Lunch with My Friend at Jolie Tea in Beverly MA

One of my favorite local lunch places, Tartine, a Belgian restaurant, had been in Beverly for almost 10 years. I was sorry to see it go. But I was excited when I learned that one of my favorite tea shops from Salem MA was planning to open a second location in the former Tartine. Yay! After several months of renovation, Jolie Tea Beverly opened about a month ago.

Today, I went to Jolie Tea for lunch with my friend S. She just returned from a trip to Tanzania to go on safari with a friend, and I wanted to hear all about it. She truly had a fantastic trip!

But we both enjoyed the restaurant, too! And the changes in decor that Jolie Tea made were so darn cute!

Here are some pix of the place and the food!

We sat in the large, bright room with huge windows. To the right is a service station for drinks (wine and beer). In the back where the blue curtains are is the back room, where they can open or close the curtains for private parties. There’s also a sitting area for a small group.

Before we started talking about my friend’s fabulous trip, we placed our lunch order. S. ordered a Croque Monsieur. It was huge stuffed with ham and gruyere, and the outside had Dijon and more gruyere melted on it. S. took half of it home. I ordered Smoked Salmon on a Brioche Roll with Pea Shoots and pickled cucumber salad. Delish. I ate the whole thing.

We were stuffed from lunch, but we couldn’t skip dessert entirely. So, we each had a little macaron. S. had Honey Lavender, and I had Rose Lychee. Mine tasted like eating roses.

If I were coming for tea and pastries, I would have gotten a slice of scrumptious-looking orange cake with a dried orange slice on top of each piece. Yum!

I would return to Jolie Tea Beverly in a heartbeat! It was beautiful, and the food was great. It would be fun to come back with a group and sit in the sitting room area or in one of the pink banquette rooms!

The roses on the tables were gorgeous!

Oh, I forgot to show you the wallpaper in the green bathroom. My favorite: rabbits!

If you ever come to the North Shore of Massachusetts, you must visit me and also go to Jolie Tea in Beverly or in Salem!