Neverland Tea Salon

On Saturday my husband and I had afternoon tea at Neverland Tea Salon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I am coeliac, my husband is not.

While they advertise it as a high tea, it is not, as high tea denotes main dishes served alongside tea sandwiches and pastries. This is an afternoon tea.

For $55 CAD (+ tax and tip) I got the gluten & dairy free tower which comes with 5 sandwiches, 4 sweets, 1 scone with jam and dairy-free cream and unlimited tea. There is not a gluten-free only option, only gluten-free & dairy-free or gluten-free & vegan. If you order the vegan menu, it's served on ceramic rather than bone China.

My husband had the traditional tower, which was also $55 CAD and came with the same number of items.

$55 CAD = $40.14 USD = $61.77 AUD = €37,53 = £32.23

Personally, I only liked 2 of the 5 sandwiches and 2 of the 4 desserts. I liked the scone. I felt the food was extremely underseasoned and dry, like the food was old, not dry as in the default texture.

I had my husband take a bite of everything I ordered to compare to his traditional tower, which had the same items except one dessert. On every item, he said his was option was more flavourful and better.

I'm sure many people aren't ordering the gluten-free dairy-free menu as often, but I'd prefer to order ahead when booking the reservation than have food that tastes like it may be leftovers. I'd also suggest that the chef tastes as they go to make sure the food isn't underseasoned.

While it's nice to get unlimited tea during the 90 minute seating, I feel like you're paying mostly for the ambiance. Like every afternoon tea I've ever been to, it's very loud, so don't expect ambient piano music.

The service was quite good but overall, I wouldn't go back for the gluten-free & dairy-free afternoon tea.

Visited: April 2024

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Safety Feature Ratings

• Dedicated gluten-free space in the kitchen
• Other dedicated kitchen equipment (oven, toaster, pots, pans, utensils, etc.)
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

I wanted to take my wife out for her birthday. As it’s December they have a holiday high tea menu throughout the holiday season. They have four food choices: regular, vegetarian, GF/DF, GF/vegan. It’s ok to have multiple options too so while my wife had a regular food choice, I chose GF/DF (I wanted to have the meat options). They asked if I wanted the food on separate trays to minimize cc and I said yes. Food was great as was the tea. Asked if they only do this for the holidays and the server informed me that the 4 options are available all year, the menu just changes seasonally. Plus M-F they can prepare sandwiches for lunch using GF bread and change utensils while preparing them. I appreciated them separating the food and knowing what it takes if you have celiac.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent