Afternoon Tea at L’Opéra Patisserie

L’Opéra Patisserie

153 - 5951 Minoru Blvd
Richmond BC, V6X 4B1
Phone: 604-270-2919
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Cera and Wish first heard about  L’Opéra Patisserie from a friend who is also an Afternoon Tea fanatic. One rainy day, we decided to visit the place just to see their menu. The bakery itself is quite small somewhat hard to spot amongst the busy streets of downtown Richmond. 

Pastries

The macarons

L'Opéra cake is their signature cake so we decided to try it along with a
Rose Macaron and a L'Opéra Special Macaron

Our little table by the fireplace - perfect for a cold rainy day!

Two months later, we made a reservation to have afternoon tea here.

Inside of the bakery. Super pretty decorations!

The decor of the treat tier - gold ribbon with a gold teapot charm

The tier of wonderful things :D

Top Tier - Savories

Bottom Tier - Sweets
Mini Tarte au Citron with Blueberries
Burnt Sugar Puffs
Raspberry Mille Feuille
Raspberry Caramel Basket

Apparently this salmon puff was new and had just been released the same day
we went to afternoon tea! The owner said it isn't on the menu yet!

It's a fluffy, buttery puff pasty filled with salmon.

Another savory...

Raspberry Caramel Basket. Super delicious even though on the menu says
it should have been strawberries. The caramel basket was such an interesting concept!

Mini Tarte au Citron

Burnt Sugar Puff

Raspberry Mille Feuille

.. and Wish's favorite - the Blueberry Macaron

WITH A BLUEBERRY INSIDE!!!!!

The owner also gave us some chocolate cookies to go!

Verdict

L'Opera has a rather small tea selection but the decadent sweets and savories made for that! The french style afternoon tea was unlike any that we've tried before and you can truly tell that a lot of thought and effort went into planning and creating their menu. What amazed us the most was that the owner was self taught! Wish really loved the macarons - they were soft and fluffy with a surprise berry hidden inside.

What Could Be Changed

The savories and sweets were really delicious, however, Wish felt that our tier had WAY too much raspberries. 

Do we recommend afternoon tea at Soirette? At $25 per person, L’Opéra Patisserie is definite must try!

*Edit*

As of 2014, Cera has informed us that Afternoon Tea at L’Opéra Patisserie has increased in price to $39. 
:( The menu seems to have significantly changed as well.

Afternoon Tea at Soirette Macarons & Tea

Soirette Macarons & Tea
1433 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2S3
Phone: (604) 558-3308
Inquiries and Reservation: hello@soirette.com
Website

This past weekend, Cera and Wish visited another cute afternoon tea place. Originally a macaron boutique, Soirette now opened its door to the world of afternoon tea on the weekend. Since the place is super cute and small, you need to make your appointment ASAP as space is VERY limited.

The interior of Soirette
Small, yet super cute

The wall of different tea-leaves and big menu

Soirette's logo on the back wall
Christmas decoration since we went in December :)

Our teacup and plate

With our tea~

The three tiers of desserts and savories

Bottom Tier: Delectable Savories
Roasted Mediterranean vegetable sandwiches
Salmon and dill quiches
Tandoori chicken cucumber cup
Prosciutto "P.L.T."

Middle Tier - Scones and Pastries
Mini cranberry scones
Rose scented butter
Soirette rasoberry jam

Top Tier - Delightful Desserts
Lemon meringue tartlet

Chocolate pâté

Mini éclair

Mousseline triffle

Lavender Macaron
Rocher Macaron

And the cute menu card the waitress provided us :)

The macarons!

Aren't they adorable?

They have so many different flavors!

The Verdict:

We loved the afternoon tea! The savories were scrumptious, the scones moist and fresh, and the desserts were adorable. The menu also changes seasonally so you won't be bored! However, in terms of pricing, at $36 per person, it is slightly on the higher end. 

Things that could be changed?
Since the store is so tiny, there was very little table space for everything necessary for afternoon tea and we JUST barely managed to fit everything. In addition, we were somewhat squished when another big party came for their appointment (There were only 4 tables in the ENTIRE place! We took one table while the other party took the remaining 3!) Also, while the afternoon tea was delicious, we cannot say the same for all the macarons due to inconsistencies in quality. Some macarons were great with a crispy outer shell, and fluffy, soft centre while others were overly hard and chewy. For a store that specializes in macarons, that really should not be an issue. Also, soirette has relatively small macaron compared to some other bakeries around town.

Do we recommend afternoon tea at Soirette? 

Definitely. It's worth giving it a try and we're planning on visiting again to try their adorable spring/summer menu. Hopefully, their macarons will all be well made the next time we visit!