Out & About #183 | The Tea Room at Robinson-Bray House

Simply stating that I like cafés would be an understatement.
I enjoy the laidback atmosphere and soothing vibes emitted from within. I become giddy at the sight of food offerings bearing intense visual appeal. I revel in their high-comfort, Wi-Fi-enabled environment.
 
However, some days demand a wider span of dietary options, as well as a small hideaway setting for intimate, prolonged conversations to take place between close friends. This is where tea rooms come into play.​

Please be aware that the term is not referring to the typical bubble tea joint serving up Taiwanese finger food (though Green Grotto is lovely too), but rather those possessing a particularly classic English aura reminiscent of 18th century Great Britain.

The Tea Room at Robinson-Bray House is one of the exceedingly few tea rooms of its kind in Mississauga. Tucked away in the heart of Streetsville, the location utilizes one and a half rooms for dining (the other half is allocated for kitschy tea-themed merchandise and their own varieties of loose leaf teas) from the once-residential complex.

On a rather overcast day, we pulled into one of the designated street parking locations outside of the house. The spots were very roomy, unlike the ones in the Gong Cha plaza, though the never-ending flow of traffic made straightening out the vehicle a tad more time-consuming than the process should have been. (Or perhaps it was merely a lack of parallel parking practice on my part.) Not a single meter was spotted as we made our way to Robinson-Bray, so it was safe to assume that parking was free unless otherwise stated.

"Reservations recommended" had read their website, but I had been too preoccupied the day before to phone in. Thankfully, their reservation-only period had ceased a few days prior, and we were permitted to choose our desired dining coordinates upon entering.
Majority of the tables were allotted for small groups consisting of no more than four people, while two to three were specifically arranged to seat up to six customers. I personally found the high number of tables to overwhelm the size of the room: with winter coats and medium-sized crossbodies in tow, I could only hope that I would not be invading the space of other customers, and vice versa.

I selected the sole table with access to window light, though the overall lighting of the interior still remained mediocre at best. Half of the table was gently lit with the very little sunshine able to permeate the white curtain, while the other half was, sadly, shrouded in darkness. After several feeble attempts to make do with the current situation without the use of additional lighting, I succumbed to hunger and decided to enjoy the experience as opposed to obsess over whether my images would reproduce correctly.

From within the depths of the kitchen emerged a uniform-clad waitress, fresh-faced and hair neatly secured in a low ponytail. She informed us of the tea room's daily offerings, including specialty desserts and the like, before allowing us to spend several more minutes with the menu.
Her timing was impeccable, as she re-emerged at our table as soon as we had each agreed to order the Robinson-Bray Afternoon Tea Set. With the outstanding array of tea names presented before us, it took us another few minutes to decide upon our pot of choice. After hearing the waitress's recommendations, we ultimately selected Oolong Ginger Lemon and Buckingham Palace.

Both pots arrived shortly and were accompanied with filters of different sieve sizes. Buckingham Palace was a very unique blend of black teas, featuring the ever-popular Assam, Kenya, and Nepal, mixed with a small amount of Jasmine for a slight floral touch.
Oolong blends are unarguably my preferred tea type (The Skinny and Vanilla Orchid are both great brewed solo or enjoyed with milk and sugar!), and Oolong Ginger Lemon really enhanced the flavours to unfathomably new heights. Bursting with exuberant citrus scents yet grounded with classic Oolong, the tea was the most fragrant blend my olfactory senses have ever had the opportunity to engage contact with. The additional touch of ginger also added a subtly spicy kick and did wonders for soothing a sore throat.

Much to our delight, our three-tiered Afternoon Tea Set was delivered in the following few minutes. But instead of the resting upon vertically-aligned white ceramic dishes, the bite-sized delicacies were served on a three-way scallop-hemmed stainless steel contraption.
 
A brief description of each item was provided to us as we snapped away at the beauty of the piece. The two identical sets included finger sandwiches (egg salad, cucumber and cream cheese, and chicken-apricot-cranberry), cranberry and orange scones, and a dessert tier of rectangular German chocolate cake segments, vanilla cupcakes, and shortbread cookies.

The sandwiches were devoured first. The egg salad was tasty, though by no means extraordinary, but the varying textures of the enriched white and wheat bread slices added a nice twist. Chicken-apricot-cranberry was a refreshing take on traditional festive flavours, comprising of very thinly shredded chicken (which bore an odd resemblance to the consistency of flaked tuna) and centimetre-sized chunks of sweet dried fruit. I had anticipated cucumber and cream cheese to be a rather average combination, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was light, yet satisfying at the same time. A small amount of butter had been used to coat the insides, but the creaminess had been evened out with the use of cream cheese possessing a lower fat content. Served in conjunction with partially-peeled, paper-thin slices of cucumbers, the yield was a well-balanced, slightly crunchy creation.

I reached for the Cranberry and Orange Scone next. A tad warm and wonderfully fluffy on the inside, it differed vastly from the stale, baking soda-rich mounds I had been used to tasting. A zesty orange aroma gradually made its way to my sensory bulbs, followed by the tartly sweet scent of fresh cranberries. These scones were baked to perfection and absolutely heavenly.
Already delectable on their own, the scones also paired fantastically with the Devon cream and jam that had been provided; the result was an even further indulgent product.

The finishing touches of the set were equally scrumptious. The German chocolate cake was an evidently elaborate dessert, consisting of chewy coconut shreds embedded amidst a dense chocolate-y body and a well-textured nutty topping. The vanilla cupcake and shortbread cookie were also great, though neither left as strong of an impression as the first dessert.
 
Throughout the meal, our tea pots were slowly depleted of their contents, and, as if she had heard my inner voice cry out at the thought of being dehydrated, our waitress instantly made an appearance to refill both with hot water.

My first visit at The Tea Room was a most leisurely experience, integrated with a cozy, comfortable environment and friendly, attentive service. Should another girls' day out opportunity arise, both of us agreed that we would enjoy nothing more than to spend it chatting away while enjoying afternoon tea.
 
It is also essential to note that I did not witness the usage of a single piece of tableware that was chipped, scratched, or bearing signs of mild deterioration. This was a good indication of the high level of attention to detail was paid to ensure that the overall customer experience would be satisfactory.

Our bill was delivered to us on a flawless, gold-trimmed plate (and lined with lace serving paper) with a pleasantly straightforward "Thank you!" scribbled on its back side. We were then directed to the other half-occupied dining room to pay, where we spent another solid ten minutes browsing the selection of adorable teaware on display.

Tall tins of the restaurant's own tea blends lined the shelves behind the cashier, so it was only proper of me to inquire about their individual popularity ranking after having a chance to taste the brewed versions firsthand. After a brief conversation with the lady there, I opted to take two 50 g bags home to try: the Oolong Ginger Lemon and Chai. Each bag was priced reasonably at $5.50.

We later decided to venture about Streetsville, though the frigid temperatures quickly sent us back to the warmth of the vehicle. It was a shame that musty puddles had temporarily taken place of the delicate little white flakes that would have made the walk more enjoyable.

So far, I have had the opportunity to brew each acquired tea blend once in the comfort of my own kitchen, enjoying both reasonably. But for the complete afternoon tea experience, I can't seem to conjure up a better option than visiting The Tea Room personally.

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