Windsor Arm High Tea

I decided to have a look back at a place we had visited a few months back.  It was high tea and they had a special deal out for during that time for people who were willing to try something different.  The Windsor Arms restaurant specializes in serving special types of pastries and teas inside their old landmark hotel, the Windsor Arms Hotel.  Inside one can also doff hats to give you that old British field as you are enjoying your meal. 

We had reservations in the early afternoon and they promptly got us in.  As we sat down we were asked as to what tea we would like.  I decided to go with Eve’s Temptation which is a fruity type tea and my wife went with the Earl Gray with Red Roses.  I have to admit it was one of my first times doing this so I was definitely not expecting the teas to be so strong and somewhat bitter.  The Earl Grey is definitely very different than the one you get from Lipton.  

 

The pastries were somewhat pre made as they were sitting on the side.  The waiter brought it over and next thing you know it was bon appetit.  On the bottom tray were Fresh Scones with Preserves and Devon Cream.  I don’t know about you but I have never been a scones fan.  They were quite dry and hard to chew on.  It actually felt like eating three day old bread.

There were three different types of sandwiches. There was the Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Sour Cream with Salmon Caviar, the Cucumber with Sundried Tomato Paste and Dill Cream Cheese and the Grilled Chicken, Granny Smith Apples Citrus Mayonnaise, Greek Yogurt & Chives.  My favorite of the three was probably the smoked salmon.  Not that I am biased with the salmon but it was probably the “juiciest” of the three. It also had some roe sprinkled on the top which helped with the juiciness of the sandwiches.   Truthfully, the sandwiches were all very dry and were somewhat hard to swallow.  It certainly was quite different then your average bowl of noodle soup.

 
At the end of the meal, you really are not full at all.  You are about half full, however you really just can’t stuff any more scones or sandwiches into your system.  The thickness of the pastries makes it quite difficult to eat more of this stuff.  Truthfully if I had this with a cup of coke or a beer, it might have gone down easier.  Otherwise the experience was an interesting one however it will probably be my only one.  At forty five dollars per person, personally I think it could have been better spent.  Lucky for us we had a two for one coupon. For this, I give this a 2.5 out of 5.   

Windsor Arms Hotel
18 Saint Thomas St  Toronto, ON M5S 2Z7

(416) 971-9666