All About Galentine's High Beau-Tea at the W Toronto

Galentine's high beau-tea W Hotel Toronto

Though it usually gets a bad rap, Valentine’s Day has always had a special place in my heart. The heart-decorated desserts, cheeky Valentine’s cards and over-the-top displays of affection for one day of the year make it such a fun-loving occasion. Though there’s no beau in my life (just yet), that doesn’t mean I can’t shower myself with affection as well. Or in this case, have a girls only date at the W Hotel for their Galentine’s High Beau-Tea.

Having opened its doors just two years ago, W Toronto has become a very trendy and upscale addition to the Yorkville area, offering various dining options in their lavish space. They were the ones to introduce Toronto’s first-ever beauty-inspired high tea and for a limited time, an exclusive Galentine’s-inspired afternoon tea set. This set was specifically designed to be enjoyed with your gal pals and I’m here to tell you all about the divine experience.

Galentine’s High Beau-Tea

Located in the Living Room of the W Toronto, their Galentine’s High Beau-Tea experience was unlike any other girl’s date I’d been on in the city. The interior was posh yet modern with more than enough space between tables to have an intimate catch-up session. It felt very upscale but at the same time cozy and relaxed. We loved it the moment we stepped in.

We were greeted warmly by our server who immediately brought over the selection of teas to choose from. There was a good range of teas offered from sencha Kyoto green tea, masala chai and lemon ginger rooibos – with the leaves all placed in test tubes so we could smell them. In the end, I went with good ol’ cream of earl grey with a side of milk and sugar. It’s a classic for a reason. Next, we waited patiently for our box to come out.

Beauty-Inspired Afternoon Tea

To my delight, the Galentine’s High Beau-Tea set was one of the most gorgeous afternoon tea sets I’ve ever seen. Served in a massive cosmetics box and unlocked before our eyes, the set had many levels of savoury and sweet treats to unpack. It was a very colourful box with the eye-catching love-inspired desserts mixed in with the signature beauty-inspired sweets. We knew we were in for a real treat.

The server went through a few of the items with us, explaining some of the more inconspicuous items before leaving us to uncover for ourselves. Of course, we spent close to an hour just admiring and taking pictures of each one. They were so undeniably cute and we couldn’t stop squealing in joy at how aesthetically pleasing the entire set looked. We felt like royalty.

The Savoury and the Sweet

The Galentine’s High Beau-Tea set had a perfect mix of savoury and sweet items. We were unsure where to begin but traditionally, you start from the bottom up on the classic tiered tea sets. In this case, with the cosmetics box, we started from the savoury side (Foundation) up top and made our way to the sweet side (Primer) afterwards. We thought it was too much food at first but we managed to finish all the savoury items. Then we packed up the rest of the desserts to take home.

There were many items in the set that we swooned over. My friend and I were quite impressed with how beautifully each one was crafted. With so much attention to detail, the Galentine’s high tea set was a real feast for the eyes in bite-sized pastries. Some memorable ones – in terms of aesthetics – included the mini beet croissant, spiced egg salad sandwich served in a mini bread bowl and the red velvet opera cake shaped in a love envelope. It was incredibly hard for us to eat these miniature works of art.

Experience at the W Toronto

Dining at the W Toronto for their Galentine’s High Beau-Tea was a very special experience overall. Being two singles ladies on a Galentine’s date, this experience was the perfect self-love treat to ourselves. Notably, in the form of very cute pastries that made our hearts melt. It was high tea unlike anything we’ve seen before and made all the more lovely being shared alongside other women on their girl dates.

Something we weren’t impressed with was the service during our visit. It took a good long hour before we were checked on after receiving our set. This soured our experience a little bit. However, our server was very apologetic when he finally realized we hadn’t been attended to and spent the rest of the time trying to make it up to us. We were set on not having this spoil our mood so instead, we happily sipped on our teas as we enjoyed the rest of tea time together.

How Did it Taste?

W Toronto’s beauty-inspired tea set was for sure beautiful but did the taste live up to its aesthetics? To be honest, most of the pastries were a little underwhelming with most of the bread ones having a slight stale taste to it. We weren’t sure if this was due to the food colouring but all the toasts didn’t taste fresh. The one I’d skipped altogether is the cucumber and cream cheese sandwich. This should’ve had a refreshing taste to it but the rose lemon gel gave it an overpowering perfume-y flavour. We weren’t a fan.

The items that were a standout were the smoked salmon rillette with yuzu gel (my favourite savoury item) and most of the desserts. From the sweet menu, the best were definitely the cherry cheese cake, the lavender chocolate ganache lips, the mini heart-shaped cookies (in its adorable blush container) and my personal favourite – the strawberry flavoured lipstick. What about the cranberry and orange scones you ask? They weren’t as buttery and soft as I would’ve liked but with some jam and butter, they were still enjoyable.

How Much Does it Cost?

In total, Galentine’s High Beau-Tea at the W Toronto cost us $95 per person excluding tax and tip. This included a whole cosmetics box filled with 14 unique items – 6 savoury and 8 sweet – and a personal tea of your choice. It’s the perfect shareable box with two of each item (except for the cucumber sandwiches, which had four pieces) and an unlimited time to enjoy it. My girlfriend and I stayed for four hours just chitchatting over our scones and tea, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Though many of the savoury items in the Galentine’s box left much to be desired, the Valentine’s-inspired ones were on point. The edible lipstick was especially memorable. We expected this to be mediocre at best (as how great can lipstick taste) but it was surprisingly flavourful. The hard yet creamy texture was just like an actual lipstick, making it so much fun to eat. We were impressed.

Overall, I’d say our experience at W Toronto’s Galentine’s High Beau-Tea was more than worth it. The uniqueness of each item and the creativity behind the Galentine’s box truly blew us away. Valentine’s Day only happens once a year – what better way to celebrate the day of love than with some over-the-top treats? I’d highly recommend it for anyone who’s looking to spend time with their bestie for Galentine’s!