Soirette Macarons & Tea: Fall/Winter High Tea Menu

 As a macaron enthusiast myself, I admit that I do have high standards for macarons. After two years of continuous trial and error with these fussy (sometimes) and delicate cookies, it's hard not to get picky at the details.

Soirette, however, made it to the top of my list for the Best Macarons in Vancouver.

Ever since it opened, I've visited a few times for their macarons, but haven't had a chance to try their high tea service. Their high tea service is only offered on weekends with about 4-5 time slots per day, so I feel especially fortunate to have made a successful reservation just before the end of their Fall/Winter High Tea Menu.

Okay, enough with the blabbing now...

I went with one of my besties (whose name also happens to be Cathy, and congratulations dear for getting into Cornell University, I'm super grateful to have the chance to spend the next four years + with you as well!) on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The tiny place can only seat 4-5 tables of 2-4 people at once, so each time slot only has 4-5 spaces. Though the space was tiny, I didn't feel squished at all. The chairs were big and comfy and the tables are manageable as well. 

The Cathys

 By random chance we got the high table right front of their store sign (also why the pictures of me look like I'm advertising for Soirette...), with high chairs which are not the usual setting for classic high tea. Sitting at a taller level did gave us a nice view of the whole place, the counters, kitchens, etc. Our server kindly greeted us with Pear Tree Tea (my choice) and Lavender Earl Grey (Cathy's choice). Both teas were good, activating the palates and lighten the heaviness of the treats. 

The Full Tier ($35/person)

When the full tier was placed on the table, we were both surprised at how small the tier is compared to their picture online. I guess camera angles does help a lot to change the size of things. However since the items are all squished closely, the portions does seem really big.

Bottom Tier

The bottom tier is made up of pureed pumpkin soup, chicken pot pie, smoked salmon on cucumber with quail egg, and quinoa cucumber salad (sorry for the simplicity of the names, I'm describing them by memory...). The cucumber salad is a great palate-refreshener for starters, but it is so small...one bite and it's gone. The soup was good too, but we also managed to finish it in 3-4 spoons. After about 1/4 full, we moved on to the middle tier.

Middle Tier

The middle tier is made up of turkey cranberry sandwich, apricot scones, and pumpkin mousse. Out of the three tiers I have to say that this tier is the most fulfilling one (maybe due to the amounts of carbs?). The scones were warm and not overly sweet, and I loved the mini macaron shell on the pumpkin mousse. 

Top Tier

Finally, the desserts. We were actually 2/3 full by then, so the dessert portions were just fine as well. You get to pick a macaron of your choice (I picked the Black Current and Casis and she picked the popular Earl Grey), along with a piece of short bread, tiramisu mousse, lemon meringue tart and chocolate truffle. All of them are again not too sweet (my standard of a good dessert) while revealing the flavours of the ingredients.

The seating time is limited to 1 1/2 hour per guest, but the service was very kind (did not kick us out right at 1 hr 30 mins later) and let us stay for a while after. Their kitchen is opened for the guests to see them making macarons LIVE (through the round window) so we can get to know where our foods come from. Overall I enjoyed this experience better than a grab-and-go for macarons and such. Sunny Sunday afternoons are meant to be spent relaxed, and Soirette has helped us strive for this state. 

The spot that automatically makes one advertise for Soirette