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High Tea Series: The Fish House at Stanley Park

4 Comments July 25, 2009

On July 11th, I was joined by 7 lovely ladies and 2 distinguished gentlemen for another tea party for my High Tea Series. The venue: the Fish House in Stanley Park, tucked away between the tennis courts and Second Beach inside Vancouver’s largest urban greenspace.

The Afternoon teapartiers (by julesjulesjules m)

Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules

We started off slow due to guests being delayed by the changes to the Burrard Bridge, but that just gave us more time to admire each other’s creative choices of hat.

Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park

What wasn’t acceptable was the slowness of pace that continued even after our full contingent arrived. Tea took 15 minutes from the time of order; the food didn’t show until nearly 20 minutes of tea drinking had passed. By then, some of us who had deliberately fasted for this 2pm meal were getting frustrated and somewhat dizzy from hunger.

Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park

Our table tried 5 of the 7 teas on offer. Those who took cream and sugar favoured the Flowery Earl Grey. A couple were seduced by the concept of the Mountain Berry, a rose-hued tea that contained Saskatoon berries, red and black currants, hibiscus, and Seneca root.

Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park

I wish I could say a few good things about the tea that the Fish House served, but the general feel was that our drink was poorly set up, flat in taste and occasionally in aroma, and at best, forgettable.

Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park

Sad to report that the food verdict is similar. The overall selection was plainly presented. Overall tastings felt bland and lacking in contrast. A few piped up to defend the scones and the brownies, which were the best of the bunch, but I’ve personally had better at all of the other places I’ve been to for afternoon tea.

Scones (by julesjulesjules m)

Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules

The one true highlight for me was the Devon cream, whipped energetically to airy deliciousness. It would have been more appropriate to say that I took my Devon cream with scones – in fact, I might have eaten it on its own if I hadn’t been concerned about what my companions might think.

Despite this small bit of praise, don’t you think it’s a shame that something akin to butter is the best offering in the Fish House’s afternoon tea array? I do.

The verdict: don’t bother.

You can probably sum it up like this: while the Fish House does have afternoon tea on the menu, they only pay lip service to it. No one else was there to have tea. Not many people were present in the dining room, period. I guess they’re not known as a lunch or tea destination, as we learned the hard way.

Ah, well. Our $24 a person fees weren’t entirely for naught. It did give our party an excuse to don fancy clothes and frou-frou hats, and we did have a great time just being in each other’s company. But if I were you, plan your next afternoon tea excursion elsewhere – I’d rather you to enjoy both your friends and your food.

Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park Afternoon tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park

Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, Food, Restaurants, West End

Comments

4 Responses to “High Tea Series: The Fish House at Stanley Park”

  1. Blogathon 2009 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society begins : Tiny Bites on July 25th, 2009 5:39 pm

    [...] 4pm: High Tea Series: The Tea House at Stanley Park [...]

  2. Tina on July 25th, 2009 9:00 pm

    We went last June and our verdict was the same. We had much higher expectations.

  3. Getting the most value out of Dine Out Vancouver 2010 : Tiny Bites on April 20th, 2010 4:58 pm

    [...] The Fish House in Stanley Park [...]

  4. High Tea Series: a list of places to do afternoon tea in Vancouver : Tiny Bites on March 31st, 2012 9:33 am

    [...] The Fish House at Stanley Park 8901 Stanley Park Drive | Downtown 604-681-7275 Read about our afternoon tea experience here > [...]

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