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It takes a certain level of adoration for old, forgotten things to start a business overrun with all things vintage.
Brooklyn-based antiques connoisseur, Honey Moon, opened her two beloved vintage storefronts in Prospect Heights back in 2003 called 1 of a Find. After years of collecting teacups, tiers, and plates as she zig-zagged around the country, she put her efforts into a new concept—combining vintage tchotchkes and furniture with afternoon tea.
One look inside Brooklyn High Low, Moon’s eclectic tea salon now open on Vanderbilt Avenue, and you’ll find a chandelier made of teacups dangling from the ceiling, old champagne buckets holding plants, velvet chaise lounge chairs and kooky lamps in every corner.
Hidden behind opaque window drapes—so passerby can’t peek in on tea-sippers like a fishbowl—the locale is meant to be a respite, where you can catch a break from the energetic buzz of New York’s metropolis.
“The point of this experience is for people to have a pressure release in a quiet, vintage wonderland,” explains Moon. “People aren’t on their phones as much in the tea room either because they’re engaged with making their tea with friends or just the sensory overload of things to look around at.”
Brooklyn High Low commemorates its borough’s years of memorable history and elegance through its ups and downs.
“Everything in the salon had its heyday and it's made its way to my store to celebrate its aged, slightly tarnished self," Moon said. "For example, I have old books of Brooklyn’s green spaces and this great centennial flag hanging on the wall that’s 200 years old—it celebrates Brooklyn from 1839-1939. You look at it and it shows the stability of Brooklyn and how the borough has gone through so much.”
Moon opened Brooklyn High Low with James Sato, the owner of Brooklyn ramen house Chuko.
In the kitchen, head chef Carlos Jimenez gets creative with his ever-changing menu, but guests can always find traditional scones and an assortment of finger sandwiches such as cucumber and dill cream cheese; ham, dijon and fig spread; egg salad; chicken curry and apple salad; smoked salmon and scallion cream cheese.
Diners can choose from over 20 teas, from lavender earl grey blends to green tea jasmine.
The multi-course tea experience comes in three levels depending on your budget: The Brooklyn ($48 per person); The Vanderbilt (75 minutes, $58 per person); and The Heights (90 minutes, $68 per person) which also sends each guest takes home with a vintage memento such as a teacup.
All three services include a baseline of tea, finger sandwiches, scones, and end their tea time with a decadent dessert spread such as banana pudding, chocolate mouse or shortbread cookies.
Guests can choose to sit inside in the tea room, or outside in their back garden.
While a day at New York's glitziest tea rooms, such as Grand Salon at the Baccarat Hotel or The Russian Tea Room, make you feel regal, Brooklyn High Low is relaxed, well-paced and plenty frilly without the dress code.
Brooklyn High Low is open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays for now, and guests should plan for at least a 75-minute tea service, between their hours of 10am and 3:30pm, which is the last sitting.
You can reserve your first tea time here.
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