Hello- I am still working on the planning of my trip to Toronto. Could anyone offer suggestions of the best place for tea. We will be staying at the Marriott Eaton Center and are considering the Royal York Hotel, King Edward Hotel, or the Windsor Arms. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. The group will consist of me, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my 10-year old niece. They are a flexible group but I'd like something really nice. Thanks!

While not a tea expert, I was wlaking by the Kinbg Edward this week and paused, thinking "We've got to use this place more for meetings."

That is, meetings in teh sense that my partner and I go somehwere nice to talk with a client or propsect. the King Eddy is beautiful, well run, and if it does offer afternoon tea as a special deal, I know it will do it well.

Otherwise, I'd take your group to The Four Seasons.

I'll do a little more research. When are you coming to town?

BAK

I had the pleasure of going to The Windsor Arms for afternoon tea this past March. It was a lovely experience from start to finish. I found the food (& tea), service, and atmosphere all to be of excellent quality. In the past six months, I have also very much enjoyed the afternoon tea served at The Four Seasons and The Royal York. The Windsor Arms remains my favourite for a special afternoon tea. I consider The Four Seasons to be a close second, followed by The Royal York.

Thanks for the informataion - this seems like a tough decision since we will only have the opportunity to go to one place. . . We will be visiting Toronto August 3 - 9. Thanks again.

Just a followup question , since I and my niece have a bit of a sweet tooth, which one of these locations has the best cakes, scones, or pastries?
Thanks again!

I have only been to the Windsor Arms for tea because I love the smaller, more intimate feel. I don't thnk you can go wrong with any of the other suggestions but the Windsor Arms is my favourite. Wonderful scones!

The best scones and pastries? Between The Windsor Arms and The Four Seasons, for me, its too close to call. The sweets are very good at both locations. At the Four Seasons, they offer a choice of any two of their four pastry options (if memory serves me... chocolate-raspberry slice, key lime tart, strawberry tart, and caramel profitrole). At the Windsor Arms, I believe that it was also two pastries per person. I recall a berry-topped custard tart as well as something chocolate. A nice treat with the Windsor Arms tea, not included at the Four Seasons, is a bowl of fresh berries with whipped cream. This seemed particularly special on the cool March day that I was there.

As starfish1 mentioned, you can't really go wrong with either location. All things considered, The Windsor Arms remains my favourite location for a special afternoon tea.

I've never been myself, but I have a friend who takes her twin nieces to the Windsor Arms for tea every year on their birthday. She's a restaurant reviewer, so I tend to trust her judgement.