Garden View Lounge Afternoon Tea Review [2026 Gluten Free & Food Allergy Options]
This gluten free dining experience took place in March 2026. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, chicken/turkey & cabbage allergies.
Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge
After being closed since 2020, afternoon tea at Disney’s Grand Floridian has officially returned with the reopening of The Garden View Lounge. The last time I dined there was back in 2016, where I had a pretty underwhelming experience. So, I was really curious to see how if the experience and food had improved. Brandon had never been to this afternoon tea, and he was especially excited having experienced the tea at The Cake Bake Shop Restaurant at Disney’s Boardwalk and loving it.
Atmosphere
You’ll find The Garden View Lounge located just off of the main lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. It’s a small space and a bit tucked away, despite its location, and it’s easy to miss.
The Garden View Sign / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
You’ll find a large sign and typically a few cast members outside of the entrance assisting guests with check-in for the afternoon tea. The tea service is currently closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and operates from 11 am - 4 pm Wednesday - Sunday. You’ll also need to make reservations in advance, and currently, advance payment is also required. The cost per adult is $79 and $49 per child ages 3-9.
The updated interior of The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
During the 6 year closure, The Garden View Lounge was refurbished to make the interior’s look and feel more updated to reflect the current design aesthetic for the resort. We both really liked the refurb and found the decor to be very elegant and pretty.
Seating at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We both especially liked some of the updated seating options with comfortable chairs and pretty pastel colors. There was a nice mix of seating options throughout the lounge.
Seating Area at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We were seated in a two top table near the windows and found it to be a nice spot for a relaxed afternoon tea. As an aside, one of the cast members did tell us that the tables are made to sit a bit higher so you have the feeling of being shrunk down like Alice from Alice in Wonderland — which is the current theme of the lounge’s menu. We don’t know how true this fact is, but it’s a nice touch regardless.
The Food & Drink
Of course, what we were most excited for was the food and drink offerings available at this afternoon tea. Since the price point is high, we were hoping that we would get some decent options. Spoiler alert: We were not disappointed.
Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Menu at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The lounge does have a gluten free menu available online, which we were able to look at before we dined at The Garden View Lounge. However, because Brandon has multiple food allergies, we did email Disney’s Special Diets Department in advance (we recommend about two weeks before you go) to let them know of our special dietary needs.
While the lounge can accommodate some on the fly, if you have multiple special diets, it’s not a bad idea to email Special Diets in advance. Chef Emma, who assisted us on our visit, told us that she had our requests in advance, which was helpful for her preparing our plates so things came out quickly and smoothly.
Plant-Based Menu at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The Garden View Lounge also offers a plant-based menu too. In speaking with Chef Emma, we were excited to learn that many of the items (all but two in fact) were gluten free and dairy free and that all of the sweet desserts were gluten free, dairy free, and plant-based. We really love how the culinary team really thought about this menu and options that everyone could enjoy.
Tea Selection from The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
No afternoon tea is complete without tea. Our server Michelle brought us a box of loose leaf teas and went through each of the tea options with us. We were able to smell the various teas and decide which ones we wanted. The good news is that you can enjoy multiple pots of tea and different tea flavors. So, if one flavor isn’t your thing, you can choose a different flavor (or flavors!) with no worries. The Garden View Lounge currently features Twinings tea brand.
Afternoon Tea at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We chose two teas to start. I got the Orangery of Lady Grey which was a lovely black tea with bergamot and notes of citrus. This was such a lovely tea and the perfect start to our tea service. If you like Earl Grey, this is a perfect tea option for you.
London Strand Breakfast Tea - The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon went with a classic English Breakfast style tea — the London Strand Breakfast. This is a very standard black tea and was very nice. Brandon enjoyed it with some sugar cubes, and you can get milk or non-dairy milk if you ask too.
Brandon enjoying a cup of tea / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
This photo says it all. Brandon was living his best afternoon tea life at The Garden View Lounge. Pinkies up!
Lemongrass and Peppermint Tea - The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We also ended our tea service with a lighter tea — the Lemongrass and Peppermint — which we both loved. This was perfect for ending our meal and a nice caffeine free tea too. Though we didn’t try more than three flavors of tea, each one was very good, and we have no doubt that the others would be lovely options too. We’ll definitely have to try other flavors on future visits.
Cocktails at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We did also order two alcoholic beverages with our tea service. While we pre-paid for our tea, these cocktails were an additional charge that we paid for at the restaurant.
The first was the Mint Tulip made with Old Forester 1870 Original Batch Kentucky Straight Whisky, Twinings Refreshers Peach Mango Herbal Tea, and Mint. Wow! This one was a surprise. We both loved the flavors of this. It was refreshing and the perfect drink for a hot tea. You can get a version of this cocktail non-alcoholic called This Way, That Way, and we would highly recommend it if you want something refreshing.
The second drink we ordered was the Mar-TEA-ni made with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, Twinings Earl Grey Tea, Lemon, and Honey. This is a very lemon and honey forward drink — tart and crisp. I love both gin and Early Grey tea, but I found this drink a bit too sweet for me. In fact, Brandon and I actually swapped drinks because he preferred this one over the Mint Tulip.
Gluten Free and Dairy Free Scone with accompaniments at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Our first food course included scones with all the traditional accompaniments. I was served a gluten free, dairy free, and plant-based Orange Cranberry Scone. Even more exciting were the accompaniments that included a whipped non-dairy buttery spread, a plant-based version of a clotted cream, and a marmalade that Paddington himself would approve of. Honestly, just the idea that I could enjoy a fully gluten free, dairy free & plant-based scone service made me so excited.
