The Vanitea Room

Amazing place makes you feel like you’re back in Paris. Nicest Waitresses with the best services, talented seasoned chefs great atmosphere we have become regulars for our brunches.

Nice decore. Decent service. Had the tea service x2 It was $75 pp. Food did not taste soft and fresh. Mediocre.
Butter cold and in packets, had to ask for it, not provided up front. Not worth the cost.

I took my elderly mother to lunch at Vanitea this week for a treat. The food was excellent and it is a charming place. However, our food took over an hour to arrive, once ordered. There were only two other parties present, one of which had already finished eating. We were told “your meals are almost ready” a couple of times, but no acknowledgement or apology about how long it was taking, no offer of a complementary beverage or snack to keep us going, and no percentage off the bill.
I won’t be going back to or recommending this restaurant.

I was so excited for this event but unfortunately it was highly disappointing. The website indicated that Devona Coe and Saltina Shaker would be performing with a guest but it was neither. The show was also very short. The food and drinks were really horrible and overpriced. Probably the worst I have ever had at a restaurant before. We were served mediocre tacos that I could have made better at home and asian style bun that was burnt. The saving grace was that the atmosphere is beautiful and the wait staff were fantastic. Very friendly and caring but unfortunately I will not be returning or recommending this experience. Maybe the brunch experience is better? !

Was super excited to come here for my sisters bday, interior was very well designed. We got our mimosas and coffees pretty quickly, but our dishes took an HOUR. I understand brunch can be crazy but would have been nice to get an explanation or some complementary scones. The portion sizes were also quite small for the prices (if im pay 25$ at brunch it should be a big plate) our server listened to my qualms and offered us a discount which was good of her. Overall disappointing!

It’s a small place but the food was great! I really loved the tea I got. The staff was great too. I will definitely come back:)

First time at Vanitea and if you are looking for a more modern version of high tea this is the place! The staff were so lovely and helpful during our stay and the food was delicious! Has delicious teas, but also something for everyone.

To be honest I came here many moons ago for a bachelorette and remember bottomless mimosas and how pretty it was. This time around I was amazed at the portion on my plate, that the eggs of my Benedict came out boiled hard rather than poached, and that a simple latte was 7.50$. The staff were very nice, and they were good enough to redo my eggs, but I was done by then. My bill came to 40 something after tax. The presentation is nice but as Ottawa ups its brunch game I don’t know if I’d come back for the price and limited options. Great spot for photos though.

Went for a special outing with an old friend. We had prepaid for high tea and bottomless mimosas.
Pro- very cute a sheik, servers were positive and prompt. Decor was nice and servers were well groomed. Mimosas were options of orange or grapefruit and were tasty with pulp. Yea there were about 15 options with both caffeine free and caffinated and unlimited refills. Washrooms we’re clean and well stocked.
Cons - very small space, waiting for our reserved table was with about 6 other people and in a front entry that is the size of a mud room right by the stairs to the basement. Washrooms are only down a flight of stairs (approximately 20). Biggest let down of the day was the food. My friend and I are big foodies and to say we were very disappointed would be an understatement. The savoury items were dry, cold and very tasteless. The mid section which was also dry and bland. The sweets were very pretty but the cake was burnt on the bottom, the cupcake was extremely dry, and the mousse was like jello.
I was so excited to make the hour and 15 minute drive to try this restaurant and I unfortunately would not recommend or return.

A lovely spot for brunch. Very esthetically pleasing with the flowers on chandeliers and floral wallpaper. I loved it and I can't wait to return and try different menu items. I had one of the benedicts but on a dutch baby and it was fabulous! The service was friendly and attentive.

I would personally not come back to this place again. I came with a group of 4 girls total. We ordered the bottomless mimosas and the three course brunch menu on a Sunday afternoon earlier this month. The pros of the place is that the servers were very kind and the decor was stellar. You can see that great care is taken to make the room look whimsical and pretty. Almost like Alice in Wonderland. The cons echo what was written in some of the other reviews. You don’t feel like you are getting reasonable value and the taste of the food wasn’t that great. The first course was a small scone. It tasted great but it was barely a few bites. The brisket eggs Benedict (photo attached) looked great but the brisket was dry and and the overall dish tasted plain. The third course was some sort hard meringue with a mousse or jam like pudding. Very awkward to eat together and a bit messy.

I would not want to have bottomless mimosas from Vanitea room either. I felt awkward asking for additional drinks and had the feeling that we were being rushed out of there to accommodate other guests and they even mentioned at one point they ran out of mimosas. It’s offensive to advertise something you can’t fulfill. I would rather order a few bottles of Prosecco and orange juice so I wouldn’t have to feel rushed or watched.

