The Secret Garden Tea Company -- Major Afternoon Tea!

5559 West Boulevard, Vancouver

Food: 5    

Service: 3    

Price: Moderate to High

*Presentation: 5

Reservations Required: No

For my dad’s recent birthday, my sister and I treated him and his lady-friend to an Afternoon Tea service ($26.95) at the Secret Garden. We’ve been here for their tea service 2 or 3 times before and really couldn’t resist to go back to an old dependable favourite!

What to Expect

·    one of the best, or maybe THE BEST Afternoon Tea service in Vancouver

·    fresh baked goods from their ovens, made with organic milk

·    each person can select his/her own tea during the tea service

Bottom Tier: Mini Sandwiches

Portobello Mushroom Scone Sandwich

·    portobello mushrooms, green pesto, red peppers, cheese, cheese scone

·    sourness of the pesto (or maybe lime juice?) helped the mushrooms stand out

·    red peppers and mushrooms were an amazing combination!

Corned Beef Croissant Sandwich

·    corned beef, cheese, homemade thousand island dressing, relish

·    couldn’t really taste the corned beef, but could pick-up on its saltiness, which countered the sweetness of the croissant

·    relish added sourness that combined well with the sweet and the saltiness

Egg Salad Pinwheels

·    tiny celery pieces were mixed in sparingly for some surprise crunch

Middle Tier: Scones and Cake

Apricot Scones

·    signature item for this restaurant; fresh from the oven, made from organic Avalon milk

·    served with raspberry jam and Devonshire cream

·    couldn’t taste the apricots

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

·    dry

·    giant chocolate chips!

Top Tier: Desserts

Lemon Tart

·    shortbread crust with lemon meringue in the middle

·    staple in their tea service

·    sweet with enough sourness; very delightful!

German Chocolate Cake

·    layers of chocolate cake, chocolate icing, and a shredded coconut mixture

·    topped with a sliver of dried coconut and chocolate icing

Apple Cheese Pastry

·    cinnamon puff pastry with an apple filling inside

·    topped with a pink icing sugar design for decoration

·    a lot of puff pastry and a small amount of filling L

·    apple cinnamon filling was super flavourful, but I wish there was more inside!

Plum and Cottage Pear Tea

Popular selection at the Secret Garden. My personal favourite!

Little gems of food they were, BUT we couldn't finish it all! We ended up taking a big box of the desserts and scones home. $26.95 is not a price you want to pay per person everyday, but this was so worth it in the overall quality, quantity, and presentation of food. The only thing is I wish the service could keep up with the food. At the beginning, our server was lovely and attentive. However, when she ended her shift, another server was not assigned to our table. I decided it would be faster to pay the bill at the cashier than flag someone over. I stood in line to pay the bill for 10 minutes, waiting for the cashier to finish wrapping up sale merchandise for just two ladies in front of me. As the cash wasn't being used, I wish there was some urgency for anyone to jump in and help me.   

Other Notable Facts About the Secret Garden

·    they refer to their tea service as High Tea, but I’ve referred to it as Afternoon Tea because that’s the proper term

·    Demi-tea ($12.95), Mini-tea ($11.95), and Sharing-tea ($11.95) are other options to sample the full tea service at lower price points

·    other enticing menu items that include breakfast, soups, sandwiches, and salads

·    they only take reservations for parties wishing to have the full High Tea service