L’Opera Patisserie is a quaint little patisserie in Richmond that offers a full afternoon tea service. A reservation is required at least 24 hours in advance. The afternoon tea costs $58 a person, which is on the higher end of the price scale for Vancouver area tea houses. However, at L’Opera, the afternoon tea experience is worth the price.
Drinks
They have an extensive tea menu with lots of cute names, taken from famous Operas, for all of the blends. As a lover of the performing arts, I have to say that this little artistic flair was much appreciated.
We tried the following:
The Romeo and Juliet (Green Tea, Cherry Rose): Named after the legendary star crossed lovers this sweet-smelling green tea has hints of cherries and rose petals.
La Traviata (Orange Roobios): A fresh zest of an orange to kick off your day. This tea packs a punch with refreshing orange. This was my favourite. It had a juicy orange flavour and a mellow rooibos base.
Don Giovanni: Inspired by the famous womanizer, Don Giovanni features a strong, bold, sensuous cacao. Lily likes bold flavours and she raved about this tea.
Savouries
Wow! This was the largest savoury section that we have ever encountered at an afternoon tea, besides one in London. We were very impressed with the quantity, but most importantly the quality.
Seared Scallop Salad: This was served as an amuse-bouche, ahead of the rest of the tea. It has a very cute spoon made of parmesan that sat on top of the salad and gave it a lot of delicious flavour. The scallops were seared well and the combination of all of the elements was delightful.
Shrimp Cocktail: The shrimp was sitting in a little cup made of ice, which made for a sweet presentation and kept it chilled to perfection. The shrimp tasted fresh and not at all fishy and the sauce was tasty too.
Croque Monsieur: The Croque Monsieur was warm and very well executed. We enjoyed it.
Fois Gras Sliders: The Fois Gras was very good. I am not a huge fan of fois gras in general, but this was quite delicious.
Roaster Organic Rosemary Chicken: The chicken is served in a little pot of potato and gravy that is well seasoned. It’s a hearty dish.
Avocado Crostini: A mix of spices and thick slices of avocado makes for a delicious bite.
Quail Egg and Fennel Meat Pie: I wasn’t sure I was going to like this savoury but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. A success for sure.
Scones
As in the French Tradition, there were no scones with this tea. However, due to the extensive savoury and sweet sections, they were not missed.
Sweets
The sweets were absolutely beautiful to look at and they tasted even better.
Mascarpone Roast Strawberry Swan: This swan was a work of art. The chocolate swan sat was atop a cream puff that has the honour of being the best cream puff I’ve ever had. The mascarpone cheese gives the filling a rich but not too sweet flavour and the pastry was soft but held up well. This is the kind of sweet that dreams are made of.
Blueberry Tartlette: Adorable, delicious, fresh, and all-around perfect.
Passionfruit Hazelnut Tartlette: The torched marshmallow peak on this tartlette was very pretty and the flavour was excellent.
Black Cherry Entremet: In the shape of a cherry, this sweet is stunning to look at and had a very rich flavour.
Mandarin Entremet: This was one of my favourites. It is gorgeous and the filling was so light and fresh.
Mini Hazelnut Entremet: These entremet had sweet little flowers and ladybugs on them. The filling was to die for.
Choice of Macaron: These were small and well flavoured.
Snowcone: The lemongrass snowcone tasted very refreshing and was not sweet in the least. It served as an excellent palate cleanser and breath freshener at the end of the meal.
Ambiance, Service and General Experience:
Ambiance: There is a French touch to the decor at L’Opera and it fits perfectly with their theme. When we were there, the dining area was relatively quiet. The only downside to the experience was that the table was quite small for three people but the establishment itself is quite small, so bigger tables are not really an option.
Service: The server refilled hot water without being asked and was so discreet that I barely even noticed her. However, there were very few front of house staff and they also had to work the bakery and coffee shop services. That meant that our dishes from the first two savouries did not get removed for quite some time. However, this was a minor inconvenience.
General Experience: We had a fantastic experience at L’Opera Patisserie. The tea was delightful, the savouries were delicious and the sweets were impressive in every way. Just writing this review is making my mouth water. This afternoon tea is definitely one of our top three tea experiences in the Lower Mainland and we highly recommend it.
A few more images:
