Since she works so darned hard, I thought this year, we should postpone our Mother's Day. Instead I decided to treat her to an afternoon tea the following weekend. She was pumped for this plan.
I made reservations at a local French macaron boutique called MacaronZ. We couldn't wait to check it out since the website showed an adorable little cafe.
Very recently, MacaronZ expanded to the space next door to their original shop and offer a proper Afternoon Tea service in the larger space.
We arrived on a gray, rainy Sunday. The owner herself, Zanda Rodriguez, welcomed us into the chic and comfortable cafe. I had a good feeling about this place.
The artwork on display was acquired by Zanda during her travels in Paris. The furniture is eclectic and serving-ware mismatched in that perfectly uncoordinated way. I was in love.
We arrived on a gray, rainy Sunday. The owner herself, Zanda Rodriguez, welcomed us into the chic and comfortable cafe. I had a good feeling about this place.
The artwork on display was acquired by Zanda during her travels in Paris. The furniture is eclectic and serving-ware mismatched in that perfectly uncoordinated way. I was in love.
They have a good selection of black, green, herbal and white teas from Sloane Fine Tea Merchants. Available for coffee drinkers is Mochaberry's Fair Trade Organic Medium coffee. I selected the Heavenly Cream black tea and hoooo boy! I'm now a huge fan!!
The menu starts with a twist, instead of the traditional finger sandwiches of an afternoon tea, MacaronZ serves mini quiche. The pastry was flaky and the filling nice and cheesy. As always, I could fill up on the savoury items, but thankfully there were only two, leaving me room to gorge on the rest.
Large plain scones with cream and jam are all hand made. Sometimes a scone can taste a bit dry. Leaving your mouth with an odd aftertaste and in need of gulping tea. Not these scones. They were slightly sweet and dense. The perfect base for smothering in cream and jam (or is it jam and cream?).
On the top tier of the cake stand are the sweets. The lovely, delicate, beautiful, tasty sweets. A petit four, profiterole, shortbread cookie, and of course a French macaron. Everything was made in-house and you could tell. The food was fresh and flavourful.
Over the course of our tea, we got to chatting with Zanda and she might possibly be my new favourite Lady Boss. She started her business selling her French treats at the Brampton Farmer's Market and eventually opened a store front with cafe in 2011. She still sells at the farmer's market each summer, supporting the local commerce.
Zanda said that on Mother's Day (they were full so remember to book early for next year), they gave out a present to all mothers and since this was our Mother's Day, she extended the gift on this weekend to my mum as well. When we left, we couldn't stop gushing about this place; the service, the food, the tea, the macarons, the owner. I might have found my favourite Canadian afternoon tea spot.
The official grand opening of the dedicated tea room will be taking place in June.
MacaronZ serves Afternoon tea Thursdays-Sundays: 12:15-2:15 and 2:30-4:30. Check out its website to make a reservation.
