Soirette Macarons & Tea

Atmosphere

My first impressions of this cute little gem in the downtown core was that it was the perfect  antidote to a rainy Vancouver afternoon (i.e. grey and dull) and the surrounding sea of office towers (i.e. grey and dull).  Rather, with its modern French-inspired vibe it is fresh, clean, uplifting and in a word: "pretty".  The colour palette is comprised of whites (leather banquette seating, glossy cabinetry, marble counters and glossy framed mirrors), blues (soft blue walls and damask printed glass counterfront), silver (tea tins, and table bases), and transparent (lucite chairs, raindrop-like chandeliers, undercounter rope lighting and glass counterfront) and with these colours and the abundant use of sheen, the room feels almost ethereal, perhaps even above the rainclouds high in the sky... (ok, it made me feel this way).  Indeed, a perfect getaway from the grey of every day!


  

Tea and Food Selection

This tea house offers tea and an assortment of macarons which are freshly made on site by the proprietor, Shodna.  Oh, and can you tell they are fresh!  I will admit that I did not even like macarons up to this point in life (even in Paris - I must have gone to the wrong places for macarons), but these were absolutely spectacular!  Perfectly crispy on the outside and just the right chewiness on the inside. I chose the Fleur de Sel, the Cappuccino and the Pistachio.  I have to say that the lavendar I sampled when I first came in and the pistachio were my hands-down favourites, but I look forward to trying them all in future!  

The tea was absolutely lovely as well and there are many options to choose from, whether you fancy white, green, black or oolong (I can't remember whether they had any herbal or rooibos options as these are not usually on my radar).  I had the White Champagne for a change (I'm usually a black tea girl) and was very pleased with my selection.

 

 

 

Presentation

As with the atmosphere, everything was beautifully presented with white and modern tableware, and no tablecloths (wouldn't want to cover up the beautiful marble tables!).  I ordered a small pot of tea which was just the right size.

Service

Upon entering Soirette, I was offered to sample their tea of the day (a black tea called "Empress") and a small macaron sample (lavender).  They were both excellent. I liked having the opportunity to sample before making a decision and even though I chose a different tea and macarons, I would certainly order both of these in the future.

 

Value

I found this establishment to be very reasonably priced.  Each macaron is $2.00 and a small pot of tea is $3.25.  They also have different sizes and pricing for "to go" tea.

 

 

 

Overall Experience

Overall, I would highly recommend Soirette to anyone at anytime.  It was pretty enough that going with a girlfriend or two or female relative would be lovely, but not too pretty that I would not take a man with me.  I was a little concerned about the location when I arrived as the room was empty.  I thought that perhaps its proximity to office towers may not be appropriate, but very quickly the room was full, so clearly this is something that office workers are looking for as a foil to their grey world (or maybe they just like tea and macarons and there is no drama to it).  I sincerely hope that Soirette is successful and that people all over Vancouver and from afar come to enjoy its pleasures.  I know I will return time and time again!

 

Just the Facts

Soirette Macarons & Tea
1433 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2S3
604.558.3308
hello@soirette.com
www.soirette.com 

Visited: Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Après-Midi Premium Teahouse

 

Atmosphere

Exterior of Teahouse

On every level we absolutely loved the atmosphere of this teahouse.  From the secretive Gastown location in an old brick building with step-up entrance, to the cosy and intimate interior consisting of exposed brick, warm lighting, and raw wood textures in the furniture and art.  It is truly a very textural experience which, we think, goes very well with the sensual experience that is Tea.  We especially loved the window seats with their soft benches and long, narrow wooden tables which were located on the outer part of the teahouse, allowing us to feel warm and toasty but still see what was going on outside. The only thing missing was raindrops sliding down the windows. The only area of the teahouse that we didn't really warm to was the upstairs mezzanine which did not have the same cosiness of the rest of the establishment.

The lighting made us think of raindrops - perfect for Vancouver

We love these stools - so textural and unique

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Tea and Food Selection

Upon arrival, we were presented by the proprietor, Pio, (he co-owns this teahouse with his wife), with a large selection of teas in small round tins located on shelves around a central post that we were encouraged to smell on our own.  We always like this option as you can take your time to really experience the different teas before narrowing it down, and like that we can smell the tea at our own leisure without having to ask the staff at the teahouse to bring down barrels of tea for us.  We want to smell everything! Sarah chose the Market Spice black tea and Robyn chose the Candied Almond.

Our beautiful tea and scones

At the time of our visit Pio informed us that he offered only a Cream Tea service (meaning only scones served with clotted cream and jam), but was planning on expanding to an Afternoon Tea service (meaning finger sandwiches, scones and small cakes and pastries) in the near future.  The food available with our tea was four miniature scones (two Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry and two Cheese, both made exclusively for Apres-Midi by a local bakery) per pot of tea, in addition to clotted cream (made in-house with mascarpone cheese and lemon rind), honey and strawberry jam (small store-bought jars).  We both felt that four scones each was a bit much for one person, so we decided to split the scones to two each and buy an extra pot of tea on its own.  Perhaps if there were four different types of scones we might have gone for a full order?

Overall we were very happy with our tea choices and enjoyed the scones and clotted cream very much.  We, being the purists that we are, believe that there must be at least one plain scone in the mix, but were pleasantly surprised with the Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry scones and thought that they paired perfectly with the in-house-made clotted cream.  As well, we were both hesitant about the cheese scone and although it tasted very good (both types of scones were light, flaky and perfectly buttery), we don't think it was a good match for the clotted cream.   Our other picky point is in the serving of a small jar of jam.  We think it would be much nicer that the jam be served in a small dish, especially since Strawberry is the only option.

Sarah going for the scone

 

 

Presentation

We thought that the presentation of the tea was ideal for the location.  Since this is an urban setting, the china reflected this esthetic perfectly with modern, smooth, and high quality  tableware, chunky and shiny flatware and no tablecloths.  While we normally love a white linen tablecloth we agreed that the tables here were too beautiful to cover up.  The only area of improvement we would recommend is cloth rather than paper napkins, but this is not a deal breaker and would mean a lot of extra laundry!

Beautiful servingware

 

Service

On the whole we found the service at Apres-Midi very good.  When we first arrived at the teahouse, the proprietor, Pio, made us feel very welcome by offering us tea pairing suggestions, giving us general information about his establishment and on the whole was a very gracious host.  Our only complaint is that we were not offered additional hot water during our tea service.

 

Value

Great! $13.95 for one Cream Tea service (four scones and one pot of tea).  Since we purchased an extra pot of tea, our grand total was $19.75 plus gratuity (for two people)! 

 

Overall Experience

Overall we would highly recommend going for tea at Apres-Midi Premium Teahouse.  Not only does it have an excellent price point, but the atmosphere, quality of food, and service make it the perfect place to go on a rainy Vancouver day (of which we have no shortages) by yourself, with a friend or a few friends if you are looking for a quiet, retreat-like venue.  We could totally see ourselves snuggled in with our tea and scones and a laptop or book for some great study or alone time.  We will certainly be coming back and look forward to a full Afternoon Tea service in the near future.

Pio, the proprietor and a great wood sculpture on the wall

Just the Facts

Apres-Midi Premium Teahouse
1 Gaolers Mews
Vancouver, B.C.  V6B 4K7
604.568.7887

info@apresmiditea.com
www.apresmiditea.com

Hours

Mon - Thu: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm










Note:  This establishment was our first to visit in our "official" capacity as Tea Bloggers on January 4, 2012.