Have tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria

Tickled to hear the pianist in the atrium performing the theme to “Hockey Night in Canada.” We have some boxes of tea as mementos of our visit.

first off, it’s tea—and tea is great with me (it’s my favorite meal!)

and then, it’s bc, the most beautiful part of a beautiful country (i’m canadian in my heart, and even, i guess, by blood, since my granny was a canadian!)

and i love these sorts of traditions. tea it is!!!

Well, it took me 20 years but I finally made my dream come true of having afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC, Canada on 9/5/04. I went to Victoria BC on my own, stayed a week, and just had a wonderful time. I liked my tea experience at the Empress so well that I actually wrote a review about my experience at a tea enthusiasts website.

When they say Victoria is a “little bit of England” they are NOT kidding. The tea service at the Empress (which they have served without fail since 1908) really is a true and proper British afternoon tea…various tea experts have told me that in terms of the afternoon tea experience, you’d to have to go to London to get more authenthic than the Empress.

There are some very important things you need to know in order to take tea at the Empress:

First of all, you want to make sure you have a reservation, and you need to make that rez at least one to two weeks in advance! Sure you could just show up, but that means going on the wait list…and there are NO guarantees you’ll get served that day. So plan ahead…you can make the reservation directly with the Empress Hotel or you can do it through several tour bus, ferry and cruise ship lines, too.

Next…yes it is true that the Empress really DOES have a dress code for tea. A server told me that once that a very famous Hollywood star was turned away because she wasn’t dressed accordingly, but no matter what anyone says, from what I could see…that dress code is NOT strictly enforced! Mind you, I chose to dress to the nines because I really wanted to dress to impress and to do it up right in order fulfil my own “Anglophile/temporary Royalty” fantasy… but when it comes to dress, suit yourself. “Smart casual” attire is what the Empress recommends for guests. This means no shorts, ripped jeans, athletic shoes, that sort of thing….after all, it is a genteel British tradition, not a rock concert or football game, right? So when in Rome, er, Victoria…

The ambiance of the tea lobby is very refined and elegant. The decor is Edwardian and you’ll swear you were transported to at least 1911 when you see it. However, the furniture itself is new-ish due to a multi-million dollar renovation the Empress had when the Fairmont took over. There is a beautiful stained glass skylight that’s worth seeing, and amongst the bustle of all the diners and staff you can hear someone playing various classical music pieces and standards on a baby grand piano.

Price-wise: I admit that Tea at the Empress is somewhat expensive by either US or Canadian standards, but trust me, you definitely get your money’s worth! The price is currently $55 USD, and this does not include any alcoholic beverages, taxes or gratuity. Traditional gratuity is 20%

My advice: come to tea with an appetite! The portions on the tea tray are quite generous…and even if you can’t finish it all, don’t be afraid to ask for a doggie bag…it is not at all improper to do so.

Ok, now for the tea itself:

As an aperitif, I enjoyed a lovely glass of sparkling wine garnished with a strawberry. The “starter” was some very large strawberries with Chantilly Cream. Very decadent and very delicious! They’re both served up in cut crystal bowls. Next, I enjoyed a variety of tradional tea sandwiches. My personal favorites were the sandwiches made with smoked BC salmon.

The tea served is usually the Empress blend, but there are other flavors available which you may choose.

The currant scones were absolutely to DIE for! In my opinion, they are the best scones I had ever tasted. Hot, fresh, and very fragrant. The scones were served with Jersey Cream and strawberry preserves imported from England.

The piece de resistance, without a doubt, was the attractive array of desserts presented on that tea tray. On that day, I feasted on fruit tarts, a genuine Sacher torte, tea cakes and “biscuits”—that’s cookies to Americans! If you have a food allergy or intolence, the Empress is willing to accomodate you with an alternate selection if given advance notice.

