This review is for the high tea at the Lobby Lounge within the Shangri-La.
To start, the space is very welcoming and chic. You get a lot of natural sunlight and the sofas were quite comfortable. We booked the high tea in advance, which is recommended as it does get busy. Upon checking and being seated we were welcomed by a few different waitresses, all of which were quite friendly.
The first waitress boasted how the Shangri-La has one of the largest tea collections by a hotel in the world. As an avid tea lover my expectation really heightened at that point. Once we got settled in and sipped on the included prosecco a different waitress asked what tea we would like, at which point I asked "what's a unique tea that you offer, something special?" She was really taken back by the question and seemed borderline confused, to which she responded "uhh, I really don't know - you can find any of our teas anywhere." LOL
Perhaps she was confused by my question because it seemed like she was almost offended that I would ask that. Further, the first waitress told us they have over 70 teas but only about 12 are presented on the high tea menu. At no point was I offered the full menu of teas...
Anyways, once we got down to it, the tea was quite good - especially the "Royal Cream of Earl". The accompanying tower of tea sandwiches/pastries was not only photogenic but very tasty, having such items as mini pastrami sandwiches, mini lobster rolls, cheddar quiche, blueberry tart, and a cherry verrine to name a few. All combined there were about 10 unique bites person.
No complaints about the food, aside wishing some of the bites were a bit bigger given the price tag of CAD$61. Something that did irritate me though was the fact that instead of allowing you to get a fresh second cup of tea, they just offer unlimited re-pour of boiling water. Anyone who knows anything about tea knows that it cannot be steeped multiple times, especially more subtle teas such as white or green. I was just in shock that a place like this wouldn't know that or just eat the cost of giving a few more grams of fresh tea.
All in all, I am happy we did this high tea. I was a nice 1.5 hour escape in the mid-afternoon which allowed us to just relax and reminisce about our trip to Toronto thus far. However, I wouldn't do the afternoon tea here again. Between the price and the pure ignorance regarding proper tea preparation it just isn't worth doing more than once.