If you can get past all the new mommies, accompanying strollers, and tweens, the Tea Lounge is the perfectly comfortable free Wi-Fi place to get your tea fix.

Yeeeeah, so a lot of people come here, and hence, it’s laid-back, but not exactly calming or peaceful. The couches are comfy, but very used (and spilled on), but that only contributes to the laid-back feel, remember?

Dozens of teas are organized in a flat shadowbox-like container, and your cup and pot come on a cool wooden block. Ask for honey just to get those adorable wooden honey sticks. The Moroccan Mint is my favorite!

Cozy chairs on multiple floors make this a hot Wi-Fi spot…for bloggers perhaps? There are over 50 kinds of tea AND the owner formerly worked at the gorgeous Wild Lily Tea Room (Damn you rent hikes, they had to shutter!).

Where Soho meets Tribeca…literally. Well, almost. Sanctuary Tea is a cork-paneled fancy tea place during the day, but morphs (successfully somehow) into a restaurant/cocktail-and-wine bar at night. How DO they do it?

There is an exhaustingly-long list of teas, but a caffeinated one should perk you up after you read through it.

This is the real deal: a five-course tea in Victorian surroundings. It’s frequently rated the most romantic and best tea salon in the city! You’ll see why. This comes close to the cozy tea salon I visited in New Orleans, so if you’re looking for a very non-New York, sort of Southern feel, Lady Mendl is your woman!

This place is almost too cute! Down a few steps, low-ceilinged, decorated a la Alice in Wonderland, and just plain adorable, Alice’s Tea Cup is one of those sure bets if you’re baby-sitting or taking a girl out.

Tea, scones, brunch—all the usual suspects! I love the glass top tables with Alice paraphernalia inside. Even though there are now 4 locations, make reservations or you will be waiting upwards of an hour. For TEA.

When you’re craving some serious English tea time or your mum is in town, come here. Shepherd’s pie, bangers ‘n mash, welsh rarebit, and good old-fashioned Yorkshire pudding are just a few of the traditional British items served up.

Beware: this place has got RULES! You can’t be seated till your entire party has arrived and you have to wait outside in the mean time. It’s super cramped inside, i.e., you worry about knocking over your porcelain tea pot, but the waitstaff takes care of you, just as you’d expect.

One of the few places listed here where one can actually buy tea leaves to go, Ito-En is a one-stop tea shop for connoisseurs and amateurs alike. There are also free tea tastings, which will compensate for those pricey prices!

Afternoon tea is served everyday from 2:30-5:00 and is open to all even if you aren’t residing at this $700+/room hotel. There are the quintessential scones, but some of the fare is more upscale: smoked salmon with creme fraiche, roast beef and horseradish. Pinkies out, for sure.

This is the highest high tea goes, I think. I imagine myself repeatedly spilling liquid and dropping crumbs as I try to fit in to highfalutin Astor Court. Those linen-covered tables will be done for once I’ve finished! Take the ‘rents here, ESPECIALLY if they are footing the bill.