Afternoon Tea at The Fairmont Palliser

Very good, lovely service. Almost as good as High Tea in London.

We had a wonderful time and our waitress was fantastic. They gave the birthday girl a beautiful surprise desert. Thoroughly enjoyed our time

Our server was amazing- my daughter and myself had an amazing memorable time. Definitely making it a tradition.

It was a pleasant experience overall, and I’ve had afternoon tea at The Fairmont many times but this was my first time at the Palliser.

Some things I didn’t like:

1. Sitting on sofas and armchairs, we were with a child and it just made things slightly more complicated.

2. I’ve normally seen a menu beforehand, and been able to substitute the slightly weirder sandwiches with caviar etc. Or at least, we’ve been asked are there any allergies or dislikes.

The service was otherwise great, cakes delicious and all in a very nice setting

Easter tea

Lovely and delicious Afternoon Tea with beautiful ambience. Just a little too pricey at $70/pp.

It was my first time going for afternoon tea. My husband and I celebrated our birthday/valentines and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! Decor was beautiful, nice selection of teas, some very unique options as well as your classic cup of tea. Definitely recommend it ☺️

My husband and I went to High Tea for my Birthday celebration. Excellent service and the server gave me a large hollow chocolate ball with a small piece of round chocolate cake in the middle with some fresh fruit with a lit sparkler. (Which was on the house). I had to take that home, as it was not expected and we were stuffed from our High Tea trays. We enjoyed the High Tea food very much. Everything was fresh and very tasty. We enjoyed having 2 chocolate desserts with the small desserts on the top tray.

I’m not happy with the costumer service. For what you charge $$$$ I would expect better service. I placed my order with a side note of what I can’t not eat. I called right away to notify there was a mix up with my order. The front desk took my info and said she would get back to me. I also emailed the company to notify them. It’s been 4 days and I still haven’t heard from anyone. Not impressed with the service at all. I will not be recommending this place to anyone. Over rated for nothing.

The experience does not disappoint. Great sandwiches and pastries and tea. Service was excellent!

We had high tea to celebrate our daughter's birthday. The service was excellent and the menu geared for younger patrons was much appreciated. Due to Covid restrictions and the current climate the restaurant was very quiet so it's hard to say how the normal noise level would be. We loved the jazz Christmas music that played over the system. This was a magical afternoon for our family.

What an incredible experience. I took my daughter for afternoon tea to celebrate her 10th birthday with some extravagance. The presentation, quality and service was above our expectations. I was very impressed with their handling of all the Covid protocols. Groups were well spaced and I appreciated that there was a screening upon entering the hotel. The tea brought joy and adventure into our lives during the pandemic. Thank you!

The atmosphere was intimate and casual. The tea selections were high quality and varied, from robust to mild, it caters to various tastes. Highly recommend the creamy earl grey! The food items that came with the afternoon tea was a great pairing and well seasoned.

Very nice atmosphere, everything was spaced out to give each person having High Tea their own area and complying with social distancing. The food and tea were great!

My GF sandwiches tasted like they had been sitting for hours, they were dry and boring. I know they can do better because I was there last year and it was delicious. To pay 100 /pp for tea and sandwiches, I expect more and better. Will find a different place

Afternoon Tea is enjoyable and I would recommend it

This was a birthday gift for my mom, and they worked hard to make her feel special. Having it in the updated lounge takes some of the ‘old world charm’ out of it, which I preferred, but my daughter did not. Overall, a great afternoon which we consider worth the price for a special event.

I took my wife for our wedding anniversary and her birthday, this is a great place to treat someone, great venue, excellent service and great food.

The service was amazing. We got the best seat in the house. Right In front of the fireplace. The food was okay. The bread was dry and the shrimp was quite fishy. The tea was delicious though.

I missed the formality. I’ve been in Victoria several times. I missed table cloths and special touches. It was having tea in a restaurant. Not high tea in my opinion.

Overall, I was disappointed with the service. The food was ok, but not great as compared to other Fairmont High Tea services in other locations. We had one vegetarian with us, and the vegetarian options were poor. The tea and the desserts were great however.
Service was also poor as when we asked for something, the server forgot and it either took a long time or we had to request multiple times. We were also seated at tables next to other groups of diners, instead of being a bit more spaced out which would have been preferred.

