Pink Bicycle Tea Room

My baby girl is my 3rd of 3 kids.  I didn't really mean to try for a girl (I think I've shared before we successfully planned only 1 of our 3 kids, whoops!) but I am so glad that I have her!! I can't believe I might have missed out on dress up clothes and tea parties!!

On Wednesday, we were so excited to go and check out the Pink Bicycle Tea Room in Occoquan with some friends! We had 2 lovely mommies and 3 lovely little girls.  I was also there. :)

First of all, let's talk about dressing up for no reason in the middle of the week.  I'm pretty sure it's better than therapy.  I'm a stay at home type of momma, so I never get to dress up.  It was so fun to throw on a hat (it was from Target and super cute) and a dress and heels.  My daughter and I even did our makeup.  Note to self: she picks blue eyeshadow for me every time.  I should really throw out the blue :)

Pink Bicycle Tea Room is located on Commerce Street, which means you have to loop down Main Street and back up since it's one way.  The door that looks like it should be the main door is NOT the door- the door you want is through a small garden just to the right.  It's very easy to find.  When you first walk in there is a reception area, and, if you didn't have time to run to Target for a hat, there's a rack of them for you to choose from.

The bathroom is in the waiting area, just to the side of that gold chair you're seeing in the picture.  There are several rooms set up for tea, which is nice if you're having a larger gathering since you can have a room all to yourself, as the ladies in the first room we went through were doing.  I didn't appreciate that we had to traipse through their party every time one of our little princesses needed to use the facilities, but I guess there's only so much you can do with the layout of a house!!

Back at our table, everyone had their own china setting.  A lot of people complained online about this, but I actually thought it was really cute.  Shabby-chic seems Occoquan-appropriate.  My rose teacup reminded me of my grandmother and made me smile.  If you're looking for all-matching settings and a very "high tea experience" this is not the place for you.

The girls had lemonade from a very cute frog teapot.  My daughter wanted to give him a "widdle kiss" so he'd turn into a prince :) There is a large menu and I have to apologize because I didn't take pictures of the grown-up food.  One of my friends had a gorgeous looking salad, and two of us had tea sandwiches and fruit.  The scones were yummy, although I don't think they're what you're typically thinking of when you hear "scone".  They were more like a very delicious hot roll served with cream and jam and less like the flaky biscuit-reminiscent scones that I'm used to.  Still good, though.  The girls had the Little Princess Tea which came in 2 courses, a fruit, bear cookie and cheese plate that was very cute in the 2 seconds before my daughter re-assembled it (you're seeing the after) and then a plate of PBJ and cucumber sandwiches, fruit and brownies.  The girls were such little angels, behaving well the entire time and getting restless only in the final few moments.  The mommies actually got to have some grown up talk, which was amazing.

I would definitely say that a good time was had by all.  Here's my breakdown for you.






Pink Bicycle Tea Room
Pros:
Local, cutesy, and kid-friendly as far as the atmosphere.  Moderately priced as far as tea-rooms go.  Bright, welcoming and enjoyable.  The food was good, the girls enjoyed everything.

Cons:
I'm not sure if our hostess was having a long day, but she could come across a little bit "gruff" and inadvertently offended one of our party.  (I would have been offended, too).  The bathroom is not nearly as cute as the rest of the tea room and could use a little attention.

Caution:
Obviously this space is not peanut-free.

Recommended for:
I would recommend this location for ages 3 and up.  Old enough to behave and not throw the china (which is real) and older would have a lovely afternoon with mommy or some friends.

Price: 
The menu runs from $10-$26 and includes unlimited pots of tea. We tried the house blend, which came very highly recommended and I really liked, and then an off-menu blend that was tropical in theme, which was also very lovely.
Note that for parties of 6 or more, or if you separate your checks, a 20% gratuity is automatically included.
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Reader Experience (If you have an experience similar or different to ours- we'd love to hear about it): 
I had made reservations several days ahead of time but when we got there, it took over 7 minutes for someone to come greet us, and then they said they didn't have any reservation for us. Well we had 2 little girls that wouldn't of been happy if they weren't going to get to have a tea party. So eventually they were able to seat us. There was a bridal party in the main room. We were seated by the restroom. No biggie. Each course, including just getting some water took at least 15 minutes in between. The girls weren't super quiet but they were not that loud. The waitress kept coming and telling them "Sshhh!". They were antsy because the courses took so long. We spent like an hour and a half there. The food was so plain and the brownies were stale. It really made me think, why on earth is everything taking so long!  It was just some apple slices, cheese and teddy grahams. Nothing impressed me. They never even told us that the girls could use the hats for their tea. Waste of money and time. I could've done something at home that would've been way better, fresher and more fun.