Truffles Fine Foods Cafe - Vancouver, BC

After reading through an Inside Vancouver article about a cafe that serves good and cheap afternoon tea, the Piglets headed off to the VanDusen Botanical Garden to try out the Truffles' newest addition to their menu.

 

Another beautiful day in Vancouver, perfect for a stroll through the garden grounds before having afternoon tea...

Hm, it's more of a cafeteria than a cafe...  Self-serve and they call your name and you grab your own order.  I ask if we should sit down and they would bring over our meal and the counter person says yes...

Banana Strawberry Smoothie - $5.50

Mr. Piglet wasn't feeling very well so he decided to get a boost of energy with a smoothie.  The flaw in the plan?  This is not a smoothie - it is fruit juices blended so it's kind of frothy at the top, super watery and voiding any banana flavor.  Hands down the worst smoothie we've ever ordered.  It's juice, not a smoothie so stop calling it that and don't charge us an arm and a leg for it.  Thank you.

 

Afternoon Tea for 2 - $28

That is cheap for afternoon tea!  But how was the food?  It looks beautiful at a quick glance and the tea was quite nice but there were some fundamental flaws...

The worst croissant I've ever had - it was cold and it's as dense as it looks.  No amount of butter or jam could help this atrocity to the baking world.  It also tasted like it sat overnight.  Awesome.

Macarons were too dense and not light enough on the outside.  The pink macaron also didn't have a ganache centre - it was filled with raspberry jam.  I'm not a macaron snob or anything but it was just kind of weird for a delicate pastry to have seeds in it.

Fingerprints on a dessert item

Overdone cookies

The panini is supposed to be turkey, brie and cranberry and all of the elements are there but all I can taste is sweet cranberry - no tart, no savory, very mushy and the turkey is completely masked.  I had a bite and that was enough for me.  Mr. Piglet thought it was just ok.  Where are the greens?  Why is it that restaurants seem to be allergic to greenery these days?

The other items were average - scone was ok but was a bit dry and stone cold and the raspberry tart and pear tart tasted the same but with just a different fruit on top.  Overall, not a very good afternoon tea despite the amazing view of the gardens.  It's cheap but the old adage stands here: you get what you pay for.  I think it was overpriced for what we were self-served (I had to carry the large tea setting and three tiered tray to my table by myself - why did I leave a tip?)  Go to another reputable tea establishment if you're looking for that high tea delectable delicious experience because you can't get it here.  Remember, this is a cafeteria not a restaurant so it can only deliver so much.  Au revoir!

Pros:

• Cheap
• Beautiful view of the gardens
• Free parking (we parked on the street)

Cons:

• Self-serve
• Mediocre food and drink