5 Places for Afternoon Tea Vancouver

Afternoon tea or also known as high tea is an escape from your everyday life and spend time with your friends. I love going out for afternoon tea in Vancouver, Canada to celebrate birthdays, reunions, dates, and also for no reason at all except for the fact that I love the atmosphere, food, and company.

However not all afternoon tea places are alike and so I've decided to review afternoon tea places in Vancouver, Canada.

What is afternoon tea? It is an afternoon treat of a pot of tea and a tier of treats. The first tier usually has the savory sandwiches, the second tier has the scones, and the third tier has the sweet desserts. Each afternoon tea place will have their own themes and add their own personal touch to make it a special afternoon.

Fairmont Vancouver Airport as the name suggests is located in YVR Airport (Vancouver, BC). So this is great for any travellers who may have a layover in Vancouver. I went to the Fairmont Vancouver Airport for afternoon tea because there was a special Groupon and I saved it to treat my friend for her birthday.

What a wonderful place to celebrate a birthday! The customer service is excellent and they bring out your tea in modern tea pots, one for each person, immediately upon ordering. The atmosphere at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport is spacious and modern with an amazing view since there are large windows. Since there is a lot of space, the servers provide good service without rushing you and there is no seating time so I found it very comfortable to take time to catch up with friends.

The afternoon tea service comes on a tray with the finger sandwiches, scones, and treats. The food is plentiful so be sure to bring your appetite or be ready to bring a doggie bag.

Overall, I would return to the Fairmont Vancouver Airport for afternoon tea again. The disadvantage may be the location since there isn't anything around to do afterward except head into the city. But the customer service and atmosphere and reasonable price makes the Fairmont Vancouver a place I would return for birthdays or special occasions especially with friends I don't see very frequently. It's a great place to catch up with old friends and chat as long as you want.

Patissiere Elise is conveniently located downtown Vancouver near the Vancouver Public Library. It is in one of the character houses that are in a row. It is a quaint and elegant location. Patissiere Fur Elise has been featured in Japanese magazines because as the Japanese would say, it is "genki" or "very super cute". When you enter, you can notice right away since all of the staff are wearing costumes from an elegant era. I discovered Patissiere Fur Elise when it offered a Groupon which I saved to take my Japanese friend who was returning to Vancouver for a visit. This was the perfect place for us to try afternoon tea and have a memorable experience together.

The downstairs is the bakery and afternoon tea is served upstairs. We walked up a narrow staircase to a small room with only 4 tables. This was quite intimate and perfect. We ordered our tea which came in our own English teapots and teacups. Then we were served a mango panne cotte. This was my first time trying a panne cotte and the light and cool flavours melted in my mouth.

There is a two tier afternoon tea with finger sandwiches and sweets. The sweets are small but very flavourful. It shows that a lot of flavour can burst in small packages. In addition they were not very sweet which is likely why Asians would enjoy Patissiere Fur Elise.

Overall I was impressed with the atmosphere, service, and intimate setting. They have a small room that would be perfect for those celebrating birthdays, bridal showers, or baby showers. So cute and quaint!

Adonia Tea Salon was the chosen location for a birthday celebration. It is located in Kerrisdale in Vancouver, BC. In the fall this area has great fall colours and maple leaves. Adonia is a typical afternoon tea salon and the feeling of walking into an English Tea salon. Adonia Tea Salon is not large, there are only a few tables so it is best to go with a small group (4 or less).

I first noticed the wall with a cabinet of the teas with the scent bottles so you can smell each of the teas before you ordered them. I really needed to smell the teas because they have a very extensive menu of teas. There are so many to choose from.

The afternoon tea service is plentiful and filling with nice blend of the savory and sweet. There were four of us there and I enjoyed the company and celebration. It's nice to be able to step into a traditional afternoon tea place and that is what Adonia does well.

Now when I first stepped into Neverland Tea Salon, the aromas from their in-house bakery filled my senses. The quaint shop has a greeting area with a bar area and hostess stands. You are promptly greeted and then they seat you to one of the whimsical tables.

Imagine a Mad Hatter tea party and you are in Neverland. I was impressed when they brought a box of teas to the table for you to smell before you choose the one that you want to try. I was also impressed by the fact that they have free refills of tea. I tried two different teas during my afternoon tea service.

The afternoon tea with 3 tiers is with freshly baked scones, treats, and the savory tier. Afternoon tea was tasty and I loved being able to have one tea with my savory finger sandwiches and another for my sweet treats.

At the end of the service when I asked for the bill, it arrived with a tea sample to take home. Neverland would be a great location for a girls birthday party, or any small celebration. Neverland Tea is in Kitsilano in Vancouver, BC. I went during the Christmas season and stopped by at Kids Books across the street to do some holiday shopping before the afternoon tea at Neverland Tea Salon.

If you haven't noticed, I loved every minute of being in Neverland. Customer service, atmosphere, afternoon tea are all amazing! It's the surprising little extras that make me woo about this tea salon. I can't wait to return again! After all who doesn't want to join Peter Pan in Neverland.

November 2016 Update - Salon Tea is now CLOSED.

Salon Tea is located near South Granville street in Vancouver. There are a lot of shops that you can explore along South Granville after your afternoon tea service. However, they may be phasing out of afternoon tea as I could not easily find information on their service on their website. That would not surprise me. I found a Salon Tea Groupon to take my friend for her birthday. We enjoyed our time since it was nice to catch up but I would not return for afternoon tea.

Walking into Salon Tea it is a smaller than I would expect and the décor is quite modern looking or branded. At first they have a counter for ordering to go and even though no one was there, they only had one staff to man the counter and serve the customers who were having afternoon tea service. It was an awkward beginning to wait until customers have paid and done their counter orders before informing that we were there with reservations for afternoon tea.

Once seated it was better as the afternoon tea service was traditional in that you have your 3 tiered afternoon tea with finger sandwiches including a curry salad which was unique but not my favourite, scones, and desserts. The food was nothing extraordinary. It was filling but the entire experience was meh since the customer service was not there. It had to do with the fact that they did not have enough staff to serve the customers. I had to interrupt the server on her break to even receive our bill. When I did they didn't remember the Groupon tea takeaways. As you may have noticed, I have used Groupon for other afternoon tea and would return without the Groupon. I cannot say the same for Salon Tea.

Overall, the selection of tea was the best but due to poor customer service and mediocre tea service, I would not return to Salon Tea for afternoon tea.