Afternoon Tea at Fairmont Vancouver Airport

Fairmont Hotel at Vancouver International Airport

3111 Grant McConachie Way

Richmond

British Columbia, Canada

V7B 0A6

Tel: (604) 248-3281

Recently, there was a Groupon sale for Afternoon Tea for 2 for $54 at the Fairmont Hotel at the Vancouver Airport, so of course, Cera and Wish jumped on that deal. Normally, without promotion, the Afternoon tea set retails at $75 per person! The decor was modern, and elegant, as expected of a Fairmont Hotel. If we had a window seat, the experience would be even more awesome as we would be able to watch the planes lift off. Even without the window seats, the experience was super enjoyable due to the nice atmosphere and great service.

Apparently, it was EXTREMELY difficult to make reservations as the place is very popular. The Groupon deal also includes a free parking voucher which is a bonus for us since parking at the airport is so expensive! 

Top Tier: Dark Chocolate Truffle, Lemon Curd Tart.
Strawberry Macaron, and Carrot Cake  with Cream Cheese Mousse

Middle Tier: Sour Cherry and White Chocolate Scones
with Strawberry Jam and Devonshire Cream

Bottom Tier: Smoked Salmon Rillette, Beetroot Tart Ham,
Boursin, Mustard Pinwheel, Egg Salad Croissant, and
Chicken and Mushroom Pie

Wish's Tea: Japan Sencha Fukujyu. Cera ordered a winter special tea
but there was a mix up with her order so her tea isn't in the picture

Fairmont Vancouver Airport  Tea Menu

The Verdict:
The overall food quality and service was excellent (it better be for that price!). There was a slight mix up with Cera's tea order and the server kindly offered her a brand new pot of tea. The scones were hot and delicious and the sweets were very well crafted. All in all, everything was honestly quite delicious, and very enjoyable.

Although it is a nice place for afternoon tea, it is definitely one of the most expensive afternoon tea experiences in Vancouver. Also, don't expect a quiet, calm restaurant; the location is actually quite bustling as it is so packed!

Do we recommend this location?
DEPENDS. Do you have an extra $75 dollars (before tax and tip) to spare on afternoon tea? If so, then I suggest giving this place a try. However, if you're anything like us (cheapskates!), then perhaps hold off on coming here until another Groupon deal is available. Also, if Cera had to choose a place to splurge on Afternoon Tea, it would have to be The Urban Tea Merchant downtown!

Afternoon Tea at Rose House

Rose House Vancouver
5687 Balsam Street
Vancouver, BC
V6M 4B5
Tel: (604) 620-3668
Email: vancouver@rosehouse.com

The reception area

Front entrance decor

Tea Showcase~

As you can see, the decor was rose themed

Display with different cute tea sets for sale

 

We both ordered the full Prince William Afternoon Tea set

Cera ordered the Rose Afternoon tea and Wish had the Royal Blend

Wish's tea with a packet of sugar

Bottom Tier: Savories
Deviled Egg
Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Sandwich
Tuna and Apple Sandwich
Prawn Cocktail
Mozzarella & Tomato on Toasted Baguette

Middle Tier
Raisin Scone with Devonshire cream and Rose Jam
Poppy seed Shortbread Cookie
Quiche

Top Tier: Sweets
Blueberry Cheesecake
Strawberry Puff Pastry
Strawberry Panna Cotta with Kiwi
Tea Jelly
Lemon Macaron

The Verdict:
We had a great experience at Rose House! The decor was elegant and the service was excellent. This may just be Cera and Wish's new favorite afternoon tea salon in Kerrisdale. The array of savories were well thought out, although the tuna sandwich could have used a bit more seasoning. The scones were fresh and hot and complimented the homemade rose jam very nicely. However, the sweets were our favorite part of this afternoon tea, especially the refreshing tea jelly and the strawberry Panna Cotta. They also offer a beautiful iced rose tea that we're definitely going to try next time!

For $27.95/person, Rose House in Kerrisdale is a DEFINITE must try! We rate it two thumbs up!

A Little Bit of History
Apparently the founder of the Rose House, Robert Huang, is a well known rose painter. You can find The Rose House in other places in the world such as London, New York, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo!

Afternoon Tea at Neverland Tea Salon

Neverland Tea Salon
3066 West Broadway
Vancouver BC
Phone: 604-428-3066
Inquiries: info@neverlandtea.com

What a better way to start the winter break than going to a newly opened afternoon tea salon in town? Although the name implies that it is a Peter Pan theme tea salon, it also featured other other fairy tail characters and the decor was super cute!

Teapots and teacups decor inside

Brewing the tea for the guests

Tea Selection. (Sorry for the blurry picture >.<)

Old English Style decor

Tea Menu

Honey and Sugar cubes - The honey jar is super cute <3!

Teacup
Wish chose the Earl Grey Lavender and Cera chose the Rose blended black tea.
Upon the second refill, we had the option to choose another blend and this time, we
chose "Take Me To Neverland" and "Heavenly Cream"

Afternoon tea served on handmade tiers.

Dessert Tier

Top Tier - Traditional scones with Strawberry Jam and Devonshire Cream

The check tray! So cute! The tea salon even gave us some tea sample of their new product

Tea sample of "Peter's Promise" and receipt :)

The Verdict:
Wish is a fan of anything fairytale themed so of course she loved Neverland Tea Salon! Cera enjoyed it as well but preferred the savories over the sweets. The atmosphere was very relaxed and cozy and the service was excellent. Neverland Tea Salon has a large tea selection and has an interesting method of tea preparation: they steep each batch of tea leaves once, and then strain the leaves prior to serving (unlike other afternoon tea salons where the tea sits in the pot and continues to steep). As such, they offer the choice of trying another tea selection during your refill. At $30CAD/person, Neverland Tea Salon has reasonably priced afternoon tea. If you are a tea lover, give this place a try!

If you are not a big fan of tea, perhaps try out their tea infused cocktails and alcohol menu? Visit their website for more details!

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!