- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
31 reviews for White Heather Tea Room
Review Highlights
-
"We both really enjoyed the Mad Hatter tea as well." In 9 reviews -
"...the Big Muckle and the Not So Wee Tea, and both were great." In 5 reviews -
"We split the Big Muckle and it was delicious." In 14 reviews
Loading...
31 reviews in English
-
Review from Jeffrey T.
12/19/2011
boyfriend and I wanted to try afternoon tea and hotel stated "you have to go there". walked in and found out you need a reservation, but the older "very charming" lady stated let me see what I can do. Was seated and educated on all the different types of tea.
waitress asked me if I was adverterous and let her pick my tea, best idea as my african tea blew my tast buds away. Little sandwiches and crumpets were fantastic and came out warm. Later told everything is made on the spot to order.
Come here if you have two to three hours to spend eating great little dishes and sipping on tea that once you try, you won't even want Starbucks
RECOMMEND RESERVATIONS
Empress is $50 per person, White Heather paid $40 for two people which is their largest tower, your can get smaller for $17 -
Review from Betsy T.
4/24/2012
I visited with my husband and two little girls. Great spot! Service was gracious and kind. There is a purchase minimum (not sure what it is but we did have to order one more thing to meet the minimum). The sweets and savories were very much enjoyed. Everyone (staff and guest alike) wanted to stop and chat with my daughters. It was a fun afternoon.
-
Review from Tani S.
8/25/2011
Grandparents, uncle, and parents wanted to head to high tea with our four year old little princess and were looking for a warmer atmosphere than the Empress that my parents, brother, and I had been to years ago. Tea at the Empress was nice but I still remember that the atmosphere felt too rigid and it unfortunately didn't feel as though the experience justified the price.
The White Heather tea room was a pleasant change... it almost felt as though you were having it in someone's home or a pleasant English cottage, they were extremely sweet. We loved the Earl Grey tea as well as the Queen Mary's blend... the food was extraordinary and too much of it! (We opted for the Big Muckle as well)... We've never had such amazing scones, and I love that they were warm and tasted fresh baked from the oven so good with the lemon curd and preserves.
We definitely will look forward to making this one of our regular stops when we head back to Victoria next... -
Review from Kelli R.
Vancouver, BC
2/8/2011
I've been to the Empress for their afternoon tea and it was a great experience, but very expensive so when my husband and I went back to Victoria, it didn't take too much convincing him to try the White Heather Tea Room (at half the cost & later found out, double the taste).
We took a beautiful scenic drive around Oak Bay and found the White Heather on Oak Bay Ave. It was on a Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 pm and we didn't have a reservation, but we were lucky they had a table for two available. As we sat down, my husband joked he was the only person under 40! Ha ha! as we were in Victoria celebrating my 40th birthday! Very funny that he didn't even notice that he was the only male in there either! Not to discourage any gentlemen in going, by the time we left there were a few more gents as this is just not for the ladies!
We had to try their most popular tea, Mad Hatter "A whimsical black tea scented with vanilla, passion fruit, papaya and pomegranate." SO Yummy! We bought an 80 gram bag for under $9 to take home (I'm enjoying a cup right now).
Considering their Not So Wee Tea is $19 per person and their Big Muckle Giant Tea for Two is $44 (only $3 more per person), we went for the Big Muckle and boy was it GIANT! We definitely gave it our best shot, but after 2 pots of tea and savouring every bite, we couldn't finish the three tiered tower of goodness! The bottom tier were the hot items, quiches & scones. The middle tier were the cold sandwiches, smoked salmon and pinwheel melt in your mouths. The top tier were the sweets! Everything was home-made (unlike at the Empress) and everything was delicious! This is a must when in Victoria!
Oh and they individually wrap up any items you take home. -
Review from Liz M.
11/21/2010
Afternoon tea was our biggest must-do on our Victoria overnight jaunt. Sure, we could've walked to the Empress for a $50 per person tea, but neither of us wanted to spend that kind of money. White Heather is much more reasonable, with several options available at different price points. Their most expensive is about $40 for two. We, however, decided to order the middle size, which was $18 each.
