Fleur de Thé

Colleen Vucinovich, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, emigrated first to England and then to St. Louis, where she and her husband Craig opened Fleur de Thé in October 2024 in Tower Grove South's former Crispy Edge space. The self-described "teapreneur" built the salon as a gathering place — an elegant 60-seat dining room dressed in chandeliers, floral wallpaper and rattan-back French chairs, with a sleek tea bar anchoring the back of the room. The menu is organized around four prix-fixe high tea services that trace her journey: Cape Town, Versailles, Windsor and Udaipur, each pairing tea sandwiches, scones and pâtisserie with a different national tradition.

Everything poured here is non-alcoholic — the salon's own site notes its sparkling tea and tea elixirs are 0% alcohol, and the bar program is built without a drop of booze. Roughly 20 Palais des Thés loose-leaf teas from Paris span white, green, oolong, black and fermented styles, served as personal pots, tasting flights or the base of house "tea-tails": mocktails mixing premium tea infusions, house-made syrups, fruit purées, Copenhagen Sparkling Tea imported from Denmark, and zero-proof spirits from South African brand Abstinence. The signature Tea Posy combines Water Garden tea, Abstinence Cape Floral and grenadine. Each high tea service ($63 per person) opens with a flute of sparkling tea or a tea elixir; reservations run through Tock, and monthly Soirée de Thé evenings add a twilight tea service on Fridays.

Local press embraced the concept quickly: Ladue News spotlighted the internationally inspired luxury tea experience in March 2025, Feast Magazine gave the salon a first look, and Sauce Magazine covered its opening. Early coverage also highlighted a walk-in "mocktail salon" on Thursday through Saturday evenings, though the current posted schedule centers on Thursday-to-Sunday daytime service plus the monthly Friday soirées — check before you go. Expect a refined, unhurried visit: tiered trays of sweets and savories, Parisian tea by the pot, and a calendar of etiquette lessons, language workshops and jazz — with never a wine list in sight.