The Tea Room first opened in 1905 and became quite an Indianapolis tradition. For generations, people would make a day of shopping downtown at L.S. Ayres Department Store and then having lunch in their Tea Room. It was a special place, and the food was something people looked forward to. The original Tea Room closed in 1990, but fortunately, some of those wonderful old recipes are still around. There's even a recreated Ayres Tea Room at the Indiana State Museum.
If you remember eating there, I hope this brings back a few memories. And if you've never tasted Chicken Velvet Soup, you really should give it a try. It's so worth the effort. I have their cookbook, I should go through it and see what else I could share.












