the entire time. But I digress.
Stage currently offers their Low Tea service on Wednesdays with seating at 2:30pm and 3:00pm and beginning October 11, 2014 will offer Low Tea on Saturdays with seating beginning at 11:30am. The cost for the Low Tea service is $ 38.95 per person and you can upgrade to the Tea Royale which includes champagne for $ 54.95 per person.
The Low Tea offers 6 selections of tea which includes offerings of black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. If you would like a truly decaffeinated tea, ask for the Lemon-​Mamaki which is an herbal tea they serve at the restaurant. I selected a white tea named White Mischief, a blend of pomegranate and guava. The aroma was subtle, but sweet and I enjoyed the fruity notes in the hot tea.
We started with the assorted tea sandwiches which included wasabi crab with bacon and avocado, black truffle egg salad, madras curry chicken with apples and currants, prosciutto & brie pâte à choux, cucumber «namasu» sandwich with dill cream, and a cured salmon pastry puff. My favorites were the curry chicken and the truffle egg salad, but all the bite sized sandwiches were delightful.
The petite sweets that were offered were a chocolate decadence cake, Greek yogurt panna cotta with oatmeal crumble & mixed berry coulis, vanilla bean cookie butter macaron, and honey lavender crème brulée. I really enjoyed the crème brulee and the macaron. The sweets were accompanied by very delicious cranberry scones served with devonshire cream, lilikoi-​yuzu Curd, and orange apricot marmalade. It’s a good thing they are generous with the scones because I ate more than my share.
Although the late afternoon time slot makes attending the tea a little difficult, the menu and the girl talk were well worth taking a couple hours of vacation time. Glad to see they will be serving the tea on the weekends later this month. I think they should also consider adding a non-​caffeinated tea to the menu as well as offering an iced tea variation.

Look out high tea, I now heart this low tea.
Low tea is not my favorite as high tea is more my #1 fav past time.
High tea in Scotland is my base for comparison as it is affordable, not pompous and delicious.
Let’s preface this with I have been anticipating tea here after reading Nadine Kam’s opinion. I value her honest words as too many reviewers say only how good places are and neglect the truth.
The service by Romnick is phenomenal as they open at 230pm yet he accommodated us at 210pm. He was excellent due to anticipating our needs and filled with aloha spirit.
Oh the sweets are delicate, delectable and filling! My favorites are the honey lavender crème brûlée and the Greek yogurt panna cotta. The wasabi crab and bacon avocado tea sandwich and thw cucumber namasu tea sandwich rival Halekulani tea sandwiches. The scones were nice with the outstanding lilikoi yuzu curd.
The atmosphere is indoors so it is okay. The lime chairs and sofas are comfortable. The décor is modern.
The restrooms are clean. They always have tp and no line, ladies! Definitely not great lighting for make-​up touch-​ups. No full length mirror.
Complimentary parking is plentiful in the private, covered parking. Access it from Pensacola or Piikoi.
Ah the only sad note is that they have only 1 day that this is offered at this time… Wednesday.