What’s really neat about the Empress, too, is that they have a really cool store that sells the tea you are served (plus they give you a commemorative canister to take home), and you can purchase all sorts of tea and Empress oriented gifts. I also recommend taking a stroll along the grounds to see their beautiful gardens, and if time permits then perhaps going on the historic tour of the Empress Hotel that takes place every morning at 10 am. You learn a lot about the history of the Empress and Victoria, along with a lot a rather interesting anectdotes and “gossip” about some of Victoria’s more notable citizens of the past.

So yes, I can say with certainty that taking Tea At The Empress is definitely worthwile, and I can’t wait to do it again…only I won’t wait 20 years for the next time around :)

yesterday afternoon i had high tea at the empress for the second time. it is pricey - hoo boy - but i think it might be worth it just to experience the genuinely friendly and attentive wait staff who are, i believe, actually forbidden from saying the word “no.” the building is gorgeous and the historic tea salon overlooks the beautiful harbour. there’s a piano being played in the background. i’m tempted to describe each treat and the manner of its arrival, but also don’t want to detract from the potential for surprised delight in anyone else planning to go. i will say that they gave us presents—a change from my last visit.

cait and i were sure our grandmothers were smiling in their graves as we sipped tea and ate the smallest cucumber sandwiches in such a lavish setting on this warm sunny spring afternoon. we both wore flowery dresses. cait’s making a baby. we brought our knitting and fumed over the softwood lumber dispute and other NAFTA glitches. it was great.

the only funny thing was the mini éclairs. it’s possible that the waiter described their contents when he brought them to the table, along with a bevy of other wee treats, but i spaced it out. in any case, i bit into the morsel and was surprised to find the cream inside an unappetizing i-just-got-over-a-cold light pea green. before swallowing i sniffed the puff. nothing seemed off. i probed the contents of my mouth tentatively for any hint of sourness. i tried to recall if there are any serious bacteria that are flavourless, odourless, but that call forth a puke-green colour from food. i couldn’t. i decided that places like the empress don’t gain the reputation that they have by making the public ill, so i swallowed. i couldn’t tell if i liked the flavour or not. there was something funny about it. i was confused at this point, and elected not to finish that particular item, preferring to move on to a tiny lemon tart.

at the end of the sitting i asked my tea mate what she thought of the cream puff. she tried to sound enthusiastic until i asked what she thought the filling was.

cait: um. i don’t know. (hopefully) maybe it’s pistachio?

anna: it’s green.

cait: yeah. that freaked me out.

anna: i didn’t eat mine.

cait: me neither.

i peered around the table clutter and saw hers half eaten on her plate, mirroring mine. she excused herself and when the waiter came by i asked him what the filling was. he said it was white chocolate crème with green tea. and a concerned look passed over his face, “Is there anything wrong?”

“No, no,” i lied, “it’s delicious. I was just curious.”

i popped the rest of the rejected dessert into my mouth. suddenly i could taste the white chocolate and that peculiar hint of funkiness transformed into the recognisable healthful herb that created it. i had felt like i wanted to say something, though. i’m just such a coward when it comes to complaining in restaurants. i’m always deeply embarrassed when others do it and don’t want to sound anything like them.

“Darling, the puff is delicious, and you’re a first rate server and this is one classy joint. It’s just, you know, it kind of looks like you’re serving pastry stuffed with mucoidal ejecta. I’m sure it isn’t, though. That’s all.”

I was just there last week and had a fantastic time! It may be spendy, but how often does one get to sample such a life?!

I had tea at the Empress Hotel when I was 13. I remember prefering a cheesy wax museum we also visited but I left feeling that there was a much larger, more civilised world out there than the one I was inhabiting in suburban America.

There is a large glass dome at the top of the tea room. On a sunny day it looks awesome. If you’re in town stop by the wax museum as well. The 12 year old kid or horror film lover in you will enjoy the torture chamber works.

My aunt nearly dropped her teacup when I admitted I’d been in the PNW for close to thirty years and have NEVER had tea at the Empress. Maybe I can do this in April.