Needless to say I would avoid if I could.

Brunch here was amazing! It’s a small dining area, but cozy with a very welcoming vibe. The staff were excellent and genuine in their helpfulness. The food was a unique, creative and DELISH! Highly recommend eating here.

Had a great experience here, from start to finish. Cozy little place with a great menu. Chloe was very nice, took her time to explain everything and made sure throughout that everything was meeting expectations. The food and drinks were excellent. Highly recommend this place, we’ll be back again for sure.

Super cute place for a girl date! It's a small space so a reservation would be a good idea! The food was very tasty - good mixture of flavours and textures. I got the brunch sampler for $45, it comes with tea.it had a good mix of savory and sweet items. I enjoyed my time here:)

Attended a drag dinner and was very impressed with the adorable little cafe. Beautiful decor makes the space very unique. Creative dishes and drinks for the drag dinner. The drag show itself was very fun and entertaining, and the staff kept the bottomless cocktails coming.

If you can afford it, pay for the real deal- this isn't it. While the first server that sat us down, Chloe, did an amazing job and was really knowledgeable, the rest of the experience was overseen by another server and was 'meh' at best.
The demographic of the clients and servers alike was early 20s, so as a group of 30+ year olds, we were definitely out of place. They were late setting up our reserved table, then rushed us out before our 90 minutes was up. Additonally, they did not rotate the sugar bowls at the tables, so ours had a spoon hardened with sugar, because someone has obviously used the spoon in their tea.
After taking away our plates, the server cleared our tea out, without asking, before some of us had finished. The space is really crowded and the choice of dishes was really inconvenient- our scones came in cages. The food was not a complimentary mix! For example, there was a tiny pink pancake with kale pesto as one of the savory treats.
Towards the end, the server came by to let me know she was bringing the debit/credit machine for payment. I had paid online already, so I was confused for a moment, until she said 'it's for gratuity'. When she brought me the machine, she told me to 'just put in the right amount and pay'. Overall, I would not recommend. You'd have a better experience ordering your favourite items from a local bakery and making a pot of tea that you can actually drink, at home with friends.

What a beautiful spot! I had such a special experience when I visited for lunch this past week. The staff are so friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and what goes well together. I could see how this would be the perfect spot for people to host small events with friends. 5 stars all the way!

What a truly magical and wonderful experience. This is my first time visiting The Vanitea Room. I was there with two friends for a little Christmas celebration. Two of us had the afternoon tea and the third had the brunch sampler. None of us were disappointed and we all left with take out boxes because we simply could not finish all the food.
All of the food items are thoughtfully prepared and are very unique twists on traditional tea house items.
The tea selection is fantastic as well.
The decor is stunning. It transports you to some sort of magical fairy world. Even the bathrooms are decorated beautifully.
Everything was clean and in good shape.
The icing on the cake was the fantastic service. Not only was our server knowledgeable about the tea selection and the food items, but she was very attentive and friendly. Made us feel like we were at a friend's house for tea.
I highly recommend this establishment and I can't wait to go back.

Lovely decor with ambience for girls day or cute date. Menu selection has a good variety of classic brunch dishes, high tea sets, cocktails and tea lattes. There are gluten free and vegan menu options here. We tried their Brunch Tea Sampler and Steak Benny Baby. Got a hourglass sand timer to steep our tea just right, so photogenic. Scones were warm and tasty with their jam made in house, and brisket benedict was a nice savoury addition. Will come back to try other teas and lavender latte.

Everything on the menu was amazing, had them tacos though and the jerk was seasoned to perfection. Another colleague had the eggs Benedict with beef brisket which was simply amazing. There was another colleague that ordered another option with the biscuit beef bacon which had fresh veggies that was so good. Clearly we all tried each other’s entrees. But my tacos made me so happy that I just had to pick the entire bill lol
Please try these, you will not be disappointed. Definitely the best menu so far since they’ve been in business a days always the drinks were super

We had the two vegan items on the menu. The vibe was excellent. The drinks were good but hard to drink with all the bits.how do you properly drink it with all the floaties lol. Might be a me thing. Finally the food was presented well but was quiet bland so was not impressed.

Id come back for the atmosphere only.

Following suit of another reviewer…
Drag Performances & Queens: 20/10
Cocktails: 1/10
Food: 1/10

The show was absolutely incredible and this review is a reflection of the food and establishment itself, not the queens.

We were a group of 7 and were seated outside. Our tables were warped due to the rain so our belongings would just slide to the middle of the table.