Having read that reservations are highly recommended, we asked our hotel to help out and they were able to kindly secure us a 1pm reservation, and give us a map with directions on how to take the bus to White Heather, which is located in Oak Bay and about 2 miles from the downtown waterfront tourist area. The #2 bus dropped us off almost literally in front of the tea room at about noon and so we decided to pop in and see if they could seat us early. The ladies working there were among the nicest, most friendly people we encountered in Victoria, and we encountered a lot of nice and friendly people. Even if the tea had been awful, I would be tempted to go back just for the service. Fortunately, the tea and food is almost as wonderful as the staff.
The tea we ordered came with tea (obviously). I ordered the Balmoral, a jasmine-earl gray blend that was excellent, and my friend had the Mad Hatter, I believe, which she said she really enjoyed. The food was served on "a three-tiered monster tower of sophisticated decadence" to quote another poetic reviewer.
Bottom tier contained:
*scones. The apricot ginger was fantastic. The raisin, not so much. The devon double cream and raspberry jam were great. I was less fond of the lemon curd.
*small chicken & apple sandwiches on little buns. Delicious!
*asparagus tart/quiche type thing. Also delicious!
Second tier contained:
More sandwiches. The ham had a slightly odd flavor and the egg salad was bland. The cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches were to DIE FOR. If/when I return here, I would request all cucumber sandwiches, if possible.
Top tier contained:
desserts! Mostly lemon flavored items: tarts, shortbread cookies, etc.
The space is not very big, so I would recommend reservations especially if you have a larger group. It's not as "English" as some tea rooms I've been in, reminding me more of a cozy cafe, but it's cheerful and bright and highly recommended. -
Review from Li R.
Salt Spring Island, BC
12/14/2011
As a total afternoon tea aficianado, this gem on Oak Bay Avenue (the Victoria side of Foul Bay Road, which divides Victoria from Oak Bay) is not to be missed. Reservations are a good idea, as this one is on many lists, clearly! Try the Wee Tea or the Not So Wee Tea....they will box up what you don't eat. Yes, they do lunch items, but I haven't been able to move past the tea time suggestions. Authentic Brit tea experience. Don't miss it!
-
Review from Dia M.
7/28/2011
I have been to many (including international) tea rooms, and had great expectations for this one as it came recommended in addition to being highly rated on Yelp. I'm sorry to say, this place does not make the cut. My only other experience in Victoria was tea at the Empress (two days later) and it is far superior (except in price, of course) to the White Heather.
I will say that the food seemed fresh, however it was over-bearing with mayonnaise, and cream cheese as filler and included mediocre breads. The desserts were okay, save the cake slice - it was tasty. They also did have a little interesting crisp, but that was less than a bite and it was gone. The scone was decent.
One of the worst things about my tea was asking for a another pot of tea. My server told me that I could just reuse my teabag. The water for my tea did not seem freshly boiled (maybe it was reboiled), kept hot or reheated. It just had a flatness to it.
The staff seemed friendly. Good on them! The ambiance is a little room with square tables that looked like they were meant for breakfast or sandwiches, not tea. (extremely minor point - but made an impression on me when I walked in.)
It would have been nice to have a reasonably priced alternative to the Empress, but with my adoration for a good quality fresh tea with favorable accompaniments, this place is not going to be a repeat on the list. -
Review from briana w.
9/13/2010
Oh how the goddesses joined in orgasmic glee when they made this quaint tea room.
I am so glad my friend found White Heather. I simply cannot explain the orgy of delicious food that made its way to our table on a three-tiered monster tower of sophisticated decadence. It was so delicious that I am using adjectives that are completely inappropriate for afternoon tea. Our waitress was funny, friendly, informative and cute as a button. Her accent added just the right amount of proper auditory ambiance to our lunch.
We were both so stuffed that we could barely roll ourselves out of there. Somehow we made the long trek back to the ferry in time.
Oh I will be back White Heather. And I promise to not be so crass in person. -
Review from Tristan P.
