Olympia Tea Room
74 Bay Street, Watch Hill, RI
An unhurried croquet game unfolds across a lush-green lawn at the Ocean House, recently named among the world’s best luxury resorts. A few doors down, Taylor Swift’s security force keeps curious tourists off her driveway and the bluffs leading to her back door. A roiling expanse of ocean behind Taylor’s pristine 11,000-square-foot-colonial manse and her pacing guards recall a James Bond movie scene.
Martinis, anyone? Just a quick jaunt downhill from the Ocean House and 
Taylor’s sprawling white manor lies a hidden treasure called The Olympia Tea Room. Known for its desserts, the Team Room is tucked onto the main drag in Watch Hill, between the Ocean House and the Watch Hill Yacht Club.
Take a beach stroll two miles out and two miles back in the wake of the postcard perfect Watch Hill Lighthouse to compensate for ending up at Olympia. Nothing like a breaking surf and a couple of Ospreys looking on to work up both thirst and appetite. And, nothing like Olympia’s array of appetizers to leave you and your favorite walking mate feeling well cared for and well fed. Add great people watching while dining al fresco to great drinks post-walk – these more than explain why the Team Room is our favorite Sunday morning sally-about.
The calamari is served Rhode Island-style. Unpretentious and perhaps 
uninventive, it’s tasty and terrifically light. Why spoil the simple freshness of it all? The sauce is nothing to write home about, but it isn’t really necessary either. Tender squid and abundant hot peppers make the dish a permanent fixture for my Sunday retinue, as necessary as a dry martini or a perfect Manhattan.
Along with the calamari, I like to marry an order of steak carpaccio for sharing. Fresh slivers of raw beef come with enough arugula and capers to match perfectly with a glass of merlot or any of the choices available from an extensive wine list. (Don’t miss the Team Room’s list of Interesting Wines and Great Values.) I’ve never had a glass of vino that I did not thoroughly enjoy at Olympia,
The view unfolding from an outdoor café table, replete with the Watch Hill 
Marina’s collection of yachts, boats and dinghies, makes the wait for the food all the more enjoyable. A steady line of tourists, locals and yacht club patrons makes for first-rate entertainment. The Team Room is a perfect place for a self-constructed Sunday brunch or even a first date: Public enough at midday, intimate enough when you want it to be, beautiful enough to kick start conversation and more.
Of a morning, this is part of the Tea Room’s charm: Shared appetizers allow for a broad sampling of a tempting array ranging from tuna sashimi to mussels in curry sauce with Vidalia onions to shrimp bruschetta to clams roasted in white wine and herbs. Want meat? Sliders of creative construct typically are available. On this day, there was a sausage and pepper option. Consider the clams: They are tender, with broth so flavorful you will ask for a second basket of bread for dipping and for sharing.
Dessert. A dairy allergy precludes these sorts of adventures for me, mostly, 
but my dining companion cannot move past the Tea Room specialty despite the much-celebrated menu proffered (Portuguese sweet bread, raspberry bread pudding and so on). The Avondale Swan, a cream puff pastry filled with French vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, arrives swimming in a pond of chocolate sauce and is declared perfect. I’m told it’s as delicious as it is beautiful.
SPECIAL NOTES…
Taylor Swift. I’m not a celebrity hound, but the Olympic Tea Room is said to be good enough for Taylor and Lena Dunham and other celebs whenever they roam Watch Hill together. Quality and Service: Despite some online reviews, service at the Tea Room has been topnotch every time I’ve been there, about a half-dozen times. Quality, freshness and flavor generally have been excellent too; however, my last visit left me disappointed. The carpaccio, usually fresh and tender and supple was thick, chewy and lacked flavor. The herbed clam broth did not pop off my crusty bread. That said, I will be back.
