A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

I’m a little embarrassed to say that I don’t think I had ever been inside the Boston Public Library until very recently. You’ve probably seen photos on Instagram of the Reading Room and the courtyard, but did you know that there is a restaurant inside? Tucked inside the library is The Courtyard Restaurant, a beautiful room where you can enjoy afternoon tea. How very adult, don’t you think? My fellow “ladies of leisure” (#GoLocalBoston) headed out to do some research there.

I’ve always thought that tea comes with a a hefty price tag, $39 for tea and finger sandwiches? I usually walk away hungry and I don’t even like tea. So the adult me heads into this meeting with an open mind. I get a hot chocolate instead of tea, because again, adulting. The room is spacious, open, light and airy. I love the color scheme and not so secretly wish I had a room in my house like this. They present you with a real book, and tucked inside is this tea menu on the left.

Our tower arrives with both sweet and savory goodies. While never a fan of finger sandwiches, these didn’t blow my mind, but were certainly fancy enough to make this feel like you’re celebrating a special occasion (oh wait, it’s just Monday). Side note: what do you think they do with all the crusts that they cut off these sandwiches? I digress. So the wild mushroom butter on Pain de Mie was one of my favorites, as well as the roasted ham and sharp cheddar. Such a lovely presentation. The top tier was adorned with plain and currant scones, fruit preserves, Devonshire double cream and lemon curd. Now we are talking. The scones were perfect, not too sweet, and the lemon curd just made me swoon. The lemon poppy seed cake was a hit, as were the raspberry thumbprints. The macarons came in assorted flavors and were a little out of the ordinary!

Service was decent and there were only a few other people there besides our group. Head over and have yourself a spot of tea and treat yourself to some tasty treats (make sure to eat with your pinky up for good measure 😉 )

The Courtyard Restaurant and the Boston Public Library

700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

www.thecateredaffair.com/bpl/restaurant-cafe/the-courtyard-restaurant

Tags: restaurants, tea