We chose the $45 “Chic and Cheap” option, which was confusing right off the bat. We ordered the “lychee mule”, and when it arrived were surprised to be informed it was actually a mocktail - there was nothing on the menu that indicated it was a mocktail nor did the server mention it. We “upgraded” to a shot of vodka but they were watered down, same with all other drinks the group ordered (even the shots!)

My food was also extremely disappointing. I ordered the vegan option - cauliflower rice - which was about 1/4 the size of the meat option, but the same price. Same with dessert, the vegan portion was maybe 1/12 the size of the non-vegan option (literally a tablespoon worth). It is frustrating to pay the same price yet receive a mere fraction of the portion of the non-vegan option.

Overall, I don’t believe the price is worth the value of the food, drinks, and service, however I would definitely recommend checking out the queens at other venues as they are wonderful.

It was a nice atmosphere. Current menu doesn't match the website information for drag dinner. The staff were very friendly and attentive

I love the creativity this place offers! Hidden gem at the hub of Somerset. Friendly atmosphere, good music and great customer service. The quality of food and selection can be better

The food and tea are very good. The beef bacon is fantastic. I was a little disappointed with the service during most recent visit, It took three attempts to get someone's attention to get the bill, they payed a lot more attention to the loud table next to us.

The queens were flawless and the performances were amazing for such a small venue, and the venue itself is very well decorated, but for the price we paid per person I would have expected higher quality food. The chicken cachitory was a small portion and similar in flavour to the kind of thing I'd cook on a shoestring budget at home with a can of tomatoes. Dessert was a single rock-hard scone each. The menu itself was extremely limited and expensive, with only two price points available (55 and 75 dollars) and three options each (a vegan curry, the aforementioned chicken, and salmon). I wanted to be impressed, but I just wasn't. Vanitea, you have a great spot and a gorgeous interior, but I can't go back to a place that's going to charge me 70 dollars for sub-par chicken, mashed potatoes, and a stale scone.

Had a lovely afternoon tea here with my daughter. Everything thing from the food, service and atmosphere was exceptional. Our server was friendly, the food was delicious. Definitely will recommend this place and will return

Disappointed and not worth the money.
Came here for a date expecting a lot more.we pre-booked a 3 course meal with bottomless prosecco costing around $65 a person or $127 in total.
Upon arrival the moment you walk-in to their indoor dining you are standing in the middle of the "dining room" there is no host stand or host/server near the door, on top of that the space is small so if someone in standing there you have to back up in order for someone to walk by you (making you back into tables/someone else) Therefore, we were waiting for someone to help us which took a good 5-10 mins as the three servers that were there were all too busy, one was on patio, one was talking to someone and one was in the kitchen/bar. None facing you or acknowledging you once entered. When they finally noticed us it was still a bit of a wait to get seated.

When we got seated we were disappointed as we were sat at this plastic small table with a gold table cloth and very very small plastic chairs (They for sure had better tables that had cushion chairs and seats) The seat not only was uncomfortable but looked like they just sticked it in a corner to make "Extra seating" (advised that there were tables leaving/has payed the bills but we were not offered to wait as we noticed they were also struggling to decide on a table to give us)

it only got worse from there as service was horrible, we were given a seating limit (which is understandable) but the verbiage given made it seem like they want us immediately up and out while other tables were allowed to stay seated after they payed their bills. We ended up not enjoying the meal as it was mediocre, AC wasn't really working and not a great overall experience. We only managed to stay there for 30 mins and the other tables that payed when we arrived were still seated with no intent to leave and as this was a prepaid experience we asked the server if anything needs to be done, they said no therefore we walked out, when exiting the door another server approached us saying "Did you pay? " when they are well aware and knew that we were doing the prepaid experience making it sound like we were walking out on a meal. DO NOT RECOMMEND rather be doing the Shangri-la Tea Room experience or actually buying from a local bakery instead.

The perfect place for a cutie brunch with the girls. Unique & tasty menu. Plenty of vegan and gf options. The atmosphere was so cute! Very Instagramable. The staff were kind, friendly and fast. I’m going back.

An amazing brunch place owned and hosted by some very cool people. They're super friendly and encourage great dogs on their patio (they've got very cool water dishes that they'll bring out)

The food is amazing! Definitely top tier brunch food with vegan options that even entice someone who loves the brisket benny. All fresh, delicious, and presented in unique, fun ways.

A lively musical selection and bottomless mimosas that they're not at all stingy with refilling. This is a must try brunch place.

What a disappointment!
We arrived with a nice feeling, the reception is perfect, the waitress very pleasant and smiling.
Then everything goes wrong, I order a hot tea, it arrives cold, we order dishes, we were served 40 min later, receiving the wrong dishes, we make a change, and our dishes arrived cold, the white waffle, not cooked, raw scones, many wasps share our meal, we reported all these problems, but in the end no small gesture on the note. 75$, very expensive for 2 teas and very small cold dishes and raw scones. In short, really disappointed, the whole thing was disappointment after disappointment. Thank you for the welcome of the waitress though.

