We attended afternoon tea at Honey Salt for the first time on February 24th, 2019. We made our reservation online through Open Table and there were no issues with that process.
Honey Salt only serves afternoon tea on Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00-5:30 pm.
You can view the tea list and afternoon tea menu by clicking here.
We arrived slightly early for our reservation (which was for 3:00pm) and were not able to be seated. They told us we could sit in the lounge portion of the restaurant until our table was ready.
Tea is not the only meal being served during the 3:00-5:30 time window. Some people were enjoying brunch, lunch or happy hour specials.
There are two options for afternoon tea: The False Creek Tier ($32) and the Four Points Tier ($42). Both teas are exactly the same, except the Four Points Tier comes with the Honey Salt Mini Market, which is an assortment of fresh and roasted veggies and dip. It is a very healthy addition to an afternoon tea but not one that we felt added a lot of value.
Drinks:
Honey Salt’s tea list is a selection of TWG’s most beloved teas. We each tried a new one.
VANILLA BOURBON (SOUTH AFRICAN ROOIBOS WITH SMOOTH VANILLA) This tea was sweet and fragrant with Vanilla. I really enjoyed it.
1837 BLACK TEA (SIGNATURE BLACK TEA WITH BERRIES, ANISE & CARAMEL) This was a delightfully strong black tea with a fruity fragrance.
There are also two TWG iced tea options available: Moroccan Mint Tea or the Eternal Summer Tea
Savouries:
Classic Cucumber & Dill Sandwich: This is a classic tea sandwich and it was exactly what you would expect it to be. We always enjoy dill in our cucumber sandwiches.
BC Wild Stripe Shrimp Roll: This is the best savoury for sure! The shrimp was fresh and delicious and the bread was toasted to perfection.
Montreal Smoked Meat: This sandwich tastes good, but the bread was cold and hard. It was easy to tell that it had been in the fridge and the moisture had been sucked out of it.
Scones:
Each person receives a classic scone and a raisin scone with clotted cream and seasonal jam. The jam that day was strawberry flavoured. The scones were a bit small, but very tasty.
Crepes:
A wonderful addition to this afternoon tea is the crepes. We recommend ordering them earlier in the tea so that you still have some room left to fully enjoy them. Also, the other sweets and savouries are easier to take home with you if need be.
We tried the strawberry and lemon whipped ricotta crepe and the society chocolate & banana. Both were delicious, though Lily preferred the strawberry and I preferred the banana. To each their own!
We also liked that the crepes were made on a special cart in the dining room, so that we could watch the creation process.
Sweets:
Chocolate Bouchon: This sweet was our favourite. It tasted like a moist chocolate brownie with a perfect crispy topping all around it. Inside is a tasty chocolate ganache.
Salted Honey Pie: A caramel-flavoured tart, I didn’t mind it, but Lily thought is had an unappealing floral taste.
Shortbread (lemon & lavender): The shortbread cookies were well executed, but nothing exciting.
Ambiance, Service and General Experience:
Ambiance: Honey Salt is a nicely decorated space with plenty of natural light. On a sunny day, it is quite beautiful. However, we found the music to be loud and it was a mixture of modern pop music. We prefer tea-time music to have more of a calming effect and for it to be quieter, in order to promote conversation. We also noticed that there were a number of tables that were heavily imbibing and partying. This adds to a more frenetic atmosphere and takes away from the relaxing experience of an afternoon tea.
Service: Once we were seated, the service was very good. Our server was attentive and pleasant. There were also quite a few other staff who were milling around and making sure that everyone was satisfied and well taken care of. The attentiveness of the staff was one of the highlights of our experience.
General Experience: In general, we enjoyed our time at Honey Salt and the afternoon tea is set at a reasonable price point. The crepes, chocolate bouchon and the shrimp roll are the best items on the menu. The service is good, but the ambiance is not as serene as we would like.
A few more images:
