Recently, I had a chance to dine at Floris, the tea room at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). I’ve dined at Floris before, but since they change their menus seasonally, I was due for another visit.

The restaurant is currently featuring the fall menu, which highlighted warm spices, tender brassicas, and autumnal squashes. I went with my daughter, and we both enjoyed the signature tea, which features all of the listed bites and unlimited amounts of any of the non-premium teas (we had to try a premium tea for good measure).

The experience started with us being seated in a lovely room that was a bit further back from the main entrance. Our space was punctuated with a grand Christmas tree that was white with silver accents. The room itself was a deep teal color, with light multicolored wooden floors and gold accents upon the walls. As we took in the beauty of our space, we were greeted by our waiter, who brought us menus and filled our water glasses.

After learning that we could select two teas to start, we discussed which teas sounded most interesting. We decided to try the Marie Antoinette tea as well as the Milk Oolong premium tea (which has a $6 USD upchage per teapot). Our tea arrived while we waited for our food. The Marie Antoinette was fruity, bright and softly floral, with none of the bitterness that can occur with many other black tea varieties. This was probably my favorite tea of the afternoon. The Milk Oolong was just as described: creamy, smooth, and buttery. I can confirm that this tea had notes of milkiness without any actual dairy being included. I was impressed at the subtle but impactful flavor profile on this tea.

We were brought a basket of biscuits and scones, along with jam and butter. These were tasty, and a great way to start our tea. The scones featured a swirl of additional flavoring (I don’t know what it was: the items were brought to us while I washed my hands, and I forgot to ask our waiter about it). The scones were softer and sweeter than the biscuits, and both were perfect with our first two pots of tea.

Our food arrived and it was an impressive presentation. We started our meal with the fried saltines and pimento cheese savory bites (the top level). Rich, a little salty, and a lot crunch, these delicious cheesy bites were perfectly balanced by the tomato conserva garnish, which left a little sweetness and brightness after each bite. We followed up with the baked brie bites (top level), which had little bits of mushroom, pepper jelly, and a sprig of micro greens on top. This is a nice, standard tea dish: soft baked cheese in phyllo dough, with a few other ingredients for more flavor and texture. This is one that would be fairly easy to recreate at home, and would be a tasty hit with your guests!

We progressed to the roasted sweet potato salad, which had a mixture of cubed sweet potatoes, feta cheese, bits of sauteed kale, and cranberries. The salad was served in a single endive leaf, adding a touch of tasty bitterness to a dish that perfectly captured sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and umami. This was a surprise hit for me, as I didn’t know what kind of salad to expect. This is absolutely a dish I would make myself, and would happily serve to others. We finished our savory bites with the braised green handpies, which my daughter accurately described as tasting like gomen, Ethiopian style collard greens. These handpies featured both collard and kale green, cooked until flavorful and tender, and the greens with mixed with other winter vegetables (like squash). On top of the flaky pastry pockets, there was a drizzle of smoked tomato coulis, the perfect little touch of delicious decoration. The handpies was my daughter’s favorite dish.

We finally progressed to the final tier, with the sweet bites. But, before we started our bites, we tried another tea. We decided that the Moroccan Nights herbal tea could be tasty, and we weren’t disappointed. This tea was faintly minty, but mostly a floral, approachable blend that worked well with the sweet items we tried. Our first dessert item was the apple pound cake, that I quickly realized I couldn’t hold in my hands, as the warmth began melting the milk chocolate glazed on the outside of each slice! The mascarpone garnish and light-as-air sweet crisp on top – in the shape of autumn leaf, no less! – was such a pretty and tasty touch. We then tasted the pumpkin pate choux, an airy cake that was hollowed out and filled with a decadent pumpkin filling, and then topped with meringue and toasted until golden brown. This was my absolute favorite sweet of the bunch, and I could have eaten 20 of these!

Before we ate the last sweet bite, we ordered our final tea of the day, Himalayan White. This was an easy to sip, mildly sweet tea that contrasted well with our rich desserts. The final sweet treat with the spiced chocolate cremeux, which is a fascinating take on chocolate ice cream. This is what I’d imagine an upscale interpretation of the standard cherry cordial candy would taste like. This treat was had earthy and warming notes from the spice, the coldness of the ice cream, a touch of bitterness from the dark chocolate brownie bits, and the sweet and tart raspberry coulis encasing all of it. This was my daughter’s favorite and it’s easy to see why: it’s a fun mix of fruit and chocolate!

When we finished our meal, the waiter brought us an additional treat: we got chocolate caramel stuffed tarts to pair with the last cup of tea. Delicious! Such a tasty and unexpected way to end our meal.

As we sipped the last of our tea and looked out of the windows of the tea room, we savored the easy energy of the afternoon. Our time at Floris was a wonderful way to unwind in the afternoon. I can’t wait to return when they debut their winter menu!