© Camellia Sinensis
Explore the science of tea
More than just a tearoom, Camellia Sinensis is a tasting salon and tea laboratory all in one, featuring a seemingly endless blend list from international producers. There’s far more to tea than Earl Grey and English Breakfast, and here’s where you’ll find it. There’s also a Tea School, offering classes in tea ceremonies and infusion techniques for students from the age of 7 and up, and make-your-own À la carte tea taster kits to show off to your tea dates at home.
The royal touch
The newest kid on the block, the Paparmane Tea Room brings an elevated English tea experience to Old Montréal with a colour palette right out of Marie Antoinette. With a stunning setting it’s easy to lose yourself in for an afternoon, you’ll want to take your time enjoying the mouthwatering towers of cakes and treats accompanying your selection of hot brew. And while Paparmane is new to the scene, it’s sure to quickly join the ranks of Montréal’s most instagrammable cafés in no time.
© Susan Moss
The neighbourhood’s tea parlour
Perfectly situated for a tea break after a wander through Parc La Fontaine, Le Parloir is a bona fide English tearoom nestled along a charming residential street in the Plateau. The friendly staff and local customers lend Le Parloir a uniquely neighbourhood feel, and everyone’s welcomed in like a regular. Not too hot, not too cold, not too big and not too small, Le Parloir keeps everything just so.
A lesson in tea culture
A “Club for tea lovers,” Cha Do Raku specializes in teas from Japan and offers workshops on tea preparation and traditional Asian tea culture. Owner Shiho Kanamaru will even make flavour suggestions following a short survey via the café’s Tea Clinic. There’s more than just leaves in that steaming cuppa and Cha Do Raku will teach you the tea-lover ropes. And while it’s possible to drop in for a steaming take-out cup and snack (perusing the boutique of traditional teapots and cups), we’d suggest reserving a spot in the back tea room for the full Cha Do Raku experience.
A world of variety on Promenade Wellington
Housed on one of the coolest streets in the world, Maison de thé Cha Noir is an old school neighbourhood tea room offering seasonal tea favourites (take our word for it and don’t miss their maple sugar infusions during maple season) and a selection of international greatest hits ranging from white teas to Pu Erh. They also specialize in wellness teas to increase calm and lower stress levels. If that weren’t enough, the Daifuku mochis are out of this world.
© Susan Moss
The teahouse gem of the Mile End
One of the Mile End’s best-kept secrets, the Cardinal Tea Room’s genteel atmosphere makes for a quiet refuge from the rush of Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Head here for a traditional tea selection coupled with savoury bites, set to lightly twinkling ivories (there’s a baby grand piano on hand) and the quiet murmur of Montrealer conversation. Those sparkling chandeliers also look great on Instagram.
Chinese delicacies by the pot
A mainstay in Old Montréal, Ming Tao Xuan is an encyclopaedic repository of loose leaf teas ranging from Dragon Pearl Jasmine to Hei Ku Qiao buckwheat tea, and traditional tea wares that look great in any tea cupboard. It also offers a traditional Chinese tea ceremony genuine enough to convince you you’ve been teleported to The Forbidden City.
Two tea marvels at one address
Housed together in a storefront on Beaubien Street, Thés Guru Teas and Oishi Bar à Matcha offer an unforgettable brewing experience. Selling matcha-infused treats, ice creams and chocolates, Oishi offers the perfect frothy green pick-me-up, while a tea tasting from Thés Guru Teas opens up a world of individualized pleasures. The small and charming seating area pays tribute to the Sakura cherry blossom season with a full-scale tree overhead in full bloom. A great place to spend some time in calm introspection.
A feast for the eyes
A dollhouse tearoom come to life in the heart of the Plateau Mont-Royal, Lady Porcelaine is a reservations only spot that’s equal parts authentic and social media savvy photogenic. Painted in a welcoming pastel palette, the focus is squarely on deluxe comfort and enjoyment, from the multi-process filtered water, porcelain selection and personalized “THÉrapie” advice to match the right tea with each and every customer. And while the “Me Time” Experience makes for an unforgettable individual service with scones and pastry, the full Afternoon Tea Experience goes all out with multi-tiered treat plates and a suggested seating time of 2 to 2.5 hours. That’s what we call good self care!
© Tourisme Montréal - Madore - Maude Chauvin
An oasis of calm in the urban jungle
While Old Montréal is surprisingly lacking in tearooms befitting the cobblestone streets and antiquated facades, two of the finest new cafés are setting the bar high for the rest of the city. A block away from the Notre-Dame Basilica, Tommy is constantly abuzz with the area’s creatives in a bright space bedecked in hanging plants, filling the eyes – and cups – with leafy goodness.
© Susan Moss - Tourisme Montréal
Tea breaks you can bank on
Converting one of Montréal’s old bank buildings, Crew Collective & Café’s arching ceilings reach sky-high, promising a tea break unlike any other. Once you look back down, you’ll notice others staring upwards over cups of Assam Banaspaty and Red Moon Rooibos – a guaranteed refreshing transaction.
© Rosélys Restaurant
High tea fit for a queen
Named for the foliage found on Montréal’s flag, Rosélys Restaurant in the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel serves a modern update on the classic high tea service, featuring gourmet blends, finger sandwiches and unbeatable sweets from Meilleur Ouvrier de France pastry chef Jean-Marc Guillot.
© Two Food Photographers (Alison Slattery)
Putting the tea in community
Close to the Plateau’s Parc Laurier, Café ORR is a neighbourhood hot spot where freelancers come to work, students study the hours away and the plush sofas are full of conversation. We’d suggest trying to grab a seat in the tucked-away upper secret clubhouse spot next to the stairs, but be warned, it’s a popular spot! There’s even a projection screen upstairs often showing something eye-catching, and requests are welcome. Try the chai and matcha lattes and stay for the movies.
A Mys-tea-cal experience
Since 2003, the Gryphon d’Or Tearoom has been a closely-kept secret amongst denizens of Montréal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood, but scones this good couldn’t stay secret forever. And while its classic scones take a starring role in its pitch-perfect high tea service, the rest of its tea tray is filled out with delicious sandwiches and other bites to ensure a leisurely, satisfying and tasty experience.
© Le Ritz-Carlton Montréal
Tea with all the bells and whistles
And for those looking to go all out with a royal-standard High Tea service, the Ritz-Carlton Montréal’s Afternoon Tea comes with a stacked tower of finger sandwiches, toasty scones, cream, and jams in one of Montréal’s poshest environs. This being the Ritz, there’s the option of a Brut or Dom Pérignon Rosé finish to the service – pinkies raised, naturally. The printed menu even includes a history lesson on the Duchesse de Bedford Anna Maria Russell, for whom the unbearable Edwardian schedule of dinner at 9 p.m. prompted her mid-meal creation of Afternoon Tea. And really, without her pre-dinner hunger pangs, what would we do with our afternoons?
Mark Hamilton
Mark Hamilton is the community director for QueerMTL, an internationally-touring musician with his projects Woodpigeon and Frontperson and a graduate studies student of history researching LGBTQ+ activism in the city. He’s lived in Montréal since 2015, during which time he’s most often spotted atop a BIXI bike usally running a few minutes late.
