The Roswell Teahouse

108 Magnolia St.

Roswell

(770) 643-5813

Open 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tues. through Fri.; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

For those like me who have never indulged in the civilized ritual of high tea, a teahouse probably has never been a top 10 choice as a food destination.

But the buzz on the Roswell Teahouse has been positive enough to tempt me. What could be bad about an eatery that prepares fresh food from scratch every day, using organic ingredients when possible? So with two female colleagues, I went in for a lunch on a recent weekday.

Set in a small 1920s-era house nestled in a bend on Magnolia Street between Mimosa Boulevard and Coleman Road, the place has been open for three years. Charmingly renovated from a private residence, its bright and airy interior retains a homey ambiance.

Though teahouses conjure visions of the “ladies who lunch” and their requisite dainty fare, Roswell Teahouse chef and owner Carine Bourgeois has put together a menu that includes a few dishes even the most macho guy might find enjoyable.

One of those is the sandwich of sautéed chicken livers with Portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions. This is a hearty lunch by itself, but a sizable house salad of organic greens with a creamy green tea ginger dressing moves the meal into satiation territory.

I was able to finish only half, but that may also be because I began with a cup of the teahouse’s daily special homemade soup, broccoli and white beet. I know it sounds too good for you to taste good, yet it did. The only thing missing was enough salt, and the pinch I added really punched up the flavor.

In my opinion, the chicken livers could also have used some more salt. Undersalting when cooking is the “healthy” thing to do, but a reasonable amount of salt is absolutely necessary to enhance natural flavors.

“I leave it out on purpose so customers can add it themselves,” Bourgeois said. “Personally, I like more salt, but because of requests from health-conscious customers, I started leaving it out.”

My companions also partook of one of the Teahouse’s three homemade soups, tomato basil, and pronounced it fine. It’s a customer favorite, Bourgeois said.

One colleague’s entrée, a beautifully butterflied and baked Georgia mountain trout napped with coconut creamed spinach, was perfectly cooked and totally delicious, she said.

The third member of our party opted for a tomato pesto wrap panini, which stylistically resembled a large quesadilla. The filling included spinach, roasted peppers, mozzarella and organic chicken, but smoked salmon could have been substituted for the chicken.

Other options on the Teahouse’s fall menu also sounded very appealing. As a huge potpie fan, I’d like to try the Belgian-style one offered here, which is puff pastry filled with chunky chicken pieces, turkey meatballs and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. Just the thing to ward off the autumn chill.

Of course we couldn’t skip dessert—this is a teahouse, after all, and sweet treats are specialties at such establishments. A made-to-order light and crispy Belgian waffle was covered in whipped cream and fresh strawberries. The scone of the day was blueberry, complemented by the sparklingly bright flavor of a house-made lemon curd.

Crowd-pleasing standbys pumpkin pie and apple strudel benefited from judicious spicing that perked up but didn’t overwhelm the familiar flavors.

Naturally, we all had pots of hot tea with our meals. Selection here is mind-boggling: black teas, green teas, flavored teas and herbal teas, all with unlimited refills. Peach apricot iced tea is the single chilled offering.