Toronto’s Most Affordable Afternoon Tea

by Nicola Brown · March 13, 2015

Afternoon Tea at Dufflet in the Beaches. Credit: Nicola Brown

Finally a proper afternoon tea has emerged in Toronto that doesn’t have an outrageous price attached.

You’ll have to venture out to the Beaches in the east end to find it, but it is well worth the trip.

It’s time to try “High Tea” at Dufflet

Housed in a petite but airy space packed full of cakes, chocolates and sumptuous treats galore, Dufflet’s retail café in the Beaches has introduced an erroneously titled “High Tea” (it’s technically Afternoon Tea) on Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.

Dufflet cakes and desserts. Credit: Nicola Brown

Head to the back where you will find an intimate seating area drenched in natural sunlight that almost recalls the light-filled space of London’s Orangery at Kensington Palace. Almost.

Choose from the Buttery + Sweet tea, $12.95 per person, or why not splurge on the Savory + Sweet tea for $14.95 per person. You can pick from a selection of up to 10 different Sloane teas which you can sniff from little vials to get a sense of what you’re in for. For a traditional take, go with the Darjeeling.

Selection of Sloane teas. Credit: Nicola Brown

Arriving on a 3-tiered stand for the Savory + Sweet tea are cucumber and salmon triangle sandwiches, scones (which are also, adorably, triangular) with clotted cream and jam, and mini Dufflet desserts. I’m thrilled they’ve included my favourite: a little lemon square.

Triangle sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam and a selection of Dufflet desserts. Credit: Nicola Brown

For those fluid fiends out there, the gargantuan pot of tea will not disappoint. Alongside that you get a 3-chamber timer which gives you the perfect brewing time for green, white and black tea. It’s all so quaint I want to take the whole set home with me.

Perfect Tea Timer. Credit: Nicola Brown

While Dufflet isn’t going to win any awards for fancy service, it’s put together a refreshingly approachable and great value afternoon tea that the rest of us can enjoy in a comfortable setting.

It’s hard not to order a pile of desserts on the way out too, as Dufflet has every form of sweet baked good you could dream up. You are sitting in their retail café after all.

More than a once-in-a-lifetime treat

Dufflet’s afternoon tea is well worth a trip to the Beaches, and at a fraction of the cost of Toronto’s posh hotel services, is something you can come back for a second, third and fourth time.

On this trip: Afternoon Tea supplied by Dufflet.

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Nicola Brown

Owner & Principal at Think Forward Communication

Nicola is an international award-winning writer, editor and communication consultant based in Toronto. She has travelled to 32 countries so far and is always poised to head out the door again. Nicola loves both the visceral and intellectual dimensions of travel, and will passionately argue for its psychological paybacks, especially after a few glasses of wine. She lives for opportunities to illuminate the life-changing power of travel for as many people as possible.