Afternoon Tea at The Fairmont Empress, Victoria, BC

Elegant, stately, historic, and memorable. Over many years we have heard about Afternoon Tea at the luxurious Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC. We always imagined we would have that opportunity 'some day'. Some day finally arrived, and we had 3:00 reservations for tea. Afternoon Tea is served in the Lobby Lounge, and advance reservations are a must. This iconic location is considered a 'must do' while in Victoria. 

Lobby Lounge

Tea Selections

The Royal China Collection sets the scene for what is to come. The original china was first used at The Empress in 1939 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) made their voyage across Canada. They had this china pattern with service for 250 guests shipped to the hotel from England. Beginning in 1998, this pattern has been reproduced exclusively for use at The Empress. A tea cup and saucer came home as a souvenir of this extra special tea.

Our tea orders were taken, and the waitress placed a tea sac filled with loose leaf tea into each pot, and then filled the pots with hot water from this beautiful urn. The pots were brought to our table with small timers to properly steep the tea. There are six tea selections that are included in the price of the tea, the Empress Blend or the Fairmont Breakfast were popular among our group. Peppermint herbal or traditional Earl Grey were also options. If you want to pay a little extra, there are an additional 15 tea flavors to choose, white monkey paw, a rooibos, organic oolong or keemun for example.

This was definitely a very special once-in-a-lifetime event! We did not want to return home and regret not having attended this ultimate tea time experience.

After we placed our tea orders, we ordered the Afternoon Tea for our group, with the exception of one. Our waitress had to request special permission for this lad's personal request. Hamburgers and fries in the Lobby Lounge, oh my!

The Tea at the Empress Menu:

Smoked Salmon with Cucumber
Hand Peeled Local Shrimp
Egg & Chive Salad on a Brioche Bun
Honey Ham Spiral



Warm Signature Raisin Scone
Homemade Clotted Cream
Strawberry Lavender Preserve
(lavender from their roof top herb garden)



Chocolate Cremeux Dome Tart
Pistachio Raspberry Delice
Mini Carrot Banana Loaf
Passion Fruit Strawberry Pavlova
Citrus Fennel Short Bread

Vegetarian Sandwiches

Our NY sister Carrie Sears

Each dessert was a work of art! Kudos to the pastry chef!

Adding more hot water to the tea pots.

An August birthday month celebration at its finest!