Where: Vancouver, British Columbia Style: Modern Whimsy Tea Selection: 30+ loose leaf teas Teatimes: Saturday-Sunday 11:00, 12:45, 2:30 or 4:15 Reservations: 24-hour notice Contact: 604-558-3308 or hello@soirette.com Cost: $36 High Tea Destination Tea Tip: Though plans are in the works to renovate the space, currently Soirette’s afternoon tea seating is limited to about five tables, so be sure to reserve your teatime well in advance.
Destination Tea Notes: Knowing we would only be in Vancouver for a few days, the pressure was on to choose our destination teas wisely. After much research, we reserved our tea with Soirette, a pastry boutique specializing in housemade macarons that also serves high tea on the weekends. Soirette offers a tempting array of teas (thankfully the six of us were each given our own pot, allowing us to sample several), homemade savories, scones and sweets that fuse Asian and French cuisines, and a menu that utilizes seasonal, local ingredients: yes, yes and yes! This we enjoyed in a sleek setting punctuated by pops of bright color. If I were a Vancouverite, I would be a repeat Soirette customer, especially to sample their seasonal tea menus.
A sky blue wall accents the glossy white interiorA chic upholstered banquette running alongside bistro tables set with teacup trays and carnation posies welcomes us.
Tea Service
Soirette’s tea list features organic teas and creative flavor profiles.Each place setting includes a decorative tea strainer. Pots of steeping loose leaves come to the table ready to pour.The kids enjoyed their selections, as did I mine, the Empress
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Step One: Each person chooses a macaron from the colorful display of seasonal flavorsTada! This delicious kaleidoscope curate appears.Savories include lemongrass chicken croissant & pickled carrot and daikon, seaweed sea salt edamame with jade pearl rice (a huge hit), cucumber sandwich with soppressata and swiss cheese, parmesan mousse tartlet with sundried tomato relish (very mild flavor) and……spring herb and arugula couscous salad (we all loved it). I am always impressed when tea is infused into the edibles, as in Soirette’s Earl Grey milk chocolate scones served with vanilla bean double cream and cherry whipped butter. Oh yeah.Earl Grey did double duty on my curate because I chose the Earl Grey cassis macaron which was perfect. Dessert also included peach belle tea and strawberry panna cotta (I had to help everyone else eat this favorite of mine), cherry blossom madeleine, passionfruit chocolate cornette, and tea cake with mini macaron. All are delicately sweetened, moist and scrumptious.Customers sample Soirette teas as they wait to order macaron assortments.Happy Canada Day! In honor of Canada’s 150th birthday, Soirette gifted us each a limited edition maple bacon macaron as a take-home favor. What a delicious way to commemorate our experience!
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