We went here to celebrate our wedding anniversary and it was a lovely and special experience. The lobby is tastefully furnished and the sound of live music makes it more romantic and relaxing. We selected a vegetarian afternoon tea menu and it was delicious. We especially liked the artichoke sandwiches, the cucumber dill sandwiches and all the deserts. The flavors are balanced and bright. It is super filling and you are likely to take some of the treats to go. Tea selection is incredible, I highly recommend the lavender mint tea.
Another thing worth mentioning is the service. We felt looked after but also had enough peace and privacy. Our waiter took amazing photos of us, which was a great bonus. All the waiters do that for guests, I think it’s very sweet.
All in all, it’s a lovely experience not to be missed if you are visiting or live in Victoria. Worth the price.
This is an experiential high note for the area. Food is excellent, the service even more so. The atmosphere and history add a lot in my opinion. Come prepared to savor, sit, and relax.
From seating to finish took about 2 hours. Come early to shop in the attached cute stores. Parking is typical for big city types of issues.
It's not cheap, but it is worth it.
Beautiful venue, great service and overall wonderful experience.
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The tea selection was lovely. Some of the sandwiches left us a bit underwhelmed (egg salad and ham & cheese) but the Coronation chicken salad sandwich was delicious and the English cucumber sandwich is a classic for a reason. The little desserts / mignardises were very beautiful and satisfying.
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Tea at the Empress is on the pricey side but remains a MUST try experience.
Phenomenal experience at the Empress for afternoon tea! The views looked straight to the harbor and the atmosphere was romantic and regal. They have a set menu with lots of delicious sandwiches, desserts, and other bites. Each person gets to choose and brew their own tea, with a neat hourglass set to tell the time for the teabag to soak. Everything was very fancy and we took our time to try all the food. Definitely recommend stopping by!
Pricey, but worth it. 💯 Took my daughter to celebrate her birthday, and it was incredible. They made her feel so special. The food was more than we could eat, and there was literally nothing that wasn't absolutely amazing. The service was amazing and we had a great table with a great view. And of course, the tea was divine.
Visited The Empress in June for afternoon tea for our anniversary. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't really expecting it to be located in the lobby lounge (it's a much smaller area than I was expecting - I guess I kind of expected it to be located in the Palm Court across the hall).
For our tea choices, we picked the Rose Congou Emperor, which is layered with rose petals and liked by Princess Diana, and the Blue Suede Shoes which was a light vanilla scent and a blue hue from pea flower.
The raisin scones with clotted cream and jam was really good. So too was the caramel pecan tart (albeit this was quite sweet).
Food wise, good quality and ample enough to fill you up. Service was what you would expect at The Empress. A bit expensive but you're really coming here for the experience.
Only downside here is the actual lobby lounge itself as it's a bit crowded and loud.
If you have the time, take the parking elevator down to Heritage Hall to see a small collection of vintage pictures.
While this is pricey, if you enjoy afternoon tea, this experience is a must in Victoria. Marlene was a very friendly waitress and helped me with my food restrictions. They had a whole vegan spread for me and the person I was dining with was gluten free and they had a whole gluten free spread for her! They are very allergy friendly. A random note but the napkins were the softest napkins I ever felt. There was a pianist who was wonderful. The china was absolutely beautiful, I would definitely check the gift shop across from the tea if you are interested. Will be back next time I am in Victoria! Note: I would make a reservation
The best high tea! We made online reservations and were seated on time. Their website has the dress code, no flip flops, etc. We saw many pretty tea dresses but also a lot of what I'd call smart casual. The scones with jam and clotted cream are amazing. We noticed that they provided what looked like child friendly tea cups and platters for the little ones.
We did the high tea experience and our waiter was so lovely and gave us outstanding service! The service and atmosphere was very “English” which was so peaceful with their live pianist. You pay for what you get, which is pretty high end service and a show of food! Because we had a vegan platter, there were a couple items that I could’ve made myself however, there were some items that were so technical, it just outshone those that lacked. You get a cool selection of their teas, my absolute favourite is the “Kyoto Cherry Rose”, a definite must try! Overall it was a wonderful experience and I definitely recommend when visiting Victoria!
This is a meal within a whole experience. We were able to get in without a reservation right after getting off the Clipper ferry. What a great way to start our visit to Victoria! Every bite of food is bursting with flavor and the tea was amazing. I loved how the tea menu shows what each looks like. Our server was so wonderful and we had an amazing time. Absolutely worth the price!
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