Went for brunch this past weekend and I was so happy and appreciative of how amazing the service was and how delicious my chicken and waffles were.

We did have to wait a considerable time for our table due to how evidently busy they were, but they made up for it by sending us complimentary macarons and even prosecco! Very generous and allowed us to stay longer than their usual 1.5 seating time. As someone who has worked in the industry as a chef prior to settling down with a family, this is a very challenging time for restaurants.

I have read some of their negative reviews, and all I can say to people is be kind to business owners, their staff and their struggle. They are doing their best to make us all happy!

I spent a little while speaking to one of the servers who had expressed how much they were all working and very grateful to be busy, but some customers are a little mean when they are trying to keep up and catch up!

All and all a very a good experience and we will be back. I hope management reads this and knows they are doing a great job! Keep it up.

Great food. Despite rain and wasps the service was phenomenal. I'm not sure of the name of our server or the other young women working while we were having our brunch but they were amazing and really tried to go above and beyond to make it a really nice morning. Very tasty food coffee was great and bottomless mimosas were so fun.

The selection is quite disappointing and the prices are no better; not sure how you can sell yogurt with toppings for 16 bucks. And oml the portion is tiny! I usually don’t finish my food at restaurants and I take the rest home but I was able to eat the whole plate. The food tastes okay but definitely did not justify the price considering how standard everything on the plate is comparing to other establishments that serve higher end breakfast. The vegetables that come with the dishes were burned for each person at our table. Service was very minimal. After I paid the server walked away with the machine without saying anything like asking if I wanted my receipt or at least a thank you. The environment is nice though; the decorations and furniture are all very adorable and unique. Probably wouldn’t come back based on this initial experience:/.

An Ottawa experience you definitely need to check off your bucket list! Beautiful ambiance and decor, great service and delicious tea!

Had a really great time here. Such nice staff and great food. Will be coming back again for sure. Good job and what an awesome experience.

Love this place. Gf introduced me and we've been loyal visitors since it reopened in June.if you love a fun and creative brunch experience, this place is for you!

Favourite brunch spot. Mimosas are to die for and well priced! Love the whole feel of this place and my waffles were so pretty!

Great brunch spot. Can't say enough good things about this place. Food, service and decor is all 4 stars! We already booked for two weekends from our last reservation)

Staff vraiment accueillant. Petite place très cozy. Spectacle super le fun. Je recommande cette place pour understand de soirée des plus extraordinaires.

Terrible customer service. Had a reservation for 2 at vanitea room but they told us to wait another 30+ minutes upon arrival because apparently another group arrived 45 minutes late to their reservation. Had to go eat somewhere else.

We did the three course bottomless Prosecco brunch. Warm scones to begin, choice of Benny & desserts. The staff were on top of our drinks and as soon as we finished a drink they poured another. The courses came quickly and it was all delicious!

I love the concept of this restaurant. In reality, my eggs were salty and not hot, the music at 1PM was loud and felt out of place, the room didn't have AC, and it was a sweaty experience.

I had such a great experience catching up with a friend of mine. This place was absolutely lovely. We sat on the patio and received excellent service from our server Megan. I was so pleased with the vegan options! Highly recommend.

Great brunch, small space inside. Not enough separation between tables. The food is great but the place is not very inviting and neither was our weitress.

Our server went above and beyond. She explained everything in great detail and was very patient with us. The presentation of the food and drinks was beautiful. A must try in ottawa!

Had the pleasure of enjoying the patio at Vanitea for brunch. Started off with a grapefruit infused mimosa (sorry no picture, was gone too quickly!), and then had their Purple Benedict. Over the moon in love with their food, so delicious! Our waitress was so personable and knowledgeable, I will definitely be back!

My wife and I did the brunch special with unlimited Prosecco for 55$/each. We left greatly disappointed. The only thing that saved the day was the unlimited alcohol which we might have drank about 4-5 flute each. The music playing was Reggae which doesn’t really work with the atmosphere. The server we had wasn’t making it a good experience for us. They served us 4 plain scones for the both of us that tasted more like cookies. The amount of preserved provided was not enough. The Benedict pulled meat was ok but like I said good thing it was unlimited alcohol. To finish it all they served us 4 mini one biter dessert for the both of us. I prepaid everything online and when we left I asked to pay gratuity. We I received the machine the server inputted an automatic 18% gratuity and that asked to add another tip on top of it which I found really insulting. I really wanted it to work out but something was missing for the 149.60$ we paid for two.