The occasion was more special than most. The adventure fell on Easter Sunday, making it doubly wonderful to be able to spend it with 6 ladies of the Vancouver Twitterverse and our rep from the maler sex, Jon.

On the tea

With 8 people in attendance, we were able to sample a good portion of Secret Garden’s sizeable tea menu: 

• Secret Garden Secret: vanilla and “secret sweet ingredient” (Jon, Annika)
• Grammy’s Darjeeling (Carol)
• Lavender Earl Grey (Moj, who normally swears by Secret Garden’s Buckingham Palace)
• Jasmine tea with flowers (Jules)
• Creamy Earl Grey (Rachel)

I was drawn to the Dragon’s Tears tea: jasmine leaves with blossoms that were plucked within an hour of sunrise. This tea was the only one that carried a premium price tag on the normal menu ($5.95). For afternoon tea, the extra cost is waived. It therefore made sense to my sometime frugal self to try it that day.

After my first few sips of the Dragon’s Tears, I changed my tune.  It was a beautiful, floral, and delicate blend – one that should be enjoyed on its own – but it was overpowered by food that we ate. Besides, it’s more fun in an atmosphere of scones and tea cosies to be able to stir in cream and sugar as you chat with your companions.

Another nice touch was the mismatched china that Secret Garden employs to serve tea and lumps of sugar in. Someone in our group mentioned that the cups are often donated by regulars.

Thanks to Emme’s Easter salute in the form of bunny ears, bunny slippers, and pom-pom tail, our table was treated to a complimentary take-home pouch of Secret Garden’s Spring Blend. As it turns out, the owner also dresses up for Easter and the day’s staff felt like she would have wanted to reward a person with similar fashion sensibilities. Good call, Emme!

On the food

Secret Garden came out with several 3-tiered trays to the delight of all at the table. It was enough for 9, even though we were only charged for 8 spots. We were happy to take the rest home.  

As with most tea services in the city, treats vary with the seasons and the whims of the kitchen.  Our favourites from the selection we received included the roast beef croissants, the blackberry and almond bread, and the raisin scones (which were the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant setting).

Compared with the other afternoon teas I’ve had this year, Secret Garden excelled in presentation and sweetstuffs, even though the chocolate pumpkin cheesecake was awkward to eat without forks.

They fell a little flat with their bottom tier options, as evidenced by a lack of consumption of the egg salad pinwheels. Bacchus had better savoury offerings; T Room is still the winner for me in terms of overall taste.

Secret Garden’s signature lemon tarts were also a bit controversial — some guests questioned whether the lemon curd was store-bought. We never did confirm with the kitchen. Do any of you know?

The verdict

Secret Garden impressed everyone with its chintz charm, patient service, and tea selection. Of the three places I’ve been to, it was the most accommodating for large groups, even with frequent fluctuations in RSVPs (note the 17% gratuity that comes with parties of 8 or more).

Another good sign was that the regular tea enthusiasts in our midst only had good things to say about Secret Garden. One such enthusiast is Carol Sill of Cha-Cha-Cha, who sat across from me during our stay. Carol was nice enough to put together a video summary of our tea party on her site, which is embedded below for your convenience:

Secret Garden Tea Company
5559 West Boulevard | Kerrisdale
604-261-3070

Comments and photos from our table

Enjoy the visuals and comments that others from our party have already published:

• Jon’s photos on Flickr
• Emme’s photos on Flickr

Tea party guests – I want to hear from you. What did you like? What could have been better? Where are your photos? Post a comment below. 

Next up: The Fish House at Stanley Park

I had so much fun having tea with this many companions that I may just make future afternoon tea outings into official Tiny Bites events. Rather than organize it as a tweetup or online invite, the next ones will be done offline, in order to minimize fluctuations in attendance as much as possible.  

So should you be interested in joining me at the next tea party at the Fish House at Stanley Park, pencilled for the month of June, contact me now so I can keep you in mind when we set things up.

It’s true:  high tea is not the same as afternoon tea. Despite its name, this series explores afternoon tea: scones, cream, dainties, pretty cups, florals, hats.  The terms are used interchangeably in the text below. Sorry, tea aficionados.

I am behind schedule to report on the tea parties I’ve been privy to of late.

May I make it up to you by inviting you to tea at 2pm on Sunday, April 12, 2009?  We’ll make it an Easter fête at my next afternoon tea target: the The Secret Garden.

The Secret Garden Tea Company
5559 West Boulevard | Kerrisdale
604-261-3070

The Tiny Bites table can now accommodate up to 25 people; the trade-off is that we’ve been re-seated at the back of the house. Here’s the current guest list:

• Lorraine + 1
• Jules
• Annika
• Rachel
• Emme
• Carol
• Mojgan
• Cathy
• Meeskas
• Jon
• and yours truly.

