I hope everyone is having a great 2020 so far. I’m so excited to tell you all about what I’ve been up to lately. My better half and I recently had the pleasure of checking out the new Winter Afternoon Tea menu at Zoe’s Lounge located inside the historic Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel. The Fairmont Laurier is a notable landmark in Canada’s capital city. If you go downtown you cannot miss this castle in the city, named after Sir Wilfrid Laurier Canada’s 7th Prime Minister. Subsequently the tea lounge and bar at the hotel is named after his wife Lady Zoe who was fond of afternoon tea.
Those of you that know me personally are aware that I too am a huge fan of afternoon tea and have visited the Chateau Laurier on countless occasions to try their new tea menus. Zoe’s never ceases to impress and their Winter Afternoon Tea menu is no exception.
Cocktails anyone?
Afternoon tea doesn’t just have to be about tea. Zoe’s Tea Menu has a selection of sparkling wines, Champagnes, dessert wines and afternoon cocktails to choose from. We decided to kick off the afternoon with a glass of sparkling wine after all isn’t everything better with bubbles?
Choosing your tea
One of the great features of the tea at Zoe’s is of course their tea menu offering you the choice of 21 teas. Besides the teas on the menu you can also order traditional English Breakfast tea at Zoe’s. All the teas on the menu are blended specifically for Fairmont Hotels so you really get a special treat in choosing one of their teas. I decided to go with Something Sweet, a black tea that featured rich caramel and chocolate highlights. I really enjoyed this tea as it also had a coffee aroma to it. You could also smell the notes of chocolate in it. Sash opted for Mojo Mate, a green tea with fresh lemon highlights and a spearmint finish.
The Pastries
The Winter menu at Zoe’s features a carefully curated selection of savoury and sweet pastries prepared by Pastry Chef Anne Marie Milk and her team. We started off with the savoury sandwiches and then progressed to the desserts. Some of our favourites were the Smoked Salmon Crepe and Chicken Liver Mousse sandwiches along with the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Chocolate Choux and the Rum and Brown Sugar Cake for dessert. Last but certainly not least we enjoyed some scones with mascarpone cream and strawberry jam because what afternoon tea is complete without scones?! I’m very traditional when it comes to scones so I enjoyed the butter cream scone with jam and cream. Full details of the Winter menu can be found here.
The Experience
Afternoon tea is lovely at any time of the year however it’s a great way to stay warm and cozy in the Winter. We really enjoyed sitting in the warmth of this historic castle while watching the world go by outside. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier’s afternoon tea menu changes on a quarterly basis so the Winter menu will be around for a couple of months. If you live in Ottawa or are going to be visiting soon I cannot recommend this experience enough! In addition to the traditional tea menu Zoe’s also offers the Little Prince and Princess Tea menus for children under 12.
What makes afternoon tea at Zoe’s a truly memorable experience is the staff and the ambiance, aside from the food of course 😉 We had a pleasant and relaxing time during our tea thanks to Deneen and her team and our server Garrick, who made this a wonderful experience for us. All staff at the hotel really live up to the Fairmont standard of service and this is quite evident in how popular the Fairmont Laurier is among Ottawa natives and tourists alike.
The afternoon tea service at Zoe’s is available Wednesday to Sunday. There is a 1pm and 3pm seating Wednesday-Friday and an additional 11am seating on Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations are highly recommended as the Zoe’s afternoon tea is quite popular.