High teas put a delicious spin on classic flavours for the holiday season
Here’s our guide to six local establishments with savoury and sweet menus filled with festive spirit
H Tasting Lounge’s Festive Afternoon Tea.
AFTERNOON TEA HAS LONG been a popular way to get in a festive mood. There’s something about sitting around a table with loved ones, sipping warm beverages and sampling tasty bites, that sets a calm, cozy tone during the holidays, which can often feel maddeningly fast-paced.
Here’s a look at six places, all with distinct flair, that are hosting winter-themed high tea this year.
Neverland Tea Salon’s Holiday High Tea.
Neverland Tea Salon (Kitsilano)
At 3066 West Broadway to January 4, 2026
✦ $65 per person
Among the traditional finger sandwiches on this holiday high tea menu is a sourdough bite layered with turkey, cranberry chutney, arugula, and gravy mayo. A Dubai chocolate cake pays tribute to one of this year’s trendiest desserts, a milk-chocolate bar filled with pistachio-tahini cream and kadayif, or chopped filo pastry (trust us, it’s popular for good reason). Then there’s an appropriately tea-themed London fog cake and an eggnog choux, among other offerings.
Standout scone: A housemade-stuffing herbed scone packed full of cozy holiday flavours such as roasted butternut squash, sage, and pumpkin butter.
Dietary accommodations available: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free.
H Tasting Lounge’s Festive Afternoon Tea.
H Tasting Lounge (Coal Harbour)
At 1601 Bayshore Drive to December 28
✦ $79 per person
Located in the Westin Bayshore, this lounge is serving up a menu that sets a spin on classics. Think scones in the style of German stollen bread, served with gingerbread-spiced butter and blood-orange preserve; or a tartlet served with roasted butternut squash, B.C. birch syrup, and goat cheese from Golden Ears Cheesecrafters. Where desserts are concerned, it doesn’t get more delightfully decadent than a rolled bûche de Noël made of chocolate sponge and milk-chocolate Kahlúa filling with berry glaze and chocolate shavings.
The perfect bite: An elevated sausage roll made with sakura pork, dried B.C. cranberries, port-poached chestnuts, and wild sage.
Dietary accommodations available: Allergy modifications (with advance notice).
Bacchus Restaurant’s Nutcracker Afternoon Tea.
Bacchus Restaurant (Downtown)
At 845 Hornby Street to January 11, 2026
✦ $89 per person
The annual Nutcracker Afternoon Tea at the Wedgewood Hotel and Spa’s in-house restaurant offers some classic flavours with festive decor and holiday music. Standout savoury items include an applewood-smoked salmon tart with whipped-cream cheese mousse, and a truffled-mushroom quiche with sundried-tomato pesto. Sweets range from a profiterole flavoured with pistachio, white chocolate, and pralines to a pear-ginger crumble verrine, a dainty dessert served in a glass container. Head pastry chef Samson Iza-Fellows will also offer a rotating selection of freshly baked scones and crumpets served with traditional accompaniments of clotted cream and preserves.
Must-try tea: The Apple Pie, a warm, lightly spiced seasonal blend with a fragrant cinnamon-apple aroma.
Dietary accommodations available: Vegetarian, seafood-allergy modifications (with advance notice).
The Secret Garden Tea Company’s Winter High Tea.
The Secret Garden Tea Company (Kerrisdale)
At 2138 West 40th Avenue all season
✦ $59 per person
This tea house was founded in 1995 by sisters-in-law Kathy Wyder and Erin Wyder, who were inspired by their grandmothers; one loved beautifully lavish tea parties with fancy hats and petit fours, while the other’s afternoon ritual was sharing conversation with family over a pot of tea and baked goods. These histories combine here for a cozy, welcoming experience. On their winter menu, the sisters are serving up two scone varieties—cranberry and French toast—with jam and Devonshire cream, plus a third, a petite sage scone, topped with a chicken-pear salad. More tasty creations include a dark chocolate–orange brownie and an apple-mango-Brie tart.
Most mouth-watering dessert: A perfectly balanced salted-caramel mousse with ginger-cookie crumble.
Dietary accommodations available: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free.
Notch8’s Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea.
Notch8 (Downtown)
At 900 West Georgia Street to January 4, 2026
✦ $79 per person
Tucked inside this restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is a spacious tea room with a winter wonderland–themed menu for the holidays. If you’re feeling traditional, there’ll be classic buttermilk and spiced-gingerbread scones served with sweet cream and strawberry preserve. For the sweet tooth, there’s the Ornament, a lemon-meringue profiterole adorned with ruby gel, and the Holly Cannoli, a play on the fried Sicilian pastry filled with hazelnut cream and topped with chocolate-crunch pearls. If you’re in a savoury mood, try the Croissant de Noël loaded with parmesan cream, prosciutto cotto, red-onion jam, and pistachio crumble; or the Boxing Day, a Gruyère bread pudding with cranberry jam and turkey breast.
Seasonal sip of choice: Alpen Mulled Wine, a smooth Bordeaux berry tea with hints of cinnamon and clove.
Dietary accommodations available: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free (with advance notice).
Adonia Tea House’s Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea.
Adonia Tea House (Kerrisdale)
At 2057 West 41st Avenue to February 28, 2026
✦ $56 per person
One of the most intriguing items on this tea house’s annual winter menu is a sumptuous strawberry-Ispahan cup, a variation on French pastry chef Pierre Hermé’s signature macaroon cake flavoured with rose, raspberry, and lychee. Adonia is also serving a couple of classic high tea bites, like egg salad and cucumber-cream cheese sandwiches, plus items packed with hearty winter flavour combinations such as a beef-brisket crostini and turkey-cranberry-brie croissant. Where scones are concerned, there’s a sweet Madagascar vanilla bean, or savoury cheese and chive.
Top-tier tart: A caramelized-onion and Gruyère quiche—a dainty bite that evokes a rustic French onion soup flavour.
Dietary accommodations available: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free. 
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