2/21/2010
I am sorely tempted to demote the White Heather Tea Room for the truly abhorrent service I received at her hands, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
I will say however, that my best friend and I were treated so appallingly by our waitress (was her name Patty or Trish? I tried to avoid looking directly at her, so as not to provoke an attack), that I truly wonder, to this day, if she spit in our teas. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt; the life of a Canadian tweeker, can't be easy. But, as my friend pointed out, she was being darling to all her other tables, and saving up all her ire for us. Seriously? Why? I still can't decide whether she hated all Americans or if she just hated gays. Either way, tea is about ambiance, contemplation, and relaxation. She definitely spoiled that idea of tea, for us. We felt, at best, uncomfortable and unwelcome.
Why then, you may well and fairly ask, am I giving this business five stars. Because everything else was top notch. We split the Big Muckle and it was delicious. Every single confection was heaven. I am the epitome of a baking/dessert snob. There are very few desserts or breads I try, that I could not execute better myself. These were some of the few. Also, the tea/tisane selection was great, and the owner (who took out reservation) was darling.
When I am in the area again, I will certainly go here, on Patty/Trish's day off. -
Review from Miranda L.
Vancouver, BC
7/28/2010
The White Heather Tea Room is possibly the best place to go for afternoon tea in Victoria - the Empress included.
The place is small and cozy (reservations necessary), Oak Bay is a great place to explore, and the food and tea (quantity/quality and prices!) rival any other tea house in Victoria. We couldn't finish all the food, and the tea (the mad hatter if I recall) was particularly excellent. It's well worth the trip! -
Review from Shannon N.
10/20/2008
A solid 4 star tea experience for us here! We had the "Big Muckle", about $40 for two of us (yes, less than tea for one at the Empress) - three tiers of tasty temptation.
I had a mint tea and my friend had the house blend. We enjoyed some really lemony scones (with proper devon cream and lemon curd), various savories and more lemon sweets. They were definitely on a lemon kick that day ;)
Friendly staff, especially the owner - she was a delight and gave us suggestions for dining for the rest of our stay.
I would eagerly return here on a future visit. Well worth the schlep out of "downtown" Victoria.Listed in: Top Restaurants, Vancouver & Victoria
-
Review from Anna A.
10/30/2008
Solid place for the quintessential Afternoon Tea experience. This is a local joint, a far cry from the brouhaha's of downtown. We didn't have a car but managed to get here on the bus, if you don't mind walking a few blocks and taking in the local side of Victoria.
Gosh, I'm glad we ended up at this place - we picked it entirely on name (and wanting to go to anything BUT the Empress) since I was here with my best buddy Heather, of Oregon, who is clearly an SPF 50 wearing Oregonian.
Shannon is so right about the robust use of lemon in their tasty treats. Goes well with good, strong English tea. For some reason, I kept thinking how fun it would be to spike the tea with something, hmm, maybe like Ouzo?
Oh, Victoria!Listed in: Pacific Ocean Eats
-
Review from Jason L.
3/27/2011
Where to start?
Well when you visit small town Victoria, in my girlfriend's and my mind if you have a car, and even if you don't. The couple of things to do are: Tea time, Butchart gardens, and British Candy shoppe. First thing's first there is a ton of shopping, and it's a small town, and usually 1-3 days is good enough. Tea is definitely a must, and there are those who say you have to go the Fairmont Empress for tea time, and it's a bit pricey for what you get about 100 bucks per person, and then Butchart gardens which is also a bit pricey (don't remember the exact price). However there is little gem in the Oak Bay neighbourhood, (if you don't have a car it's a about 5-10 min bus ride from the downtown area). Oak Bay is little, uspcale/ish neighbourhood minutes away from downtown victoria, full of little shops, galleries, and the marina area. Anyways White Heather is a small little place tucked away in an unassuming building, strip mall type structure. The White Heather has got about 10-15 small tables usually fit for 2-4 people but can be pulled together for bigger parties, but this is not a a huge place by any means, I would say 30 people at max, and any more it gets crowded, and I think it may fit less than that.
