Adonia Tea House — Restaurant in Vancouver

I made a reservation for 11:00 am the day before. On the day of, our group was running late because some important things came up. I called a couple of times to try and let Adonia know that we wouldn't be there at the scheduled time, but an hour later. The phone line was busy the two times I tried, so I gave up as I was driving and couldn't keep trying.

I told my friend via text message to call in to check if they would have a table for 3 by the time we get there (12:00 pm). She did and they grabbed her name for a table of 3. When we got there, we got seated at the very back of the restaurant, so I politely asked if all the other tables were reserved. The grumpy looking hostess said yes, they're all reserved. Within a minute, my phone rings and I realize it's them calling me. That's when I realized they must still be holding a table from the 11:00 am booking and I get up to let them know it's me they're calling.

As I turned around to walk back to my seat, she starts to gossip with another worker (I think one of the owner's daughters) and I overhear the other girl saying loudly, "Oh, so it's THEM." Not a good first impression for the customer. Thankfully, the hostess wasn't the one serving us because we probably would have cut our visit short -- she was not pleasant in any way and looked extremely mad the entire time.

Unfortunately, she was the one who brought the bill to us and also asked if anyone of us needed the debit/credit machine. My friend said yes, she would need it. Long story short, I had put down $10 more to cover a bit for the others, so my friend was calculating how much she would need to pay (the remainder). The rude hostess pointed to the bill where she had written the cost per person, so my friend kindly said that there's an additional $10, so she wouldn't need to pay that much. The hostess looked extremely annoyed and even looked away to roll her eyes. My friends later all said she was probably hoping to pocket the $10 for tips, hence the pressure for my friend to pay her original balance even though I had put down more than my own portion.

The food was nothing to write home about and the teas weren't good at all. Couple those with the rude customer service? Is there any reason at all for any of us to return? Never. There are so many better high tea places in Vancouver with good food and excellent customer service. I would rather walk down a few blocks to...

Afternoon tea is an expensive luxury, and at $27 per person Adonia may be a little more expensive than some other places. It does however have a considerable advantage in that a more extensive menu is available so that the heartier eater in our party could enjoy a satisfying full-size sandwich while the three ladies sipped and nibbled. We were seated at a high table, but it was a small and intimate antique oval so the ambiance of parlour tea could be somewhat preserved. The tearoom is clean and attractively decorated, its walls lined with shelves of old china and a lovely collection of Royal Doulton ladies.

Tea was served individually in glass pots, rather than the family-sized bone china pot or Brown Betty that I fondly expect at tea-time, but they set on warning stands and the selection of teas is very good and we each tried a different blend. The dainties for all three ladies were arranged together on a single three-tiered tea stand This common serving made it convenient to to accomodate each lady's preferances: an important consideration when over half the savouries turned out to be seafood which two out of three of us do not eat. Fortunately the one of us who does eat seafood loves it, and benefited as a result! When I settle down to a "Proper Tea" I expect to see the top tier of the stand piled with hot scones, the sandwiches and savouries together on the second tier, and the sweets on the bottom. This tea had the sweets and savouries sharing the same plates, and scones and additional miniature desserts on separate plates, but that is a small quibble. Odder is that we were given three scones (alas, not hot!), one for each of us but they were three different types. The hearty sandwich was fresh and flavourful. We enjoyed a leisurely hour-and-a-half over tea and went away satisfied in...

Adonia Tea House has been around for over 20 years. How has it taken me this long to visit this place? This has got to be one of my favourite tea houses in Vancouver now!

What I love about this place is the variety of options they offer. There are options for omnivores, vegetarians and vegans at this place. Not only do they cater to different dietary restrictions but if you're wanting to spend a little less, or eat a little less they offer Mini Afternoon Tea sets! Regular Afternoon Tea sets are $55 per person and Mini Afternoon Tea sets are $38 per person. Oh, and you can even order off a regular a la carte menu if Afternoon Tea fare isn't your thing.

The food here was excellent. Quality ingredients were used for our food and they didn't skimp on anything either. While 3 of us had Afternoon Tea, my husband decided to order from the a la carte menu. He had a lobster bisque and a sandwich. One of the best lobster bisques he's ever had. Possibly even the best!

It's a popular place so I do recommend reserving well in advance to get a good table. We reserved only one day in advance and were put on a couch with two very small tables in front of us, and a side table on our left. It took quite a bit of maneuvering to fit our food and drinks on the small tables provided, and I had to turn to my left to pick up the very heavy teapot every time I wanted to pour some more tea for any of us. The lady who took my reservation over the phone did warn in advance that it would be a tight spot. I don't think I realized just how tight it was going to be. Wouldn't take this seat again, but with a bigger table I would absolutely come back to this Tea...