White Heather Tea Room — Restaurant in Victoria

I had walked past the james bay tea room awhile ago, and had planned to take my mum there for high tea. When we got there we were so disturbed by the service/cleanliness/food that we decided to leave before ordering. Then we went to the empress because it was the only other place I knew of and found out it would be over 150 dollars for the two of us after all was said and done with very little food for the money, beautiful room.. but when I went in quickly to ask some questions the woman at the front treated me as though I could not afford it or something so I decided my money would be better spent elsewhere. So I asked my roommate to look online, and she stumbled accross this place..so we decided to check it out. We got the "big muckle" which was about 57 dollars after tax for BOTH of us. Which I think is VERY reasonable for a high tea. I am SO glad we did not settle, and decided to check this place out. You definately get your moneys worth. I called ahead of time before we drove out there to make sure we could get a table, when we got there the table was already made up for us and it was a table beside the window with a nice view. The service was remarkable, our waitress seemed to genuinely love what she was doing..and seemed to be very proud of what they offer. It completely turned the day around. She even brought out a sampler of the teas they had to offer so we could smell them and decide what we would like which was very nice. When we recieved our meal she explained everything she brought out with enthusiam. It looked incredible, and freshly made, and tasted as good as it looked. It had fresh lemon curd, and raspberry jam and two different kinds of scones which were to die for. We were served promptly, and with incredible service. Customer service is a lost art nowadays and very hard to find. My mum was tickled pink from the whole experience, (she almost cried) which was a huge change from the ealier experience which almost ruined the entire afternoon. I would definately recommend this place to anyone that like amazing service, great atmosphere, and incredible homemade fresh food..at an affordable price. I would advise you don't eat anything before going though, because it is extreeeemmmeelllyyy filling for two people....

Myself, my mother, and my young son arrived very excited to experience White Heather Tea Room...but were greeted abrasively at the door and told it was 'reservation only' even though it does not state that on the website or door...so we put our names down and returned 30 min later when they had an opening. It took approx. 10 min from the time of being seated for us to even be greeted by our server, and then each question we asked she appeared annoyed and impatient, and was quite abrupt and unapproachable. Older woman with longer grey hair and glasses. I tried to overlook this and decided to order beverages and food, however was told that my 3 yr old son 'counts as an adult' and we must order more to bring the cost up....this server VERY RUDELY said that since he was 'taking a spot that an adult could be using' that we had to order more food / beverages to reflect that. Talk about horrible customer service. I understand there is a minimum cost per person but there are far more tactful and customer friendly ways of explaining this, instead of making myself, my mother, and my young son feel unwelcome. We actually got up and walked out after that comment, as this server was ridiculously pompous and rude. She definitely needs some more formal training in customer service and how to react appropriately to various situations in order to avoid offending customers and ultimately losing their patronage. I will not be back, and I will also be voicing these concerns further with this business, as well as all my family & friends with children (so they can avoid being treated with the same disrespect we experienced). For a place that appears to attempt to present a 'classy' atmosphere...it is anything but. *I gave a rating of one star simply because I was not able to proceed in posting this review without giving a rating. However, if it were up to me I would have...

My favourite place for tea service in Victoria - and I don't say that lightly, I am kind of a connoisseur. This lovely little tea shop has so many positives - the main one being that they make everything in-house. As a result everything is fresh. No dried edges of tea sandwiches, and they have the freshest-tasting scones around! The rose scones served around Valentine's Day were beyond delicious. And compared to some of the well-known (and lower quality) high tea options around town, the price is excellent for the quality. The owners are a lovely family, they have been so welcoming and kind when we bring our two young children to enjoy tea. They work so hard and are a great team. During the week they also offer some lunch fare, including salads and soups for those who aren't looking for a full tea service. Like everything else I have tasted there, the soups and salads are also amazingly fresh (and made in-house), I highly recommend. Finally, those who enjoy eating and drinking from porcelain will enjoy their extensive collection of tea cups and pots, many of which are on display in the...