Anyways, my girlfriend and I were there on a beautiful saturday afternoon, and had an 11:45 reservation, and when we go there it was pretty by then. We are both in our mid-twenties and besides a young girl with her mother, and aunt, which also happened to be her birthday (they had candles in the scones or something like that, I don't remember) we were the youngest people in the room, it wasn't until later there more younger couples but anyways. We went with the Big Muckle which included a three tier tower of heavenly pastries, and finger sandwiches. There were two of each which included sweet and savoury mini-pies, scones, and swiss rolled sandwiches, and little cakes and other delish treats. The condiments were a lemon curd, devonshire cream, a light whipped cream, and a raspberry jam, and they were brilliant!! For our choices in tea, we each also had our pots of tea. I'm an earl grey fan so i went with their Balmoral blend which included black teas such as jasmine, and earl grey. My girlfriend went with the mad hatter (which happens to be the most popular, and the balmoral being the second most popular).
In the end, skip butchart gardens, and the empress you're going to pay jacked up tourist prices without the delish food from the White Heather, just zoom past the empress and go here. They are closed on Sundays, and Mondays, and many of the holidays, and they are also usually busy and should call for reservations, I have heard of people just being able to get a table later in the day, but be safe, and make a reservation, and don't go there in a tight budget of time, go there sit back sip tea, and take your time, because the staff will give you time o do so, however there are times where if you do sit longer than an hour and a half to two hours, and they get busy, they may try to get you out, but, do take your time...They are busy, busy, and are closed on sunday and monday, and may not have the name of the Empress.....but they are hands down, brilliant!! and by a country mile from the rest of the pack. -
Review from Michelle N.
1/13/2011
Absolutely a must-do in Victoria if you want afternoon tea! My husband and I went on 12/29/10, while they were serving still serving the Christmas Tea for Two instead of the Big Muckle Tea. I was worried that it might not be as great as the rave reviews we'd read, but it was 100% delicious.
We had an amazing server who took great care of us, unfortunately I don't remember her name. Though the entire room was filled and there were only 2 servers, we got plenty of attention and our server was extremely knowledgeable about the different teas they served and all the food in our service.
DEFINITELY make a reservation - you will likely be dissappointed if you show up without one - we saw qutie a few people get turned away on a Wednesday morning. -
Review from Gillian F.
North Vancouver, BC
11/4/2009
I used to go to this place with my mom and grandmother when I was younger and it's so good.
Their sandwiches are always so fresh(the sandwiches are my favorite although the sweets are up there too).
They give you any options to choose from when it comes to tea itself or if you are getting their mini tea packages.
**The sconewiches are worth a try. If a tourist were to ask me where to go for high tea in Victoria I would suggest this place over the Fairmont Empress any day.
Not to mention the ladies that work there are so sweet and polite. -
Review from Adelina W.
Richmond, BC
6/19/2010
I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon tea here. Everything was really tasty and delicious. We ordered the the Big Muckle tea ($43.95 for two people) and it was more than enough. The stack comes with 3 plates: warm savoury items, sandwiches and desserts. You get your own choice in tea as well.
My favourite has got to be one of their sandwiches - it was salmon salad (as far as I could tell) but oh so delicious. I loved one of their crackers as well which had a red pepper chutney covered in cheese. The scone was amazing especially with their house made raspberry jam. By the time I finished my savoury items and tasted a few of the sandwiches I was stuffed. I was a bit disappointed in the selection of dessert items - it seemed to favour lemon items a lot. I wish there was a fruit tart or some chocolate items. Everything they provided was delicious though.
For $20 per person, this was an amazing deal. If I ever need to go to afternoon tea again, this will be my place. -
Review from Liz K.
7/22/2010
So much love for this place. The staff here is incredibly sweet and helpful. Service is prompt and the price is decent for what you get.
I've had both the Big Muckle and the Not So Wee Tea, and both were great. The best parts are the lemon cake and the scone sandwiches.
They also bag their tea so you can take it home, which I have several times. -
Review from Charles S.
7/19/2009
This was my first experience having high-tea, and it was a pleasant one indeed.
Their tea is superb, and their desserts and sandwiches were great as well. Even their jam is made fresh.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. It's around CA$ 40/person, so it's not cheap, but I'd come here again, no hesitation.
I wish I spoke with a British accent. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
11/17/2009 1 photo
We came to White Heather Tea Room based on the review of my fellow Yelper and I am not disappointed!
Good Price!! Compare to Fairmont Empress!
Nice and friendly services!
We ordered the Wee Tea..it is not that Wee..... I barely finished that!
I really enjoyed the scones...and they has a great selections of tea!