And the taste? Even more amazing. While the scone itself was a bit on the crumbly side, the flavors were incredible. It was packed fulled of orange and cranberry bits and had so much flavor. Combining the vegan butter, marmalade, and clotted cream made it an incredible combination. I liked this so much that I asked if I could order another one, and Chef Emma was happy to oblige. This was a home run.
Gluten Free Portion of the Selection of Cheeses at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon really wanted to try the Selection of Seasonal Cheeses, which was also an additional charge. Chef Emma said that they could accommodate this by splitting up the cheese plate into a gluten free side and a non-GF version. Unfortunately, half of the seasonal cheeses contain gluten, so I can’t say that I would recommend this if you’re just ordering gluten free. But, if you’re splitting this with a gluten eater, it might be more worth the $21 price tag.
For the gluten free side, I was given a Bloomfield Farms brand allergy-friendly roll cut up into crostini like portions, Caramelized Figs, Truffle Whipped Brie, and Comte with Quince Paste. The figs were so fresh and flavorful, and I could have eaten more of those. The truffle whipped brie was extremely truffle forward. If you love truffle oil and an earthy umami flavor profile, you’ll like this. The most approachable was the Comte which was a delightful hard French cheese.
Brandon was in love with his gluten-filled cheeses along with what he tried from the gluten free side. All of his cheeses were safe for his allergies: Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, Chicken/Turkey, and Cabbage vegetables.
Gluten Free Tea Tower at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Next up were our afternoon tea trays filled with savory bites and sweet treats. The restaurant’s Alice in Wonderland inspiration really shines through on this presentation. The desserts are especially whimsical and fun.
Since Brandon and I have different special dietary needs, we were each given our own small tea tray with safe food for each of us. While there was a bit of overlap in options, Brandon’s version was mostly a hybrid of the plant-based savory options and the regular menu.
Gluten Free Savory Bites at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
There were only two items on the gluten free menu that contained dairy, and those were in the savory bites. You could get modifications to this if you needed to.
The first dairy containing savory bite was the Footman’s Feast: Wonderland Salmon Crisp. This was made GF by swapping the base for a tapioca crisp. If you can have dairy and enjoy seafood, this was a lovely savor dish. I loved the smoked salmon and creamy texture. The salmon roe on top added a nice bit of saltiness to the dish too.
My favorite of all the savory bites had to be the Curried Chicken Salad Playing Card Tart which was gluten free and dairy free. If you love curry, you will absolutely love this tart. The base was perfectly crisp and added a nice texture to the creamy, smooth chicken salad. The flavors were spicy (but not hot spicy) and had a hint of sweetness. So so good.
Gluten Free Savory Bites at The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For my next tier, I was served two additional savory bites. The first was the gluten free, dairy free, and plant-based Caterpillar Cucumber Roll. Cucumber and cream cheese or goat cheese feels like a very traditional afternoon tea sandwich. I loved that they made this version vegan. They also used butterfly pea flower tea to help make a natural food coloring for the dish. So clever! I wouldn’t say I loved this dish, but it was inventive and a solid option for a tea service.
The other dairy containing savory bite was the Tweedledee Egg Salad Sandwich. I had high hopes for this egg salad after hearing some rave reviews about it. Honestly, I wasn’t wowed by it. The egg salad was fairly bland and while there was bacon in the dish, I didn’t get much bacon flavor. The Bloomfield Farms roll was also a bit on the tough side. Of the three savory bites, this was my least favorite.
Gluten Free Sweets from The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
And last but not least were the desserts. All of them were gluten free, dairy free, and plant-based. These were all very themed and included:
Cheshire Cat Checkerboard Cake
Unbirthday Petit Four
Queen of Hearts Raspberry Tart
Painting the Rose
The checkerboard cake was essentially a classic Battenberg cake made with marzipan/almond. I didn’t love this one. The other three were all solid though and ones I’d recommend.
The raspberry tart had crisp shortbread cookies sandwiches with jam and was very winter spice flavored. Painting the Rose was so good with vanilla buttercream, Earl Grey flavors — though to us it both tasted more like lemon raspberry or strawberry. We loved the fun presentation with the sauce added table side too. Lastly, the clear winner was the Unbirthday Petit Four with hibiscus. Both Brandon and I got this one and loved it.
Brandon with his sweet treats from The Garden View Lounge / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon’s version of desserts reflects much of what he got for his tea — a mix of gluten filled and GF items. One thing that Brandon got that I wish the GF plate had was a chocolate dessert. All of the desserts that I got were all citrus or fruit berry flavored, and I would have loved a chocolate to cut some of the other sweetness. But, that’s a minor nitpick in what was a wonderful variety of options and flavors.
If you want to hear more about our experience at the Garden View Lounge for afternoon tea, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.
Overall
We were both so pleasantly surprised by this experience. The tea itself was lovely, the atmosphere relaxing and inviting, and the food was so much more than what we expected it would be. We applaud the culinary team for creating a menu that includes everyone and provides options that are tasty and themed. It was a truly fun and whimsical experience that we both wouldn’t hesitate to do again. While it is pricey and not something we would do regularly, we both agreed that this could be a fun special occasion experience.
Have you been to the newly reopened Garden View Lounge? What was your experience dining there gluten free or with other special dietary needs?