Teahouse Restaurant

What I really love is not the food only but also how to set up the outdoor place.

Best Gazpacho EVER....

We celebrated our anniversary at the Teahouse last week, I must say, the Tomato Gazpacho was the best cold soup I've ever had, sweet freshly picked tomatoes with a cool refreshing dollop of Creme Fresh, sprinkled with bright mint and sweet Basil, married together in a thick broth of heaven; the best Jerry,the best.. ( Seinfeld-ism ).I'd return just for the cold soups. My second course was a Caesar salad made with Baby Gem lettuce which is a hybrid of Romaine & Butter lettuce,I found this lettuce to be too thick & limp for the application; for me it lacked that fresh firm crunch I prefer in a Caesar Salad. Francois incorporated bread crumbs instead of the standard croutons, which I did not prefer. I tasted no evidence of capers, nor did I see any as indicated in the fresh sheet, I also missed anchovies, and for me the Caesar fell flat. The mixed mushrooms were outstanding and complimented the salad with a pungent earthy flavour that left you wanting more. My entree was a butter-tender serving of Lamb chops beautifully frenched and encrusted in savory hazelnuts with mint crumbs, prepared perfectly as ordered. My wifes strip loin was closer to well done than med as ordered and was adequate but if were more pink it would have been more tender and juicier. My concerns are as followes; as we had NO ambient lighting on the patio, my palette was left to it own devices as we honestly could not see our meals... this needs to be addressed as dinners eat with their eyes first, then their palette, this is crucial and I stand by that. Our first courses arrived in a timely fashion and we waited exactly 40 mins between our last appy and our entree.With this, I believe our order was forgotten and I was not impressed by this. On a more positive note, we loved the attentive staff, ( our waitress was very sweet and genuine but She should have been more on top of our entree ) The atmosphere was definately not that of an officers mess from WWII, but rather a beautiful english herb garden with gorgeous landscaping and a cootage like feel. Overall a wonderful romantic gastronomic experience worth every penny. Pacific West cuisine with a creative twist from Chef Francois Gagnon. Janet; You did a great job hiring the right wait staff, warm, helpful and hard working. Can't wait for the next visit. Happy Noshin' Brianm.