When the owner knows we came all the way in a cruiseship during off season, she was so excited! Even the cook from the kitchen came out to meet us and gave us extra scones to eat!
A lot of locals there enjoying their leisure afternoon tea while we were there too!
White Heather Tea Room sure is a little hidden gem that one should not miss! -
Review from Sarah O.
4/14/2009
I went to the White Heather Tea Room last year and I have no idea why it took me so long to review. I'm a member of a club that took a day trip to Victoria for the sights, the sounds and the tea. For us, a gaggle of American women, one of the highlights of the entire trip was tea at the White Heather. It was that good. Go there right now. Go! The tea was delicious (several of us purchased bags after), the food was delicious (perfect for tea in every way), and by splitting Big Muckles it was even a great deal. We walked the whole way from "downtown" and found it a reasonable distance.
If you've never had a proper tea this quirky little place will blow your mind. Worth a stop at any time you're in Victoria. -
Review from Stephanie C.
10/6/2010
While visiting Vancouver from the 212, we of course took the car ferry to Victoria. The weather sucked and the town is small. But, what do they have? Traditional, English Afternoon Tea. And that is why we came. If you have it here, it's so worth the trip. Bear in mind you do need a car to get here because it's no where near the downtown area.
What a GEM! Well maybe not anymore since this place has tourists running about (educated tourists) but let me first tell you- DO NOT HAVE HIGH TEA AT THE EMPRESS, and don't have it at Butchart Gardens. Because those are really overpriced, tourist traps with subpar quality of food. You will eat well at White Heather Tea Room and believe me, you will eat A LOT (this was our only meal of the day), and you will have leftovers. You will experience great service that only comes from a geniuine Mom and Pop shop and some informative tips about where you go in Victoria- your Dad will like it, your brother... your boyfriend. You will all get an authentic experience going back 18th century England. Food is just good and you can get ridiculously full on about $20 a person.
You do have to be a fan of the sweet stuff to enjoy afternoon tea, English style. And of course- tea, but the menu and variety is so varied so it'll take you a big while to choose where to begin. We just asked for the straight up most popular choices and of course I got the Mad Hater Blend (paying homage to none other than my fav, Alice in Wonderland), my Dad got the Early Grey- straight-up but recommend as a good , strong black tea and my Mom got the 2nd most popular, Angels Blend. This was fruity and has the strong backing of green tea (so smelled bland). Out of all teas- I felt mine had the most aroma. They all tasted nicely blended and great though-- our super sweet waitress also refilled our teapots with hot water to reuse the bags halfway through the meal.
Ok, so my parents ordered the Big Giant Muckle Tea for Two, which came out in the most adorable tower. Beware, this is a Giant Muckel for Three, not two so the fact that I seperately ordered The Not So Wee Tea was a mistake. I mean delicious for my tastebuds, terrible for my diet! There was also a lot of crossover of items between the two teas (which is fine) but I could have sworn they gave different items in the Wee Tea.
Note that what you get varies each time depending on what they have that day but I assure it will be amazing as it's accompanied by 3 sinful spreads: Devonshire Irish creme (which I never had before- hello where have you been all my life), lemon curd (wooo lemon) and raspberry jam. Perfect with the scones - that day we got the ham and rosemary scone, and the pumpkin pecan. We all picked at each other's dish (well, I was doing that to my parents not so much vice versa )and loved the salmon bite sandwiches (mine came with the cucumber and chicken salad), pistaschio-carrot tart (with toasted almond atop- there was something in here that also made it savory), and the lemon pound cake. Some of the desserts were a little too sweet- and I appreciated the fact that was there zip zero chocolate (chocolatiers beware) beacuse I don't like it but fyi. I wasn't crazy about the tea sandwiches because they were a little mushy for me- the ham and cheese, nor the egg salad (bleh don't like egg salad). The bite size biscuit sandwiches were better.
Anyway, come to White Heather and get full. You won't regret it. The Muckle Tea is about $45 for two, and $20 for the Not So Wee. I'm a big fan.Listed in: The Vancouver List
-
Review from Kyle W.
9/30/2009 1 photo
Thanks, Yelpers - the White Heather Tea Room was a great high tea experience.
