309 Belleville St.
11am to 7pm seven days a week
$54.00 per person
Reservations recommended
250.388.3892 or https://www.pendrayinnandteahouse.com/

THE EXPERIENCE
Our beautiful friends and nursing colleagues, Kim and Jade, joined us for this more touristy tea outing. 

 
Jade and Kim, nurses and gorgeous ladies extraordinaire.

At $54 per person for traditional afternoon tea, the Pendray is one of the more expensive teas we’ve taken. Situated downtown on the harbour front, amidst the bustle of the tourist crowd, it’s not surprising that the phrase “tourist trap” was uttered more than once during our seating.

Let’s start with the room. Plain. Simple. Just fine if it hadn’t been so dirty. It was evident that the carpeting and drapes had not been thoroughly cleaned in years. However, the table linens were clean, the view was lovely, and the room itself felt like we were sitting in someone’s front parlour.

The tea itself was a solid, high tea effort with a traditional selection of sandwiches, scones and sweets. Nothing particularly stood out but it wasn’t bad, either. They do offer a gluten free tea, which is a nice option for the celiacs among us.

The real noteworthy part of our experience was the service. It was hilarious. In keeping with the old fashioned feel of the place, the waiters were suited up in tuxedos. The downside: they were so old they were threadbare and were clearly not made for the men wearing them. One lovely waiter who informed us he is also an actor had pants that barely graced his ankles, coupled with shiny dress shoes worn without socks. He was a lovely waiter and did an excellent job of caring for us but oh did we feel for him! It can’t be fun wearing ill fitting old clothes and bowing to tittering women taking tea (and yes, we tittered).

On the plus side, Charlotte matched the tea cups.

And we got to compare our cervical reach.

Nurses. You can’t take us anywhere.

RATING
We give the Pendray 3/5 balls. It is decent if a bit expensive, beautifully situated, and has a nice historical feel. They need to give it a clean and invest in new tuxedos.