Pekoe Tea Lounge

Pekoe Tea Lounge used to be one of my favorite places for a cup or a container of take-​away tea. They used to bake lots of quality gluten-​free and regular baked goods in house. They used to have a much wider selection of tea, and staff who knew and understood good customer service.
That was before new management took over.
Nowadays, the prices have gone up by something in the region of 20 to 25%, the pastry selection is not only bought elsewhere instead of made in-​house, but also lost much [if not all] of the gluten-​free pies, the selection of teas has decreased dramatically, and when you ask for Assam, you get some sort of brew that smells like turpentine mixed with dirt, and they won’t give refunds or exchanges on products, even if one was a faithful customer for years.
I won’t be going back.

Love this place! Been going to this place for years to buy my tea. Picking your own tea cup in fun if you choose to stay. The food is great and the pie is even better. Excellent service.

Have popped in twice during my visit to Vancouver, for to-​go orders: a properly steeped London Fog and a purist Sencha. My children each had an iced tea and got a kick out of the tea pyramid. Loved that they even brought simple sugar syrup as an option for them to sweeten their tea. Will make sure to return so that we can pick our cups and sit for a longer experience.

Love the tea pyramid, no need to bother the server and was able to smell all the different kinds of tea. Cake was good, décor was cozy, couch was comfy, service was top notch. You can even pick your own cup and saucer. What more can you ask for?

Pie is kind of pricy, but then again I’m no pie expert. BUT I must say i love love love the tea pyramid because unlike davids tea and teavana, you are able to browse the teas freely without having to bother the servers. The choice of tea this afternoon was «Oolong Nutcracker» a blend of nutty flavours while containing the good ol’ asian comfort. The pecan pie tart is amazing, very buttery and flavourful. although the chocolate pecan tart is not for my tastebuds. if you’re a fan of super sweet sweets then I’m sure this one is for you! excellent service and i will definitely be visiting again.

I always have such a lovely experience at Pekoe. Nothing but 100% fabulous service, tea and tasty food! Great selection of teas, beautiful displays and I love that you can choose your own tea cup to use!

We found out this lovely tea and coffee place by coincidence but we fell in love with it immediately — deeply impressed with their selection of tea, their décor is cozy, relaxing and welcoming as a place like this should be, good selection of cakes and bakeries, and most important of all, the couple who is running this place is so sincere, kind and generous that makes one feel like there is no other place else to go if you want to yourself a lovely afternoon!

They offer a very nice variety of teas here! The staff is helpful and informative.
So many choices of tea in 2 different prices, making it hard to choose what to drink! I ended up with a small black tea infused with the flavour of chocolate dipped strawberries; it was quite tasty! The higher priced tea was for upscale teas, which mine was not. The small was adequate, tasty and welcome on this cold, wet and blustery day. Being served in a porcelain teacup certainly helps enhance the flavour.
Authentic hardwood floors lead you to the counter where they offer tempting pasties.
Yum!

One of my favourite places in Vancouver, and almost next door to me, so I have become a regular. The staff recognize me now and are always helpful about recommendations when I’m feeling indecisive. I frequently buy my loose tea here – their «almond joy green tea» is what I usually start my day with, and I end my day with their «spicy chocolate roobios» at bedtime… Although they have a great selection and I have many favourites.
This is also a cozy place to stay in and order tea, by yourself with a book or with a friend – tea is always delicious and they have adorable, mismatched china cups and saucers for your use!
In the summer, come for iced tea, too!
Their goodies are also delicious… I need to delve into their pies!

Team Pie came here for an afternoon thera-​pie and I had a great taste of the following slices:
Chocolate Banana Mousse Pie (~$ 7)
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Pie (~$ 7)
First off, these slices are huge. I attacked the banana flavour first. This slice had a thick chocolate base and was topped with a chocolate-​covered piece of banana to confirm it’s banana-​neity. Unneeded though, because the banana was very present in the chocolate mousse. The pie crust wasn’t anything spectacular. It was quite dry and tasted like dry flour. The height of the slice kind of made up for it though.
Chocolate Banana Mousse Pie
On the raspberry side of things, this had a cool pink glow to the slice and the main difference between this and the banana was this flavour had a sour taste compared to the savoury banana taste. Same story with the dry shell, but I think you will be happy with either choice if you’re just looking for a sweet mousse with chocolate built in. For me, the banana was the «Mmmm» and the raspberry was the «Ahhh».

Service was very friendly, we had a London fog and pie. The fogs were well done, the pies tasty but at no time is a piece of pie worth $ 8.50 unless it’s the whole pie. Anyone ever pay $ 50+ for a pie? Will likely return for tea/​coffee but will skip the pie.