Lovely food, great selection

We went for afternoon tea for my young adult daughter's birthday at her request and have been to this tea a couple of times previously for special occasions. The experience, service and food is always amazing. My daughter was a little disappointed in the new seating and decor - she preferred the way it was before, but it is nicely redone. While it is a highly priced outing, it's a nice treat.

Had an excellent afternoon tea with my little girl (princess dress and all). Food and atmosphere were great and everyone welcomed me with my little girl. This was her first experience having a fancy tea. Highly recommended. Note, taking a little one, we booked last reservation of the day to have more time and not fee rushed.

We four ladies, two twenty somethings and two newly fifty something, had so much fun. Our waitress was excellent and the food was excellent. The reno's to the Hotel are lovely. All in all, one to remember.

Booked a table for ten to celebratea birthday and the staff went completely out of there way to make everyone feel so special with all 10 participants expressing their desires to come back next chance they could.

It was an absolutely beautiful way to celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday.

Outstanding service. The food was dry and disappointingly subpar.

I've always loved having Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Palliser - Always an enjoyable experience. I've been enjoying Afternoon Tea for several years. The part I've always enjoyed the most was the "ambiance". With the grandeur of the hotel itself and the "old world charm" it encompasses, I can feel like I've been carried away to the Victorian era. However, with renovations recently undertaken, and the new Hawthorn being the place tea is served, the surroundings for Afternoon Tea now are a more "mondern" take on the traditional space. It doesn't feel as quaint and as "grand" as it used to. I didn't feel like I was transported back in time, as I used to. Also, the food tasted great, but also lacked the beautiful presentation we had come to enjoy in the past. The experience was still a great one - and I highly recommend the experience. I guess I'm just "old fashioned"!

The items served did not match the steep price of the holiday tea ($70/guest). The bread was dry for the sandwiches and the desserts were mediocre. While our server was very nice, the ambiance felt more like we were sitting in a lounge setting and just stopping in for a snack. I would not recommend having tea at the palliser and feel that there are better experiences to be had in the city.

The afternoon was wonderful with special family & friends. The one suggestion would be that other Fairmont’s have the menus on the table which is nice for reference while you’re enjoying the food. I would also say that though it was delicious the price is a little high & the Christmas decor was lacking in the restaurant area. We would definitely come back again.

First time experience and was better then expected. Pacing and service were nicely timed.

Christmas celebration

All round good experience, met our expectations. Would have rather been in an actual tea room and not right beside the open bar.

We had a very nice time but our experience at the Banff Fairmount high tea was a grander affair on all levels by far

Amazing place for birthdays very cozy

It was really busy in the dining room. The chair was really comfortable and the head cutouts of downtown Abby characters are hilarious. The hostess girl was really nice and checked our coats for us. Service by Jessica was excellent. Can’t say how much I love the fairmont earl grey with just a bit of milk. The sandwiches are good as well. I was bit worried as I was reading the reviews and some reviews mentioned sandwich being dry. They were very moist and tasty. My favourite was the cucumber sandwich and cranberry chicken sandwich. Desserts and scones are excellent.

Our server was excellent, but it felt like we were eating in a cafeteria. The brown table felt cheap and just did not exude the elegance of afternoon tea

What an amazing experience. Upon entering the room the sheer ambiance takes your breath away. Our waitress, Julie, walked us through the tea box and explained each of the qualities of tea with amazing detail and patiently answered our questions. Our mimosas were delicious and the champagne, delicious. The three tiered meal, had delicious fresh scones, an assortment of sandwiches and finger foods, followed by artistic desserts too pretty to eat. LOVE THIS. If you are looking for a luxurious eating experience without the air of pretentiousness, you must try this!!!

High tea is always a fun experience. However the service was not great. It was fine up until we had to pay, the server dropped off our bill and never returned. We needed the bill split and after waiting almost 30 minutes for our server to return she did not. We ended up having to ask another server.