Recommendations and pro tips included…Excellent experience. The sit down tables are better than the couches and lower tables. Make sure to ask your server for an explanation and Theo recommendation of the tea. The tea sandwiches look small, but there is a reasonable amount of food that can be filling. The scones are excellent. The Fairmont is very good at accommodating celiac, gluten free and lacto-ovo vegetarian. Pro tip: if you really like a specific sandwich or item, you can ask for another one! And if you want to try another tea, you can ask for a different one. The scones, chicken curry, egg salad with truffle and brownie were favourites. The cucumber sandwich was under seasoned and disappointing. You will need a credit card to guarantee the reservation and the seatings can sell out on the summer weekends. Our server was very knowledgeable and funny.
Alla P
Overrated and extremely overpriced for such a bad quality of food. Absolutely disappointing. For $100 dollars we expected at least something tasty. But food is not tasty at all, seems like very old and made of play dough. Very bad experience.
Kayla Olson
My husband and I were recommended to do the tea experience at the Empress on our honeymoon by our grandmas. We were hesitant at first based on the pricing. We decided to go and were blown away. It was one of our favorite experiences on the trip. The staff were so friendly and attentive. The food was out of this world, and experience was worth every penny.
Kate PW
What a wonderful experience!!! Our server Raymond was very knowledgeable and helpful with tea selections. He was also a great photographer! thank you so much for making our experience so memorable! if you are thinking about making this part of your trip to Victoria, just say yes!
Armin M
Had the afternoon tea here. It’s a bit of a splurge for what it is but the staff were very professional. The tea and the finger foods were okay but not worth the price. You are paying for the experience and the atmosphere though. Worth trying once for the experience and feeling like royalty!
Amanda James
A lovely experience having high tea at the Empress. Our server, Raymond, gave us recommendations and was helpful with any extra requests we had. If you're looking for a splurge, I recommend!
jade langston
Num num
This tea was so delicious. The staff were lovely and professional, This is the first time I've ever been to a place that pulled your seat out, put your napkin on your lap, and poured your tea for you. A truly delightful and delectable creation of food. As always the tea was done so differently from the other Fairmont hotels which I feel makes the experience truly unique. Would recommend for anyone looking for a truly classic and delicious afternoon tea.
C. Conte
Sadly, the experience was not worth the price (~130$ per person) and I would not recommend it.
We had the vegetarian high tea, and while the tea itself was great, the food was not. In our tray we had scones, really simple and not great sandwiches, and desserts that were also not good. For some reason, we got no macarons or other nice desserts, but things such as lime cake and brownie.
When paying for a high tea, we expect better food.
Also worth noting that there is no view of the city because the blinds are kept down.
On the positive side, the staff was great and the porcelain set they use was lovely.
Loca Meier
Great experience. Lovely atmosphere and service. Especially at Christmas with the decorations. It's tea and finger food. Yes it's somewhat costly but not to sure what people are expecting reading the other recent reviews on here.
M Higgs
Tea was good but not $588 good. The experience was fantastic but again not $588 for 3 people fantastic. Service excellent food was lovely but the price point is ridiculous. We were offered champagne to start and NONE of us realized we were being offered almost $50 per glass champagne. I would save the money go for dinner somewhere else amazing and do the substantially less expensive tea at Butchart gardens!
Very Expensive for what you get! Stale bread and store bought desserts served with chipped tea pots. If I'm paying a lot, I expect a lot. Disappointed.
Maryam Samiee Farisar
The building is historical and has an identity, upon arrival you feel like you are entering into another era, which I liked the most about it, front desk people were very professional and helpful, it was a good experience overall.
Recommended 👌
Raha Farisar
The building is historical and has an identity, upon arrival you feel like you are entering into another era, which I liked the most about it, front desk people were very professional and helpful, it was a good experience overall.
Recommended 👌
Teigst A
Such an amazing experience. The staff are all lovely and the food and tea were delicious. Our tea expert, Manon, really took care of us, ensuring that we had a memorable time. Highly recommend!
E M
We had a great time and no hiccups from start to finish. The live music was much appreciated and service was wonderful from everyone involved.
Be upfront about any preferences or allergies. They will accommodate you just have to tell them. We had members in our group that do not do caffeine and the staff were more than happy to offer off menu tea they had available.
Everyone had a good time. Was it the best food we’ve ever eaten? No but we were just here for the atmosphere and to hang out together. Are there cheaper ways to do this? Of course but this is what we all wanted to do.
Recommendations and pro tips included…Excellent experience. The sit down tables are better than the couches and lower tables. Make sure to ask your server for an explanation and Theo recommendation of the tea. The tea sandwiches look small, but there is a reasonable amount of food that can be filling. The scones are excellent. The Fairmont is very good at accommodating celiac, gluten free and lacto-ovo vegetarian. Pro tip: if you really like a specific sandwich or item, you can ask for another one! And if you want to try another tea, you can ask for a different one. The scones, chicken curry, egg salad with truffle and brownie were favourites. The cucumber sandwich was under seasoned and disappointing.
You will need a credit card to guarantee the reservation and the seatings can sell out on the summer weekends. Our server was very knowledgeable and funny.
Overrated and extremely overpriced for such a bad quality of food. Absolutely disappointing. For $100 dollars we expected at least something tasty.
But food is not tasty at all, seems like very old and made of play dough. Very bad experience.
My husband and I were recommended to do the tea experience at the Empress on our honeymoon by our grandmas. We were hesitant at first based on the pricing. We decided to go and were blown away. It was one of our favorite experiences on the trip. The staff were so friendly and attentive. The food was out of this world, and experience was worth every penny.
What a wonderful experience!!! Our server Raymond was very knowledgeable and helpful with tea selections. He was also a great photographer! thank you so much for making our experience so memorable! if you are thinking about making this part of your trip to Victoria, just say yes!
Had the afternoon tea here. It’s a bit of a splurge for what it is but the staff were very professional. The tea and the finger foods were okay but not worth the price. You are paying for the experience and the atmosphere though. Worth trying once for the experience and feeling like royalty!
A lovely experience having high tea at the Empress. Our server, Raymond, gave us recommendations and was helpful with any extra requests we had. If you're looking for a splurge, I recommend!
Num num
This tea was so delicious. The staff were lovely and professional, This is the first time I've ever been to a place that pulled your seat out, put your napkin on your lap, and poured your tea for you. A truly delightful and delectable creation of food. As always the tea was done so differently from the other Fairmont hotels which I feel makes the experience truly unique. Would recommend for anyone looking for a truly classic and delicious afternoon tea.
Sadly, the experience was not worth the price (~130$ per person) and I would not recommend it.
We had the vegetarian high tea, and while the tea itself was great, the food was not. In our tray we had scones, really simple and not great sandwiches, and desserts that were also not good. For some reason, we got no macarons or other nice desserts, but things such as lime cake and brownie.
When paying for a high tea, we expect better food.
Also worth noting that there is no view of the city because the blinds are kept down.
On the positive side, the staff was great and the porcelain set they use was lovely.
Great experience. Lovely atmosphere and service. Especially at Christmas with the decorations.
It's tea and finger food. Yes it's somewhat costly but not to sure what people are expecting reading the other recent reviews on here.
Tea was good but not $588 good. The experience was fantastic but again not $588 for 3 people fantastic. Service excellent food was lovely but the price point is ridiculous. We were offered champagne to start and NONE of us realized we were being offered almost $50 per glass champagne. I would save the money go for dinner somewhere else amazing and do the substantially less expensive tea at Butchart gardens!
Restaurantji Recommends
Very Expensive for what you get!
Stale bread and store bought desserts served with chipped tea pots.
If I'm paying a lot, I expect a lot.
Disappointed.
The building is historical and has an identity, upon arrival you feel like you are entering into another era, which I liked the most about it, front desk people were very professional and helpful, it was a good experience overall. Recommended 👌
The building is historical and has an identity, upon arrival you feel like you are entering into another era, which I liked the most about it, front desk people were very professional and helpful, it was a good experience overall. Recommended 👌
Such an amazing experience. The staff are all lovely and the food and tea were delicious. Our tea expert, Manon, really took care of us, ensuring that we had a memorable time. Highly recommend!
We had a great time and no hiccups from start to finish. The live music was much appreciated and service was wonderful from everyone involved.
Be upfront about any preferences or allergies. They will accommodate you just have to tell them. We had members in our group that do not do caffeine and the staff were more than happy to offer off menu tea they had available.
Everyone had a good time. Was it the best food we’ve ever eaten? No but we were just here for the atmosphere and to hang out together. Are there cheaper ways to do this? Of course but this is what we all wanted to do.
We’ll be glad to come back!
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