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I ventured back in here, propelled by homesickness, and as usual I came away thinking 1. Why don't they redecorate? The place is a shed. 2. The prices are a bit steep. $4 for tinned beans is taking the p--s a bit. 3. It smells in there - the kitchen vents in to the dining room so you come out smelling deep fried. They should fix that. 4. The service is poor. Sorry, but the girls are un-necessarily rude. 5. I do like the food though.

I used to live across the street from Tea and Sympathy and quickly became a regular there, dining at least once, and sometimes more often per week. While the food is not Haute Cuisine, it does not pretend to be; it is just very good comfort food. It is the very lack of pretentiousness that makes this tiny restaurant so consistently appealing. Pricing is fair for the neighborhood. As for the service, it was always excellent. Customers are generally treated like family. Nicky's rules are there only to ensure that a moderately prided place with fewer than ten small tables can actually make a profit, and that the servers are treated with the respect they earn every day. I, for one, was never disadvantaged by those rules in the decade plus I enjoyed the comforting food, intimate space and good hearted staff. Indeed, I was always welcomed and made to feel right at home. By the way, I was a professional waiter for 20 years, and worked at fabled 4 star restaurants like Bouley and the long-gone Quilted Giraffe. I tend to reflexively assess service quality when I go out. I found none but the most minor, technical and rare service lapses at this terrific neighborhood place. Instead I was the lucky recipient of warmth and generosity from the hardworking staff.

I first had high tea here about a year ago and it was pretty good at $49.95 (for 2 people). When I went yesterday it was $59.95 (again, for 2 people)for what appeared to be slightly less food on the three tier server. It was all perfectly adequate, which is the problem--Tea and Sympathy is good enough, but not great: they simply don't have to be because there isn't really any competition. And the owners are actually trying to petition the city to rename the small area of the West Village where they have two stores "Little Britain" in hopes of attracting more tourists/customers. Appalling. But as far as the food goes--it is perfectly fine, not great, but fine. It's also very overpriced.

This place is amazing! It has authentic British food that is so incredibly good. All of their soups are so tasty and light. Their shephard's pie and all of their custards are to die for. The atmosphere is great as well - A small cozy place with authentic Brits serving you. A must! And definitely worth the prices...which are not bad at all!

As an English person living in NYC, I was really excited about Tea and Sympathy to help me through the occasional bouts of homesickness. Its a shame, but I've been there twice now and on both occasions I've walked away feeling dissapointed. I dont really care about the 'nickys rules' thing, and i dont really care that its a very small space....however I care about the cost and quality of food. It's just so expensive for very average food. Dont get me wrong, I understand that certain dishes can only get so good. It's hard to do much with sausage, mash, and beans...so how do they justify such a high price? $9 for a scotch egg, $18 for steak and guiness pie...and the quality just isnt particularly good. I had sausage and mash on my last visit and the mash was absolutely scaldingly hot, a sure sign that it had been microwaved. I feel that the only reason for the success of this place is the quaint appeal to American tourists, and expats like me trying it for the first time.

Tea & Sympathy is my goto place for delicious comfort food in a cozy environment. I particularly love the tweed kettle pie, cheese & pickle sandwich, bacon sandwich, puddings and Victoria Cake. It is a very tiny restaurant, with tables very closely situated. The wait staff are very nice, and do their jobs very well. As far as the numerous complaints about 'Nicky's Rules'. That's just the way it is, and the wait staff is not allowed to bend them for anyone (even pregnant women). It's not a big huge deal all your party must be there before you are seated, there is a $10 minimum, and they may ask you to vacate your table if there is a rush. If you don't want to wait in the cold you are welcome to go their store 2 doors down, and they will call you over. (I've seen Nicky do this for people more than once). I've been to places where they enjoy jerking customers around and this not one of them. It's just the way it works best in such a tiny restaurant.

My mother being English, my family decided to visit Tea and Sympathy during their visit to NYC. We were all greatly impressed by the selection of food, the service, and the environment of the restaurant. The food was of the highest quality, and my only question after finishing my sticky toffee pudding was... How do they prepare such a great variety of food in such a small kitchen? Perhaps it's just part of the magic that is Tea and Sympathy.