My wife and I split the Big Muckle and were very satisfied by both the amount of and quality of food. We went early (around 11am) so it worked perfectly as a lunch experience. We left stuffed!
Every pastry and sandwich was delicate, unique and memorable and the cream, lemon curd and raspberry preserves were absolutely delicious on the scones!
We both really enjoyed the Mad Hatter tea as well.
Service was impeccable - our server was attentive and friendly.
I don't know if tea at the Empress is this good, but as long as White Heather is in business, I'm not going to bother to find out! -
Review from Jean K.
10/31/2010
Specifically, these are cream teas, not really high teas. Excellent variety of high quality loose-leaf teas, with an assortment of sweet and savory bites that were delightful.
Turns out the owner is from our area: Concord, CA in the East Bay region of San Francisco, CA! It's a cute and popular place, so make reservations in advance. Be forewarned the parking is absolutely murderous in the area, and the block the Tea Room is located on has only 1-hr parking allowed.
Avoid the 'tourist trap' tea rooms downtown, and take a bus or taxi ride here instead.
If you're familiar with Bay Area tearooms, I'd say they're not as good as Lovejoy's, but only a small level below. -
Review from Scout S.
8/30/2010
This quaint little breath of fresh air is a wonderful way to spend a few hours and enjoy some local flavor. We enjoyed some English Breakfast tea in really cute tea pots and a variety of different cups. We were really famished so we ordered the biggest tea called the big muckle for two! The tea sandwiches were super fresh. We loved the cucumber and cream cheese and the egg salad the best. They make their own version of clotted cream...but I like the real Devonshire type the best. The scones were delightful as were the desserts. Make sure you have a reservation the place is busy all day long!
-
Review from Danica K.
7/16/2010
As another reviewer said previously - when in Canada, go for tea. I always try to at least buy some tea (at Murchie's) if not sit down for a high tea.
On my most recent visit to Victoria having high tea at the Empress (which I've done 3 times now and it's great don't get me wrong) prooved too overpriced for the crowd I was with. (upwards of $50 pp) I looked around for a less expensive tea room in Victoria and we found White Heather on one of the flyers at the Visitor's Centre on the waterfront. We left things a bit too late however, there were no reservations to be had at the time when we would have liked to have gone having left it until the day of to make them. The group I was with suggested that we just drop in (they serve breakfast and then tea in the afternoon) right at the tail end of breakfast and see if we might be able to get tea. It's not something I would have done at all on my own but to my suprise they were very nice and said "Oh sure! Come on in! Sit down! We've got the fixings" It was shockingly nice of them and very kind to accomodate us.
Don't let the unassuming exterior fool you - there's some great food to be had with the Wee Tea (two members of my party had it) and Not So Wee Tea (I had this one)- and it's more than enough for a crowd of hungry people.
I recommend the Mad Hatter tea blend - it was delicious. I have to have black tea (or a blend) with my high teas though so your tastes might be a bit different.
The scones and the shortbread were fantastic - not hard, super crumbly or overbaked - just right on both accounts. I haven't had them that good since I was in the UK last.
The teaware that they use is all charmingly mismatched and vintage - it's like having tea with my gran back home. Don't get me wrong though - there are no chips or cracks in them and everything was very clean.
The savoury items were as good as the sweet items. The mini cheese scone was brilliant. I could have eaten a few more of those!
I think there's condos or apartments on top of the shop since we were greeted by someone's Speedo clad arse bending over tending to flowers over the front door when we came in on a lovely sunny Friday. So beware Speedo arse.
White Heather was fun, a great price and an amazing amount of food. We walked out with a small take away box and contented smiles.
I'm glad I got to have tea there and I highly recommend that you do so next time you're in Victoria. Skip the super expensive Empress tea (especially if you've done it once/many times) and support a smaller local business. I'm very glad to have discovered them. -
Review from Corrine C.
