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| - Superwoman and I just had the most wonderful experience at The Old Curiosity Tea Shop yesterday. We'd heard about it a while ago but never had the chance to go because it's a bit away from where we normally hang out, but we were craving a good afternoon tea after our epic Montreal road trip where we went to a different tea spot every day, so we decided to try our luck.
Turns out it's not smart to try to come without a reservation because they are super busy, and for good reason (spoiler alert: this place is awesome). However, we were lucky enough to be able to score a table about 3.5 hours afterwards (we just checked out a few stores on Markham Main Street, ran some errands at Markville, and then headed back) - and it was SO worth the wait.
The person who looked after us might have been the owner - he was super attentive, knew the menu and everything very well, and seemed to care like an owner would. He magically appeared when we both ran out of hot water for our tea and just anticipated everything we needed. So the service was great.
The tea was also great. At first when we were waiting in the front of the shop I was a bit concerned because the teas were stored in huge glass jars, and I wondered if having the sun shining on them every day might have an adverse effect on the flavours. But our teas were deliciously flavourful - very good quality. Superwoman got Buckingham Palace, which is a blend of earl grey with jasmine. I thought it was weird and couldn't understand the appeal when I first read about it but I had a sip and it was so, so nice! Floral but not perfumey, slightly fruity, and fragrant. I had their signature blend and it was a very nice, classic breakfast black tea. I was very pleased. I was also very pleased that they provided regular granulated sugar as opposed to rock sugar, which hotels seem to like to supply but takes forever to melt. My favourite would be raw sugar, but I am perfectly happy with white. The teapots were on the small side, which I initially was concerned about, but they have no problem refilling your hot water, and they take up less real estate on your table if you're at a table for 2.
The savoury stuff was delicious - there were classic sandwiches (ham and mustard, cucumber with mint and cream cheese, an open-faced egg sandwich) - but the best thing by far was the Welsh rarebit. I am OBSESSED with Welsh rarebit and I was so, so delighted that it was part of the savoury tower!!! Apparently they switch things around to see what people like and it was a happy coincidence. But that Welsh rarebit was perfectly executed - gooey, hot, crispy, and unctuous.
The sweet tower was also lovely. The tart and cookies at the top I wasn't super interested in upon first glance, but they were very, very tasty! The shortbread cookies were very buttery and charmingly cut into the shape of teapots. I think they could have been browned a bit more, but they were great as they were and melted in my mouth. The scone was warm and fluffy - I prefer versions that are crispy on the outside and this one was a tender, soft scone, but I enjoyed it all the same. I loved that they served it with real clotted cream. We had raspberry jam and apricot jam, which are not our favourites (I'm not a fan of apricot and Superwoman doesn't love raspberry), but they did the trick and were good. If they ever decide to serve their teas with a special jam like something from Kitten and the Bear, for example, I think it would take their tea service to a whole 'nother level, and well worth the price hike it would probably warrant.
Overall, we had a wonderful, wonderful time here. We enjoyed every second thoroughly, we loved every morsel of food, and every sip of tea. The environment was also very charming. We were so glad we were able to score a seat in the end, and we'd both, as tea fanatics, highly recommend this spot. This is probably one of the best tea rooms we've been to in the GTA, if not the best. The value for the price was also amazing. If you go to a fancy hotel in downtown Toronto you'd be paying double, and I don't feel that they are twice as good as this place - in fact, I might prefer this place.
This discovery was a particularly happy one, because Superwoman and I had been lamenting that the Toronto market doesn't have a medium-priced offering, tea-room-wise, that's privately owned by people who really care and make great food, like the spots we went to in Montreal - but it turns out we were wrong! We will happily return here regularly. :)
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