The scones, sandwiches etc were great and in abundance. Service was 'okey'. Champaign was overpriced.

The 2 stars are because the afternoon tea at the Empress has gone down substantially in quality in the last few years, it is overpriced for the quality and variety offered, and they certainly managed to spoil a very special occasion for us! We could...have gone elsewhere for our anniversary and enjoy a much better experience! Because we were celebrating our anniversary, we had clearly requested, under "special requests" in Open Table, to save us a table with a view, as close as possible to the street. Our seating was at 11:15am, when the restaurant was not even 25% full (it opens for tea at 11am). Not only did they NOT reserve us a table with a view, as requested, they also had no idea about our request, although it was confirmed the day before when we spoke with their staff member who called us to confirm food allergies. So why then is the restaurant allowing a "special request" section if they don't even read it?? To top it off, the person who seated us was quite curt, and when we reminded her of our request for a view table made both in writing via Open Table and during the phone conversation with their staff member the day before, just shrug shoulders. In spite of celebrating our anniversary here, we were given bad seating in uncomfortable armchairs that were not designed for drinking tea and eating finger food; there was no privacy either, we were seated right by two other couples on each side and could hear their conversations (?!?) We requested a table with a view however got stuck at the back of the room, away from the view!! We requested to be close to the street, and we ended up at the back of the room, right by the food preparation station... why would someone in their right mind chose to celebrate their anniversary here? There was no chocolate card wishing us happy anniversary although they have done this for other customers in the recent past (judging from pictures posted by other reviewers in Yelp and Open Table). Hmmm... very disappointing experience. The food was mediocre, and they did not even follow their own menu. A few examples: All finger food was served on regular bread, just like standard sandwiches: - Although the menu said the salmon would be served on "blinis", it was actually served on regular white bread; interesting that other reviewers said that their salmon was served on blinis and the pictures showed blinis, ours WAS NOT! - Although the menu said that the Artichoke and Red Pepper was going to be served as a "Pinwheel", it was also served on regular bread - Although the menu included "Herbed Free Run Egg Salad Brioche with flat leaf parsley, radish", this sandwich was NOT INCLUDED in our menu, and instead they replaced it with a PLAIN hummus sandwich. How incredibly boring and unsophisticated! Very disappointing replacement which is obviously deviating from their own menu, because previous customer’s pictures showed that the egg salad was served for them, but sadly, NOT FOR US! As a pescatarian I have had much more interesting food options at places where we paid half the price! Did they run out of eggs? Did the cook no longer have time to prepare blinis and pinwheels as stated in the menu, which would certainly make for a better, more sophisticated, and more diverse food presentation? Why was the famous vegetarian item "egg salad" replaced with PLAIN HUMMUS??; this may happen at much more inexpensive places, but to pay $85 for this?!? Are they out of staff? Did the main cook quit? Or maybe they are trying to save money??? The sweets were also mediocre, and truly tasted like they came from Safeway. Last but not least the piano was way too loud, not the usual subdued music one would expect, and hence no conversation was possible when there was piano music, and when there wasn’t, we could hear the conversation of the other couple seated at the tables close to us. In summary, the quality of the food options, food presentation, and taste were suboptimal, and seating should be better for the amount of money being paid. There was no attention to detail and our anniversary was completely disregarded and NO CHOCOLATE CARD was offered for our special day… We've done high tea in many different countries and locations and for this amount of money I would have hoped for a bit more variation of delicacies. Incredibly disappointing experience! Also very sad that they disregarded our anniversary completely both by not giving us the seating we requested, and by not putting any chocolate card wishing us Happy Anniversary like they did for other guests. Do yourself a favor and go for tea at Abkhazi Gardens as it is a much better experience for half the price!!More

Tea at the Empress was good. The food was lovely and the tea was great. They seemed short on staff and were busy so service was good but not amazing, especially when you’re paying $90 per person for tea but no complaints. Just try not...to compare it to the Ritz London. Ambiance was elegant as it is the Empress so that is never disappointing.More

This isn't normally something I'd do myself, but I travelled recently with my mother, making my umpteenth trip to Victoria, but her first ever trip to BC. When I offered to bring her out here, she said her friends recommended high tea at the Empress,...and said she'd like to go. Done. As I said, this was her dream event, not mine, but I really enjoyed it. It's expensive at $89pp, but the amount of food you get is deceptive. It looks like just a bit, but I was quite full when we finished (around 4PM) and didn't need anything else to eat for the rest of the day. The service is impeccable (thanks Manon!), the best anywhere, and you can't beat the ambience. What a wonderful treasure of a building. Even if high tea isn't 'your thing', consider doing it if you can afford it. It's quite an experience.More

Not done too many afternoon teas at the this level but based on our previous experiences this was not up to those standards enjoyed before. OK, the food was not too bad and the service was OK but the ambiance was poor given the area...it was served in was vast and it was quite noisy. No intimacy at all which could have been helped by more greenery, the use of curtains etc to help to reduce the noise levels. Would not recommend!More

This is a terrific and delicious traditional tea served impeccably in gorgeous surroundings. I call it an experience.

We really enjoyed our high tea experience. Two large pots of delicious teas kept warm with tealights, and a good sized tray of delicious sandwiches, scones and pastries. Not a crazy big amount of food - we had a few small things left over at...the end and were able to take them away with us. Waitstaff were attentive, but the experience felt unhurried, which was great. Good views of the Victoria waterfront. Would recommend.More

Overrated! TEA BAGS!!!!! Not real friendly, crowded and noisy and commercial, not relaxing, sandwiches okay, felt like part of a "see and be seen" crowd. When I asked for cream for my tea, our waiter said "I usually don't bring it for white tea." I...expected more class given that we had just a few hours earlier had a better high tea at butchart gardens for about half the price.More

Fantastic experience. A very nice choice ot teas. The quality of food was very good, nice presentation. The room is beautiful. One of us has dairy allergy and he had a special food, just for him. The service was good and the pianist also. Don't...forget to book your table !More

Book in advance because this sells out daily! Traditional high tea with all the fixings! Wonderful prepared finger sandwiches and pastries! Server was excellent! Choice of several traditional teas! Try the queen’s favorite!

We were in Victoria for the afternoon and enquired if there was availability for afternoon tea. The staff on the desk were very helpful and asked that we wait 15 mins. The waitress took our order for tea. We then waited an extremely long time...for the food to arrive. This appears to be because there are only two people who bring out the food. We were advised to eat the scones first as they were warm - British people do not do this it is always sandwiches first. Hotels in the UK quite often bring out the scones later so that they stay warm. Having said this the quality of the sandwiches, cakes and scones was excellent. However the cream with the scones is not clotted cream but a pale substitute. Having had afternoon tea in many high class hotels over the years The Empress is trying it's best but could take notes from establishments such as The Ritz in London. They are certainly charging high end prices.More

Was seated there in the lounge area for the afternoon tea at yhe Fairmont Empress in Victoria. Was greeted after about a 10 minute wait by our waitress and she explained about the different teas they offered. After another 10 minutes she set up our...teas on the burners, and continued to wait and wait. Everyone around us got their trays with the tiers of sandwiches and we continued to wait. After more than 1/2 an hour she came to let us know it will be just a few more minutes. By the time we did get our food I felt like we were an after thought there. I know it's suppose to be a relaxing session but when we were the only ones sitting waiting; it put a black mark one the whole experience. And the food was definitely not worth the price!More