Pinkies out: High tea in Vancouver
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Image by Hilary Henegar
Afternoon tea at the Urban Tea Merchant in downtown Vancouver.
An 'experts' guide to the best afternoon tea service in Vancouver
I have always loved afternoon tea. When I was a little girl my favourite activity was tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and I remember many birthdays at the hotel in frilly dresses and white gloves. I am possibly regressing to my childhood, but I don't mind admitting I have recently been reliving my glory days with that time-honoured English tradition.
While every hotel and teahouse puts their own spin on it, traditional afternoon tea is served with dainty sandwiches filled with cucumber, cream cheese, smoked salmon, eggs and watercress, and sweets like scones with jam, tarts and small cakes. This feast ranges from $20–50 per person, depending on quantities and fanciness.
SLIDESHOW: Sunday afternoon at the Urban Tea Merchant
bcliving's Krista Eide, Meera Bennett and Hilary Henegar don pearls and perky pinkies at the newly opened downtown Vancouver location of The Urban Tea Merchant
Afternoon tea in Vancouver:
Adonia Tea House
2057 W. 41st Ave, Vancouver
604-261-0049
Monday–Sunday, 10–6:30 p.m.
Bacchus Lounge
845 Hornby St, Vancouver
604-608-5369
Saturdays–Sundays, 2–4 p.m.
Urban Tea Merchant
1070 W. Georgia St, Vancouver
604-692-0071
Saturday–Sunday, 10–6 p.m.
Thursday–Friday, 10–8 p.m.
All three recommend reservations.
Lately, my friends and I have been making afternoon tea a monthly tradition, and have spent many a lazy Sunday afternoon nibbling our way through tiered platters of miniature goodies and drinking countless cups of tea, often until our bladders can take no more. (Not surprisingly, Oliver does not share my passion for this activity, so when I go, I leave him at home.)
High tea in Kerrisdale: Adonia Tea House
I have been to tea at numerous locations in Vancouver, and have plans to test the rest of our city’s tea joints. So far, my favourite tea house is Adonia Tea House in Kerrisdale. It’s decorated with the sweet flair of a grandma: floral print wallpaper, numerous decorative spoon collections, and fancy teacups displayed in old fashioned cabinets.
This, ladies (and a few men), is the real deal. The afternoon tea at Adonia is delicious, and reasonably priced as well.
High tea at the Wedgewood Hotel
A couple of weeks ago my friends and I blew our monthly budgets and splurged on tea at the Bacchus Lounge in the Wedgewood Hotel. This was a great treat, but the atmosphere was a change from our usual cozy digs. Bacchus boasts deep, comfortable velvet covered chairs, delicious high tea and impeccable service. The atmosphere reeks of old money, and the quality of the tea and the treats is comparable to Adonia.
French-style high tea: Urban Tea Merchant
Most recently we visited the downtown location of the Urban Tea Merchant to experience French-style tea. The differences, to an inexperienced tea goer, are negligible: basically, the French serve a greater variety of teas (we drank rooibos, green and a delicious milky oolong) and French sweets instead of the traditional English ones. That being said, the treats on offer (including lovely pastel macarons) were delicious, if not exactly environmentally friendly; the fantastic petits fours were apparently flown in from Paris.
The Urban Tea Merchant had a nice atmosphere, richly scented teas, and accommodated our varied dietary needs, as well. I had a lovely time.
However, of the high tea places I have visited in Vancouver, I still think that Adonia takes the "cake." But the sampling continues...
Do you have a favourite local spot for afternoon tea?
Locals Meera Bennett and Oliver Pulleyblank love going to music shows, checking out local art and culture, and eating good vegetarian food. In their spare time, both are lawyers working for "the man."
FYI high tea is tea served with dinner; afternoon tea is served between 2 and 4, and meant to hold you over until your next meal.
I like tea but I never thought about starting a tradition, it would be wonderful to try it. I have a secret desire to go to Brown's hotel, London, the inspiration for the book, for afternoon tea, it sounds amazing!
We went to Brown's in London about 7 years ago. Despite the attractive tea goodies depicted in the travel guide, the service was horrible, the maitre d' was condescending and snobbish, refusing to let us share a high tea set because 'it is all-you-can-eat refillable.' After assuring him we wouldn't refill, as we could never even finish the first round, he looked at us and ahhh'd and ummm'd like we were being extremely cheap and trying to take advantage of the establishment. With a very forced air, he seated us very reluctantly. The seating environment was less than satisfactory, too. Either it was a couple of hard bar chairs (hardly romantic) or saggy low to the ground loungers, comparable to sitting in a sinkhole. We figured it made no sense to pay hotel price for ugly surroundings and disgusting service...which would ruin anything we put in our mouths anyways, so we left.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_rees/sets/72157626167336228/
I wasn't a big fan of Adonia -- the treats and sandwiches weren't as fresh.
T Room in Point Grey is good for a casual cuppa. Half of the place is a kitchen/baking shop so there are lots of awesome accessories.
After reading Agatha Christie's book "At Bertrams Hotel", I have a secret desire to go to Brown's hotel, London, the inspiration for the book, for afternoon tea, it sounds amazing!
But anyway, the food and drink at Adonia are quite Chinese, and Bacchus has subpar food and service. T Room is much better!
Exactly!
I suppose referring to it more properly as "Afternoon" or "Low" tea doesn't lend the same kind appeal to those unaware of how the terms "Low Tea" & "High Tea" came to be.
-Kristen
Looking forward to trying Adonia! thanks for this article!
The Secret Garden Tea Company is supposed to be great too!
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