By Lacey Jane Pappas

Ever wanted to step inside a cafe that both your grandma and the Sundance Film Festival might want to claim? Next time your throat has an itch, your belly has a grumble or your sis needs a cute ‘n hip locale for her bridal tea, give the Beehive Tea Room a try.

Sandwiched between eateries and corporate offices in downtown Salt Lake City, the Beehive Tea Room has an entire menu devoted to teas, coffees and hot cocoas. As if making the perfect companion for this blustery weather wasn’t enough, one of the Beehive’s hot brews will also complement a Scone of the Day quite nicely. (We say go for pumpkin, hands down.)

But there’s more to this quaint eatery than its history as one of Salt Lake’s 2008 Sundance Film Festival hubs and its hot drinks. There are also good lunch eats—no reservation required. Our most recent visit introduced us to a delicious salmon chowder. But my ongoing favorite is the tomato sandwich. Served on multigrain bread (with the crusts trimmed off every so carefully) this pretty sandwich comes with pesto cream cheese, fresh romaine lettuce and slices of hearty tomato. Other options include the spinach and artichoke sandwich and chicken salad sandwich. You’ll get to choose between a house salad (my pick) with mixed greens, baby tomatoes, pine nuts and tasty balsamic vinaigrette, or chips at the side.

Before you leave, top off your meal with any variety of sweets like cakes, brownies, petit fours or scones. You won’t regret the chocolate cake, even if you’re counting calories.

Whatever you choose, remember that to take advantage of this menu, you’ll need to settle on a hot drink. You’ll feel oh-so-pretty sitting in a beautifully-decorated, old-timey setting with a teacup at your side. There’s a reason this place is the perfect home for bridal luncheons: the hand-picked antique knickknacks and furnishings make the storybook backdrop for Vera Wang wedding books and all the bridal magazines you can handle in the Wedding Library. Or, just book one of the cozy, warm back rooms for your tea party.

Formal afternoon tea or quick lunch bite, you just might wish you had your grandma by your side. And an apres-lunch indie film to feast your eyes on … if this setting wasn’t enough.

{Tea For Two, Or Just You}

Beehive Tea Room
123 W. 300 South
Salt Lake City, Utah
(801) 328-4700
Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
www.beehivetearoom.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Eat Your Heart Out, Hot Chocolate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.