Review: W Hotel's Afternoon Tea, Toronto, Ontario

The W Hotel Toronto's Afternoon Tea service was a new treat for us - in fact, we were not even aware they offered afternoon tea until we saw an ad for their beauty-inspired tea offering, entitled "High Beau-Tea". Afternoon tea shaped like makeup? Count us in!

 

Located in the beautifully decorated Living Room Restaurant in the hotel in the heart of Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, we were not left disappointed with the décor. Everything seemed to be perfectly placed with intention.

 

The entrance to the W Hotel

 

 The sitting area of the Living Room Restaurant

 

 The place setting for the day against a beautiful black marble table

 

Although the name of their tea service was clever and witty, "High Beau-Tea"...this was not a high tea, it was afternoon tea. To learn why this wasn't a high tea click here.

 

The Tea Offerings

For the tea service, the W Hotel offers teas from Genuine Tea Company, a great local Canadian business. They had two streams of tea offerings, traditional teas and then herbal tisanes.

 

Teas:

• Cream of Earl Grey
• Organic Assam Breakfast
• Masala Chai (our recommendation!)
• Sencha Kyoto Green Tea
• Imperial Jasmine (another recommended choice!)

 

Herbal (Tisanes):

• Moringa Mint
• Chamomile Lemongrass
• Organic Elderberry Hibiscus
• Lemon Ginger Rooibos
• Blue Delta (a personal fav!)

The Blue Delta tea was....a very tasty blue tea punctuated with butterfly pea flower

 

Unfortunately, there was no tea sommelier on site to help us pair our tea with the food menu. Nonetheless, we were not disappointed with the offerings as they were delicious and interesting. Our personal picks for the day were the Masala Chai, Imperial Jasmine and Blue Delta. The Blue Delta was particularly interesting because it is a beautifully sweet herbal tea with lemon verbena, lemongrass, dried apple, lemon and pieces of raspberries. It also has butterfly pea flower so it turns a nice blue when it is steeped; and according to the server, it also turns a pretty neon purple colour when lemon juice is added. If this is something that you are interested, the Genuine Tea Company sells this tea (along with the others) online here.

 

On top of teas, the afternoon tea service also offers alcoholic beverages such as:

• Fiol Prosecco
• Moet & Chandon Mini Imperial Brut
• Flower Power Cocktail with Malfy Gin Con Rosa, Lavender Syrup, Lemon, Prosecco and Fog

Additionally, in line with the beauty theme, you can upgrade your experience for an extra $22 CAD to include a pairing of three Guerlain perfumes with curated cocktails which are customized by the note of each scent. Very cool!

 

Ok, so now that we have gone through the tea selections, what about the food? Well remember, we told you that this particular afternoon is a makeup theme...and from a presentation standpoint it did not disappoint. 

 

Savouries (The "Foundation"):

• Mushroom Éclair with Vincotto, Truffled Ricotta and Parmesan
• Cannelloni with House Smoked Salmon Rilette, Lemon Gel and Trout Roe
• Waldorf Brioche with Smoked Chicken, Grapes, Candied Walnut and Cheddar
• Garden Pot with Sunchoke Purée, Ranch and Mushroom Soil
• Slider with Mortadella, Pistachio Pesto and Fior di Latte
• Prawn Cocktail Tart with Tomato Horseradish Jam, Marie Rose Sauce and Celery

 

A closer look at the Cannelloni with a side of Crème Fraîche (top) and the Mushroom Éclair (bottom)

 

In keeping with the theme, the food was wonderfully presented in a large makeup organizer.

From top to bottom: The Slider, Prawn Cocktail Tart, Garden Pots and assorted jams and Clotted "Night" Cream

  

An assortment of the other savouries, including the scones (left) and the Cannelloni with Crème Fraîche (top right), Mushroom Éclair (middle right) and the Waldorf Brioche (bottom right)

 

Everything tasted as good as it looked. This was one of the rare occasions where the presentation was at the same level as the flavour profiles of the food on the menu.  

 

Sweets ("The Primer") and Scones:

• Lip Smackers with Dark Chocolate and Lavender Ganache Chocolate "Lips"
• Ruby Chapeau with Ruby Fudge, Apple Financier and Salted Caramel
• "Blush" Petit Biscuits (Cookies)
• Cheesecake Macarons with Raspberry Gel
• Strawberry Flavoured Chocolate "Lipstick"
• Blueberry and Haskap Tart with Kalamansi Curd

 

The scones were a delightful cranberry and orange flavour. They were soft and tasty and came served with a clotted "night" cream with black granulated sugar, whipped butter, strawberry jam and an orange marmalade.

 

A closer look at the Blueberry and Haskap Tart with Kalamansi Curd (left), Ruby Chapeau with Ruby Fudge, Apple Financier and Salted Caramel (far right) and the Lip Smackers with Dark Chocolate and Lavender Ganache Chocolate (bottom)

 

The Strawberry Flavoured Chocolate "Lipsticks" (bottom left) and the Cheesecake Macarons with Raspberry Gel (bottom right)

 

"Blush" Petit Biscuit (Cookies) in the white makeup container

Another view of the Blueberry and Haskap Tart and the Ruby Chapeau with Ruby Fudge, Apple Financier and Salted Caramel  

  

The Verdict

The W Hotel in Toronto offers a wonderful afternoon tea experience. Overall, we think this is a recommended choice. The service was great and the menu and theme were fun. We even received an extra pot of tea while we waited to settle the bill. The music was great too, although it was a bit louder than we would have liked. Nonetheless, we still found ourselves "Shazaaming" the tracks to find out which jazz music was playing. 

 

In terms of the food, everything hit the mark. Of all the delicacies, the Strawberry Flavoured Chocolate "Lipstick", Mushroom Éclair and Waldorf Brioche were among our favourites. The creativity of the food and the execution were top notch. The scones were also soft and delicious - which is not always the case as some afternoon tea services tend to over bake their scones.

 

At $95 CAD + tax person (excluding the extra options we mentioned above), the W Hotel Toronto's afternoon tea service is on the pricier side when compared to others. However, given the presentation, taste, and service, we feel that this price point is reasonable.

 

Our Rating

☕️  ☕️  ☕️  ☕️  ☕️ / ☕️  ☕️  ☕️  ☕️  ☕️  [5 out of 5 tea cups]

We give the W Hotel Toronto's afternoon tea service 5 out of 5 tea cups (a first for us!). When considering, service, taste and presentation, it hit all the marks.

 

The W Hotel Toronto offers their afternoon tea service at their Living Room Restaurant and they can be reached at: 1-(416)-961-8000