The Old Curiosity Tea Shop

Apologies beforehand if some details are overly vague since I am writing this based on memory from 2024.
I had the pleasure of coming in for afternoon tea at The Old Curiosity Tea Shop for my birthday. The service was very warm and welcoming. The tea room is beautiful and quaint. One thing you will notice is that everything in this tea room is carefully curated and intentional. The tea, as well as the savories/sweets were delicious. I appreciated the simplicity of the food offerings, as I was looking for a classic Afternoon Tea experience.

We love everything at this Victorian tea shop. Food, specialty teas, ambiance and most of all the service, all excellent! The owner, Adam, is so welcoming, always smiling no matter how busy the restaurant gets and he’s such a gentleman. He’s also very informative of the kinds of teas and the food they serve. We already booked for our next afternoon tea adventure.

What an amazing authentic experience. Affordable, delicious and the tea selections were fabulous

Always a lovely experience here!

Visited here for the first time on December 20th, a high tea experience for two. It was truly an amazing experience and I will definitely be coming back. The space was beautifully decorated with many antique peices from teacups, a piano, old photographs and fine China. The food was SO delicious and not bland (I've been to other hight tea places where it was). The cheesy toast was so delicious and the cranberry orange zest cream cheese sandwich was so fresh and tasty, this was a true treat for the holiday season. The scones were warm and soft with a slight crunch and the Christmas cookies were so well made with the buttery, sugary and slight salty taste coming through in the short bread and the ginger bread cookie was so beautifully decorated. They definitely think of all the fine details at The Old Curiosity shop, and this is what I love. The service from Adam added to our exceptional experience, he was kind, cheerful and very knowledgeable about the teas and their history. It was busy but he came around to our table at just the right times to check in with us. It was intimate for us but also we felt cared for with his outstanding service. The tea selection was wide but carefully Curated to offer something for everyone. The tea quality was 10/10 with the beautiful aromas and flavors coming through in every sip. We left feeling very festive and full! The amount of food was great for the price and everything about this place is magical and provides the perfect high tea experience. Ensure to make reservations! Parking is limited as it is downtown Markham, but a short walk there was no night deal and totally worth it. Best detail was the small gingerbread cookie topper on the teacups, tjey truly made our holiday season very special and memorable. Thank u so much Adam and team! Highly highly recommended.

I have been a loyal customer for years. The tea shop is charming, and the tea superb.

Such a wonderful place for afternoon tea. Visited with my mom for the first time. Service was excellent! The food was delicious too. I grew up in England and the scones were much better than most I've had over there. Highly recommend!

Lovely experience at the old curiosity tea shop. Our host was super welcoming and knowledgeable. Great selection of tea offerings. I forgot the name but I really enjoyed the mango lemon tea as well as the tuna melt I ordered. I would love to pop in again to purchase loose leaf tea for my home. Great experience. Would recommend.

So difficult to get them to respond to you, I've left a voice message twice (over the span of a couple of weeks) once for my birthday and once to make a booking for a Saturday, never had any one get back to me. I always leave my name and phone number.

In the meantime, went physically to the location twice, once there was a family function so they couldn't seat us, and today it was 3 o'clock (they close at 4) and he said it was too late, last seating is at 2.30.

We won't be trying again.

The atmosphere is lovely. The service flawless.
The food, meh. The sandwiches had so little filling I had guess what they were, the scones were ok. No choice of jam. No butter. The cookies were boring.

Just had a wonderful lunch. Adam our server was exceptional. He gave great input into all selections. From our chai tea, to Welsh rarebit, quiche and sticky pudding, it was delicious. 5 👍👍👍👍👍

Excellent service, great food and unique atmosphere. Highly recommend visiting

We as a family and friends have been coming here for a couple of years now. We travel from an hour away. Adam has always been the best host. Fantastic atmosphere. Never have had a bad meal there and have tried almost the whole menu. Adam has also been very good with our grandchildren, now 4, 8 and 11. When they were younger he would always make them up a special plate. Scones are great and when you ask ahead of time you will have them for take home.

My friends and I love a nice afternoon tea so we planned to try out this place. I'm vegetarian (near vegan), one other is pescatarian and the third just eats mainly vegetarian but is not strict. Naturally, I wanted to call to ask them about what sort of adjustments they do for vegetarian/vegan. How disappointing to try ringing three or four times today and never getting an answer. Once I decided to wait until the end of the many rings and leave a message. After the long stretch of rings it HUNG UP on me! Really?! I don't mind that you have a bare bones website; no problem. But then know that people may want to phone to ask questions. If you're too busy to answer the phone, I can see that, small family run business, but then you can at least accept voicemail.

I have been going here for years. Adam is incredible- he is professional, polite and can't do enough for you! I have never been disappointed here.