8/25/2009
This was my 2nd afternoon tea experience. Very cute dining area, loved the little wraps on our tea pots. Between 5 adults and a child, we order 2 Big Muckles (41.95 for 2 people) and 1 Not so wee Tea ($17.95). Lots of food. We had 3 guys and they were stuffed too. The scones were delicious- i especially enjoyed the Devon cream with my scones. The Mad Hatter tea was very fragrant and tasty. The servers were very friendly and made a special little fruit bowl for my little boy. The only negative was when my brothers were getting hot water added to their tea pot, the server tipped her hot water tea pot too much and the lid fell out and hot water was all over the table. Luckily it didn't get anyone! PS- call ahead and make reservations. And they're closed on Sundays.
-
Review from S. H.
7/5/2010
For the price, it was extremely filling. The quiche and scones (firm exterior with a moist crumbly interior) were my favorite. The lemon curd, Devon cream, and raspberry jelly(?) were to die for. Everything else (the sandwiches, cakes, cookies) were okay. I was very disappointed with the tea. It simply wasn't that strong and felt rather watered down.
Cliff notes: good price, savory treats tasted way better than the sweet treats. I didn't care for the tea. The owner is the sweetest lady. She was attentive and gave us her thoughts on where to visit in Victoria. -
Review from KK Y.
7/28/2010
Came here for the second time and I still love this place. Last time, we had a table of four and we all ordered the The Big Muckle Giant Tea. We never made it to the dessert tier. As such, we decided to only order one set this time. Even so, we couldn't finish and had to 'doggie bag' our dessert. The rest of the party ordered the crepe and the eggplant quiche. Both were yummy and reasonable price.
Service was great. The server took the effort to explain the variety of tea available, which I appreciated as it was my first time to adventure 'black tea'.
I heard the afternoon tea at the Empress is overrated and overpriced, as such, I strongly recommend a visit here. Make sure you make reservation ahead of time!!! -
Review from Shana E.
8/9/2009 5 photos
When in Canada, go for tea.
When going for tea, go to the White Heather Tea Room.
I went to three tea places during my stay in Canada and the White Heather was by far my favorite. My sister even went to the renowned Empress Hotel and the Butchart Gardens for afternoon tea and still claimed that the White Heather was the best for its price, food, and portions.
My sis and I split the The Big Muckle Giant Tea For Two for $41.95 and the amount of food that was given made afternoon tea anything but dainty! On one tier, we each got a cheddar cheese biscuit with smoked salmon and cream cheese and three different and tasty sandwiches (a tasty egg salad sandwich, mayonnaise dill sandwich, and a ham spiral sandwich). On the next tier, we each got two different scones- an apricot and a lemony scone- accompanied by delicious fresh jam, lemon curd, and devon cream, a salmon cracker thing, and a savory mini tart. The top tier (the absolute pinnacle of delicious awesomeness) was the dessert plate with chocolate-drizzled macaroons, a slice of glazed lemon pound cake, a lemon tartlet , ginger shortbread, and a cheese cracker w/ apple that tasted like a little Cheez-It (: . Along with all this, each person selects from White Heather's giant and unique tea selection. I chose the Mad Hatter, which was quite delicious although it did become bitter as it sat.
The staff was truly friendly and more than willing to make different baked goods to accommodate my brother-in-law's lactose-intolerance. However, the location is small so be sure to make reservations.
The tea was great and the food here was soo tasty that I would love to dive in and stuff my face there everyday. But alas, it is tea and I must be tactful. Pinky up! -
Review from Pamela A.
3/29/2011
yum. i still have dreams about this place.
-
Review from Joy H.
9/16/2010
It definitely doesn't have the atmosphere of the Empress for afternoon tea, but it does its job! You'll need reservations here and it seems like everyone there wanted to do the Empress' afternoon tea but couldn't justify spending $55/person for it there! So instead, you can spend $50 for two here! It's a small restaurant and reminds me of a country house in its quaintness. We got the Big Muckle Giant Tea for Two. There's a LOT of stuff on the tiers! So much so that we had leftovers which were still good the next day! Everything tasted really good - especially the scones! Nom nom nom . . . now I want to try and make scones and have my own tea party sometime! We got the Mad Hatter tea and the Balmoral (the fave out of the two)! How does this compare to London's afternoon tea?? Well, the atmosphere is definitely not there and I think the afternoon tea we had in London was cheaper and slightly higher quality (we didn't get as much food though, but we were satisfied). Overall, it's a great place if you can't get all the way across the pond to the U.K.!
