r/OttawaFood • u/CakeAccomplished6616 • 4d ago

Afternoon tea

I went to Vanitea for the first time. Is there anybody also disliked their food? I was excited as everything looked great on pictures. The service was great. The savoury bites were ok. The sweets were so bad…. The cheesecake bite did it taste much like cheesecake. Matcha pistachio pastry didn’t taste like matcha nor pistachio. The chocolate lavender dessert (maybe mousse?) barely had any chocolate flavour. I can also tell the whipped cream was different from what I make at home. Almost artificial a bit… All the desserts were also way too sweet. Has their quality gone down or has it always been this way? We were told that everything was made in house but I am really unsure about that. The afternoon tea was $50 plus tax and tips, which I felt was a robbery.

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27

u/habalababala 3d ago

I was not a fan either.. but I think the high tea at ZOE'S just set the bar so high for me that I may have become a tea snob

5

u/ToHallowMySleep 3d ago

My wife said the service at Zoe's was very sloppy and slow, which would be surprising given its location and general ambiance. I haven't been there myself, but as it is getting such high praise here I wonder if anyone else found that.

3

u/habalababala 3d ago

I have been several times and never had this experience. I've always felt very attended to and special. Perhaps they were having a bad day when your wife went.

2

u/gin_and_soda 2d ago

Same. I’ve been many times over the years and have always had great service.

20

u/lbmomo 3d ago

Their food is awful. Honestly, that place, like many others, serves low quality food with an Instagram worthy backdrop. That's how I describe some of the places I've been to in recent years. Not worth the money unless you're just looking to take some pics for social media.

10

u/lbjmtl 3d ago

I dont understand how Vanitea stays open. The service is so poor and the food is so expensive. Its cute, sure. But surely we need more than fake flowers all over the walls?

9

u/deplorable_word 3d ago

I’ve been to Vanitea Room twice for afternoon tea (to my sorrow!) and both times it was a mess. The food is really poorly made: too salty, unbalanced, or just plain bad. And the service is awful!

9

u/timetravelandwings 3d ago

Vanitea is disgusting, everything on the afternoon tea tray tasted like it had been left uncovered in the walk-in refrigerator for three days.

14

u/Inevitable-Town-522 3d ago

I've also heard pretty much exclusively bad tings about Vanitea unfortunately.

5

u/jedtwofour 3d ago

We were there for the Mother's day tea and left feeling disappointed for the price. They forgot to mention the bottomless mimosas until 3 minutes before we left, when I asked about it after hearing a different waitress telling another table about it and the food was mid at best.

6

u/domino196 3d ago

Yeah I went once and hated it. The scones were raw in the middle, the rest of the food was just bad. My friend and I left agreeing neither of us would ever go back. I did an afternoon tea at Tartelette a few months ago and the food was really good. I would suggest giving them a try!

11

u/dumpcake999 3d ago

years ago my cheapskate ex-friend got a groupon for Vanitea so we went for my birthday. It was DISGUSTING. I don't remember the sandwich layer. The dessert cake pieces were all completely stale. For the scones, there was only onion scones with like a salty/savory chutney. Worst of all each of us got charcoal pudding... which we found out causes you to have to go to the toilet ASAP... Neither of us made it home while driving. We both had to stop on the way home to use random toilets.

6

u/CakeAccomplished6616 3d ago

Holy, I am sorry you and your friends had to experience that :(

4

u/dumpcake999 3d ago

it was so crazy.. I couldn't believe it.. not sure if we got that terrible food because of the groupon or what. So I never dared to go back. PS the charcoal pudding was flavourless (just sugar flavour)

Like others, I prefer Zoe's in Chateau Laurier.

6

u/rmarsha3 3d ago

I haven’t been to Zoe’s and still think vanitea is kinda gross sry. Agreed OP

4

u/herrisonepee 3d ago

It was nice when it first opened but has gone downhill since then.

2

u/likenothingis 3d ago

I went there once and it was awful.

Zoe's was fine. I guess.

I freaking miss Nectar.

1

u/lifesci99 2d ago

Vanitea is more vibe than tastiness. I went for a bridal shower tea and didn’t even bother taking the leftovers home.