Central Park West-ish

5. Alice’s Tea Cup

You might think (but you would be wrong) that Alice’s Tea Cup (which calls itself NYC’s most whimsical tea house) is too cute to serve superb tea. It turns out that whimsy and superb tea and scones (glorious pumpkin, and excellent buttermilk, apple blueberry, vegan cranberry, ham and cheese) go together. Also great omelets and sandwiches. You can eat in (they give you cookies) or take out. If you get tea to go you’ll see that it’s in a clever double cup that works effectively. They’ve partnered with both Groupon and Living Social to offer take-out tea parties for two, and 6-month memberships at bargain rates.

Alice’s Tea Cup, 102 West 73rd St (Columbus Ave), 212-799-3006; 8:00 AM-8:00 PM, daily