Join us for tea – we have room for 25 now!

Update, April 10th:  Due to last-minute RSVPs that would be difficult to split into 2 tables, I’ve updated the reservation to a section in the back of the Secret Garden. Our section can now accommodate a large party (up to 25). Yippee!

Frequently asked questions

How much is afternoon tea at Secret Garden?

High Tea will come to $31.66 per person (tax and tip included).

I also hear they’re doing a special Mother’s Day High Tea for ~$35 in May.

I’d like to come – how do I confirm my seat?

Leave a comment with your RSVP on this post (below).

When’s the latest I can RSVP by?

Please leave your RSVP via comment by noon on Saturday, April 11, 2009. Secret Garden needs to prep in advance for your arrival so I’ll be calling them with final numbers before they close on Saturday.

I’m not sure I can make it to Secret Garden by 2pm. Is that a problem? Can I come later?

Secret Garden has 3 sittings: noon, 2pm, and 4pm. Since we pretty much need to be out by the time the 4pm sitting begins, everyone in our party should strive to be at Secret Garden for 2pm sharp.

What should I wear?!

Ah, the all-important question. Go with anything you deem fun for an Easter tea party. I’m leaning towards springtime dress with hat and heels.  But I’m girly like that.

Our table is now 12 strong but there’s room for plenty more. Drop a comment as your RSVP and see you on Sunday.  Can’t wait, all!

It’s true:  high tea is not the same as afternoon tea. Despite its name, this series explores afternoon tea: scones, cream, dainties, pretty cups, florals, hats.  The terms are used interchangeably in the text below. Sorry, tea aficionados.

Food cravings seize me with sudden and often inexplicable vigor.  Today’s craving was triggered by a photo I came across in the Flickr photostream of Vancouver blogger Raul (site | Twitter):

Sweet Revenge, originally uploaded by Raul P.

His corresponding blog post referenced Victorian sensibilities…so my brain screamed “high tea!!” to my gullet.  My mind’s eye was spinning in a vortex of earl grey, scones, and triangular cucumber sandwiches with the crusts sliced off.  I asked the Twitterverse where I could get a fix in the city, and this is what they told me:

• @bmann: The tea house on 10th has the best — see photo
• @tomwilliams: The best place for traditional “high tea” is in Kerrisdale. I forget the name but it’s on West Boulevard.
• @thenextstagemag: Closest place I thought was the Empress, not sure about Van. Hotel Vancouver, maybe?
• @tibbidy: If you’re craving high tea, Bacchus is the way to go. It makes you feel all lovely and British. Oh, and of course, it’s tasty.

Equipped with these suggestions and those of answer overlord Google, I’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of places in Vancouver proper that offer high (afternoon) tea.  Looky:

Adonia Kerrisdale Tea House
2057 West 41st Ave | Kerrisdale
604-261-0049

Bacchus Restaurant at the Wedgewood Hotel
845 Hornby Street | Downtown
604-689-7777
Read about our afternoon tea experience here >

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
900 W Georgia | Downtown
604-684-3131

Fairmont Empress (Victoria)
721 Government Street | Victoria
1 (866) 540-4429 | (250) 384-8111
Read about our afternoon tea experience here >

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

Flueri Restaurant at Sutton Place
845 Burrard Street | Downtown
604-682-5511

Provence Marinaside
1177 Marinaside Crescent | Yaletown
604-681-4144

Provence Mediterranean Grill
4473 West 10th Avenue | Point Grey
604-222-1980

Secret Garden Tea Company
5559 West Boulevard | Kerrisdale
604-261-3070
Read about our afternoon tea experience here >

T Room (no website)
4445 W 10th Ave | Point Grey
604-677-2579
Read about our afternoon tea experience here >

Tracycakes
101 – 2636 Montrose Avenue | Abbotsford | 604-852-1433
15015 Marine Drive | White Rock | 604-541-4668

The Urban Tea Merchant
G3 – 825 Main Street | West Vancouver | 604-926-3392
1070 W. Georgia Street | Downtown | (604) 692-0071
MY FAVE! Read about our afternoon tea experiences here >

I’d like to turn this post into a compendium of Vancouver high tea, but I know that the list is nowhere near comprehensive.  Please help me add to this selection so that I may evaluate these offerings for you over the upcoming months, as the compulsion to sip tea and nibble dainties hits me again and again.  Feel free to raise a hand to join me on these adventures, too.

First up in the series will be the T Room, whose location I scouted this afternoon not realizing that most high tea requires reservations at least 24 hours in advance (shucks). For now, enjoy these photos of a non-high tea visit.  I’ll report on the formal experience when I manage to schedule it in.