Windsor Arms Hotel
18 St Thomas Street
Toronto, ON M5S3E7
Tel: (416) 971-9666
I recently experienced high tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel, located just steps away from the fashionable Yorkville.
This neo-gothic style building was built in 1927 and listed as a historic property by the City of Toronto in 1983 and designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1992.
The Toronto International Film Festival was founded in the hotel in 1976, and the hotel is still involved with the Festival.
Not only is the hotel a temporary home for several A-listers, it is also a luxury condominium with 25 residences. Square footage per condominium ranges from 2,800 to 4,800 square feet and cost between $2.5 and $8 million.
The tea room is stunning, retaining its original 1927 fireplace and seats up to 42. The room is painted black with a stark white fireplace and a gorgeous crystal chandelier with purple accessories.
The space was far too crowded for my liking, however, and far too loud. I felt almost claustrophic as the room was filled to capacity. Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy a quiet, leisurely tea. It felt more like a busy restaurant than a relaxing tea room.
We had a selection of mini sandwiches: turkey, smoked salmon, and cucumber, all nicely presented, but not remarkable. The scones were alright and the desserts were ordinary. I was disappointed at the small amount of desserts available: only six for two people. Keep in mind folks, these are bite sized desserts here. As well, they were all different, and since my sister and I wanted to try each dessert, we ended up cutting the tiny treat in two, which left not much to enjoy.
The tea was okay, but like everything else, just ordinary.
The servers were wonderful fellows, but overly attentive. We couldn’t have a conversation without being interrupted every few minutes by a server, asking if we required anything. Bless them, they meant well, but were too intrusive.
Cost for tea: $35/person.
Afternoon Tea is served daily:
Monday – Wednesday 1:00 pm / 3:30 pm
Thursday – Sunday 12:45 pm / 3:30 pm / 6:00 pm
Review:
Food: 6 out of 10
Service: 7 out of 10
Décor: 9 out of 10
Value: 7 out of 10
If you’ve had tea at the Windsor Arms, please post a comment.
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Good review! This is truly the type of information that should be shared around the internet. Shame on the Yahoo for not ranking this article higher!
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Great review! You actually overviewed some interesting things here. I came across it by using Bing and I’ve got to admit that I already subscribed to the RSS feed, will be following you on my iphone
Thanks so much! I’m very glad you enjoyed it!
I have to disagree with your comments, I have been several times and i found that it wasn’t crowded or loud at all (i’ve only been on weekends) and the food selection was fresh and delicious. Perhaps during the time you went (film festival time being very busy in Toronto), caused it to be overcrowded and loud. Hope you will try it again on an average weekend, perhaps ambiance, serve and quality will be better for you.
Thanks for taking the time to provide your comments, floral88…….I am sure there are a lot of people out there who love tea at the Windsor Arms, just like there are a lot of people out there who dislike it….I would love my blog to be a forum for both….