This was the first time that we have attended afternoon tea at H Tasting Lounge. This review is based on the tea we attended in August 2018.
At H Tasting Lounge, there are two options for the Afternoon Tea: Selection #1 and #2
Selection #1 is $55 a person. Selection #2 is $80 dollars and comes with champagne, some vegetable chips and a few “more expensive” substitutions for a few of the savouries. I ordered Selection #1 and Lily ordered #2. We will provide details below but, in short, we recommend Selection #1.
Click here to view the menu for both options online.
There are no obvious vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options on the website or menu. Therefore, if you have any food restrictions, it would be a good idea to call ahead of time and ask if they will accommodate your needs.
Drinks
The $80 tea comes with champagne and Lily started with that.
I chose the Eiffel 75 cocktail at $19. It was a nice blend of citrus flavours and cognac and a good choice for a summer day.
Before we chose our tea, we were presented with a white box full of tea samples. We were able to smell the teas and use that to help us choose what to drink. We really enjoyed the experience. However, keep in mind that teas often do not taste exactly as they smell 🙂
Lily’s Choice: Organic Pear Tree Green Tea
This tea was listed as, “crisp and sweet, without a hint of asperity, Estate China green tea, perfumed with the essence of freshly plucked ripe pears. “
The aroma of this tea was delicious, but unfortunately did not live up to our expectations. It was very weak and lacked flavour. Lily chose not to drink much of it and ordered a coffee instead (sacrilege!) .
Melanie’s Choice: Organic Vanilla Rooibos Tea
This tea was described as, “sweetened by Madagascar vanilla bean natural essential oil, soft aroma, rich and full-bodied with a creamy finish, caffeine free”
This tea was sweet, with a strong taste of vanilla. I enjoyed it.
Scones
Sadly, the scones were the most disappointing part of this afternoon tea. We each received two dollar-sized cheese scones that were not only tiny, but dry. On a scale out of ten, I would rate these scones at a zero.
With the scones came a candy-floss tree — a metal tree stand, with white cotton candy “foliage”. The appearance of the tree was whimsical and cute, but unfortunately, it was almost flavourless.
Savouries
Selection #1:
- Both Lily and I favoured the Prosciutto Croissant with Arugula. It was fresh and tasty.
- We were told that the kitchen had run out of pork so we were given chicken in our Braised Pork Bao.
- The Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwich was decent.
- The Wild Mushroom & Bacon Pastry Cup was not our favourite and the pastry cup was quite hard and dry.
Selection #2 came with the Prosciutto Croissant and the Smoked Salmon tea sandwich plus the following two savouries:
- The Sturgeon Caviar Deviled Egg was alright. A bit fishy for our taste.
- The Braised Abalone Tart, served atop caramelized onion and garnished with edible gold, was interesting to look at, but tasted and felt like a square of tough leather.
Desserts
Both Selection #1 and #2 come with the exact same deserts:
- The Panna Cotta was chocolate flavoured and, by far, the best dessert on offer.
- The Lemon Curd was also yummy.
- The Tiramisu and Passionfruit Mousse were nondescript.
- We both disliked the Lavender Bun that was filled with sweetened egg yolk. The outside was surprisingly tough and chewy and the inside was not something either of us enjoyed.
Ambiance, Service and General Experience
Ambiance:
The H Tasting Lounge is beautiful. It is furnished in blue, pink and gold and is reminiscent of a bygone era of style and sophistication. It has a Howard Hughes theme and there are touches of aviation inspired décor. There is plenty of natural light and a stunning light fixture on the ceiling.
The Afternoon Tea selections are presented with a whimsical aesthetic. Selection #1 is displayed on a pretty, gold Ferris Wheel and Selection #2 comes in a beautiful, tiffany blue, glass box, with a small additional box of vegetable chips.
Service:
When we arrived, we were told that we did not have a reservation. That was quite frustrating, since I called the restaurant myself a week earlier and made the reservation, so an internet glitch was out of the question. However, the server assured us that we could be accommodated.
When we were seated, we noticed a lot of crumbs, obviously from someone’s breakfast, all over the chairs and floor of a nearby table. The crumbs remained there throughout our high tea, even though we pointed them out to the staff.
Our server was personable, and had a good sense of humour and this improved our experience.
Facilities:
The bathrooms are large, well cleaned and accessible.
General Experience:
Overall, we were very impressed with the aesthetic and very disappointed with the food. For price points of $55 and $80 dollars we would have hoped for better fare. If you want an “instagrameable” tea, this is perfect but if you are looking for both fashion and flavour, you would be better off trying somewhere else.
A few more photos:
