If you live in Vancouver or visiting Vancouver and you are looking for an Afternoon Tea experience, checkout this post! I’ve tried several afternoon tea places in Vancouver and so far Fur Elise is one that I would recommend. Price point comparison with other afternoon tea places, this tea salon came out to be priced a bit lower than the competitors. The sweet and savory selections are great and balance. It may look not much because of the tiny serving, but they do fill you up. Bot the savory and sweet selections were amazing. The location is easy to find, the salon interior is clean, cozy and elegant and the service was great. For the price of 42CAD/person, it was a great afternoon tea experience. Check it out.

What is Afternoon Tea?

Afternoon Tea is a British tradition of sitting down for an afternoon treats (the likes of scones, cake, sandwiches plus assortment of sweet tiny desserts). It is served mid-afternoon, around 4pm. The intention was not to replace dinner, but merely fill in the gap between lunch and dinner just so until dinner is served around 8pm. Almost like a snack in North American culture. Traditionally, Afternoon Tea is served while seating on low, comfortable, parlor chairs or relaxing in the garden. Think of comfy lounge chairs, or sofa chairs.

What is High Tea?

High Tea is also a British tradition similar to Afternoon tea but served later in the day, it is more like a light Supper/dinner. The word “High” tea sometime makes people think that this is fancier than Afternoon Tea, but it is not actually the case. While High Tea focuses on lighter/snack food, High Tea food is more substantial, like meat, fish, and egg dishes, as well as breads and desserts. It is heavier and filling and served in the evening. Think of it as light supper or dinner, only in small portion. In terms of High Tea is served, High Tea is served at the table and seated on high back dining chairs. It is more formal that Afternoon tea, but the idea is the same, both is all about food.

About Patisserie Fur Elise

Patisserie Fur Elise is a pastry shop and tea salon in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The tea salon serves different kinds of sweet and savory French pastries, teas, and desserts for Afternoon Tea. It is located in Yaletown BC, Canada, a Queen Anne-style Victorian heritage house that has been in Vancouver since 1893.

• Website: http://www.patisseriefurelise.com/
• Location: 847 Hamilton St. Vancouver, BC V6B 6A1
• High Tea Price: 42CAD/per person for a 2 hrs seating (weekdays), 1.5 hrs seating (weekend)

Thee salon is located at Yaletown and is very accessible to public transit. The salon is a heritage style house, and although it is along the street, it is easy to miss. It does look like a house, and you have to enter the gate just like any private house. It is a 2-storey house, quaint and very well maintained. It has a very elegant clean interior, pastel colored walls and beautiful chandeliers that light up the room. The ground floor is a shop where they sell trinkets and souvenirs, and pastry. Because of COVID, they do not have any pastry for sale in the ground floor.

High Tea Menu

Savory

• Prosciutto, brie and fresh basil croissant sandwich
• Cucumber avocado sandwich
• Pork terrine boat with lavender balsamic vinegar
• Smoked salmon on brioche
• Crustless quiche Lorraine
• Buttermilk scone with almond streusel

Sweets

• Panna cotta of the day
• Mini Für Elise
• Lemon yuzu tart with orange blossom guimauve
• Banana hazelnut triple chocolate cup
• Dacquoise
• Macaron

What Makes a High Tea Experience Great?

Everyone has their own criteria of what makes a great high tea experience. Since we are talking about a “High Tea” experience, it has to leave up to the concept of a high tea. A cozy fancy ambiance that makes you feel like royal 👑 . Those posh elegant cushioned chairs, tea cups and saucers and nice tea tables all adds to a great experience. Seriously, how often do you get do this anyway? At least in my household, never. I am more on modern industrial decors and design. So for me, the ambiance makes a huge first impression when I walked into the room. Something that is absolutely extraordinary is a 5 star for me. So having a high tea in a regular restaurants with all the common basic restaurants furniture is not definitely going to make me give that thumbs up

Second is the menu itself, a good mix of sweet and savory desserts and pastry presented elegantly in a tiered tower, that is a MUST. If I want a cupcake or a muffin, I can easily get that in the grocery or cafe. The assortment of the menu should be balance and well thought, delicious and memorable.

People could argue that where it is served doesn’t affect the taste of the food. I wouldn’t disagree with that, but presentation does make a huge impact in experience. If the establishment is charging a bit more for small amount of food, it better be good in every way. Taste and presentation, we feast with our eyes even before we eat them. High Tea is an experience that you need to have onsite, a box to go of high tea pastries will definitely not give that high tea experience. With high tea, more than the food, you are paying for the experience of being treated like a Royal 👑, all those tiny little fancy things that you don’t get to enjoy in your day to day life.

Our High Tea Experience

• The Food – Nothing but praises! The assortment of savory and sweet are just perfect. Not too many and not too less, I would say a perfect balance of taste and texture. I started eating the savory before the sweets and I usually do in my everyday meals. Savings the sweets for last. I like all the savory but there are some that stands out and are very memorable to me.
  • Prosciutto, brie and fresh basil croissant sandwich 🥐 is another one of my favorite. The saltiness from Prosciutto, the creaminess of Brie cheese and the freshness of the basil with the flaky croissant is to die for!
  • Cucumber avocado sandwich. Simple but taste so fresh.
  • Pork terrine boat with lavender balsamic vinegar – This is the only one that I did not appreciate as much, but it was not bad at all. I just find it lacking in flavor, and the cone is not as crunchy as I would hope it will be.
  • Moving on to the Smoked salmon on brioche, this small bun with the soft smooth smoked Salmon is a one bite heaven. I wouldn’t mind a second on this.
  • The Crustless quiche Lorainne was so far the best I’ve tried. It was so tasty and flavourful, I wish I could have more.
  • Buttermilk scone with almond streusel – this mini scone is a tiny bomb. Small as it is, the texture was spot on for a scone. Buttery, creamy and was made even more delish with the Blueberry jam
  • Blueberry Panna cotta – wow!! I want more of this. It may sound exaggerated but I’ll say it anyway. The BEST panna cotta I’ve ever tried. It is super (as in super) smooth and creamy, a very subtle sweetness and a nice tangy homemade Blueberry compote on top. I would buy this if they sell this to go.
  • Mini Für Elise – this little Strawberry Mousse has a light creamy texture and a really nice Strawberry flavor. It taste so good, well worth carrying the ‘Fur Elise’ name.
  • Lemon yuzu tart with orange blossom guimauve – This little tart is a real sticky one. Nice tart crust, lemon curd and a really stiff sticky meringue on top. Definitely just pop it in your mouth, otherwise that beautiful meringue will surely stick to your lips. Trust me on this. It happened to both of us. Spare the biting, just pop it in.
  • Banana hazelnut triple chocolate cup is another tiny one bite mouse in chocolate cup. Light mousse that is not too sweet, and a nice good quality chocolate cup.
  • Lemon Meringue Tart – this beauty has a nice crust, tangy lemon curd and a very sticky meringue on top.
  • Dacquoise – All I could remember is the softness and gooey texture of this treat. It is made of meringue with cream frosting in the middle
  • Yuzu & Pistachio Macaroon The Yuzu Macaron has a nice lemon flavor, while Pistachio lacks flavor to me, nothing , memorable about the taste
• The Service – Great service, I would give this a 5 star and a thumbs up. From the tine we arrived, we were greeted politely and when it was time, we were escorted to our table. The server is very polite and attentive. She explained the menu to us and was very helpful in choosing our tea. Keep up the good job!
• The Ambiance – Great ambiance. From the moment we enter, I was impressed with the interior and decorations of the place. It was like a doll house inside, so neat and quaint, with nice pastel motifs. The second floor level where the high tea is done was very nice and elegant looking. The Victorian style of chairs, tea cups and decors made a huge impact on the first impression. I have to mention how I love those little blinking lights under the glass topped table. They look so fancy and unusual.
• The Pricing – the price of the high tea is 42CAD person, 2 hrs for weekdays and 1.5 hrs for weekends. It may sound expensive, but this is actually cheater that most High Tea places in Vancouver. It some places, it would range to about 60 – 80 CAD per person. I am happy with their pricing, I think it is worth the experience we had. I wouldn’t mind bringing friend ms here.

Recommendations

• The serving portions a quite tiny as expected for any High Tea. So if you are bringing hungry friends here, better give them a heads-up or else they will be leaving still hungry and maybe disappointed
• Take your time when eating each piece, I personally like analyzing what I eat, the flavour and texture, what works and what doesn’t work. It’s just how I enjoy it. Plus give me something to say when I share my experience with you
• The place is a two story house converted into a high tea place, it is not an obvious public establishment. You will need to enter a small gate, so you really have to look for it. I cannot believe I was standing in front of it and I did not even saw it immediately.
• Be mindful of your tine. Weekday bookings are 2 hrs and weekend is 1.5 hrs. This is more than enough to finish these tiny pastries. I guess it’s just the chatting and catching up that could take more time
• Last but not the least, I would say if you are bringing a guy to a high tea, better warn the m what to expect. This is one activity that I would say is fit more for ladies

Is it Worth It?

Oh definitely! It checks all my boxes. Good food, presentation, ambiance, service and pricing. I would highly recommend this place for those interested in trying High Tea experience in Vancouver. I’ve tried doing a High Tea 4x, so far this one is the one that I had the most fun.

Rating

Thumbs up, 5 stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Give it a try

Thank You! Until my next adventure. Bye now!

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