The pie was good, but perhaps not as warm as I’d like… but the tea was delicious (although I’m admittedly hardly a tea connoisseur…)
Friendly service and great ambience, topped by a fantastic selection of fine china teacups was awesome.

Popped in here on a wee break from work. It’s a little further afield for me than my usual but I heartily dislike my usual so not really a problem. Assam tea and strawberry rhubarb pie tickled my fancy. The verdict? Best tea and pie I’ve bought in this city.
The tea tastes like it should, no yucky overtones or strange flavours from using water not hot enough. Comes in a cup and saucer as nature intended (The blue and white ones are mine, you can choose a different colour.)
The pie — well, first off it didn’t use a military transport plane to fill it full of sugar like every other piece of pie I’ve had in Vancouver. There was a pleasant tartness and the texture was very nice. After finishing it (quickly, despite its good size) I wanted more.
The décor is pleasant as was the staff. Nice wooden furniture in rich tones, not the cold aesthetic you usually find in cafés. I’ll be back!

Decided to pop in here after seeing it numerous times before on my last trip to Vancouver. Decided to start this trip out right with some yummy food and tea. I love tea — especially chai. So when I looked up at the menu and saw so many chai options I knew this place was after my heart. I made sure to let the super friendly lady at the counter know that also.
I got the authentic chai and it was spot on. I loved it. And not to hot to drink right away too — perfection.
And the pie. I had the strawberry rhubarb. I ALWAYS leave the end of the pie crust because I don’t like it as much with so much less filling making the bland taste that MOST pie crusts I find have. NOT this pie. Let me repeat NOT this pie. I ATE EVERY LAST CRUMB. Yep. Seriously.
I’ll be going back. Maybe tomorrow even. For breakfast. Lunch. And snack? Hey — so many pies to try before I head back home to Hawaii!
(Vegan and Gluten free friendly too!)
UPDATE FROM 6÷19÷14:
Yep — 2 days later I am updating. Already. Honestly — before I leave Vancouver there will probably be another update. Yesterday I went with 2 girlfriends for lunch. It is adorable that you get to pick your own tea cup and they have a little French press looking thing that they bring your tea in. So freakin’ cute! I had a veggie wrap too and it was tasty with a tad bit of spice.
Authentic Chai. First off — I am a Chai whore anyways. But I may very well be an addict to this one. 3 in 3 days.
And pie. I had another piece yesterday for lunch. And another today for dessert.
UPDATE AGAIN:
I think I was here almost every day of my 9 day trip to Vancouver. I wish I was kidding. Aww… how am I kidding? I don’t wish I was kidding — this place is amazing. Spot on service, pie, and tea. My kind of place.
So the pies I tried… Below are the flavors and a bit of info on them and my rating from favorite to least favorite (Though all were good!)
Apple Blackberry — Perfect blend of flavor. My all time favorite. I came back for this one a couple times.
Strawberry Rhubarb — Sweet, tart and the perfect combination of flavors. Can’t go wrong with this pie.
Lemon tart — I expected it to be a bit more tarty but I loved it all the same.
Raspberry Rhubarb — A bit too tart, but still yummy. Anything with rhubarb is a solid choice.
Chocolate Banana Cream — Good, tasty, but I am less of a chocolate person.
Let’s rank my pies from favorite to least favorite:
1. Apple Blackberry
2. Strawberry Rhubarb
3. Lemon Tart
4. Raspberry Rhubarb
5. Chocolate Banana Cream

Amazing selection of the most stunning pies.
I usually prefer cream/​custard pies, but this time we tried the strawberry rhubarb and apple pies (they just looked tooooo good to pass up). They were terrific. Not too sweet, lots of fruity filling, and a flakey, buttery crust to top it all off. The décor inside was lovely, but it was a warm Spring day so we sat outside on their small street patio instead. Great little place, could’ve spent all day there.

I’m no tea drinker but I do love PIE.
The space itself is inviting and since I hate all things Starbucks, I’d rather see people go a place like this. However,. that is not the reason to go — they don’t only have pie,. they focus on it a core or their business,. unlike anywhere in the surrounding area (which happens to be my neighbourhood!).
I’m a pie snob and this pie is GOOD. Not Savoury Island Pie Co. good, but worth eating,. and I even had the gluten free one,. could have fooled me.

This place is a great find on Broadway for those looking for an alternative to DAVIDs. Don’t get me wrong, DAVIDs is good and all, but sometimes you’re curious as to what else there is. So I stepped into here on an early weekday morning to look at their tea selection and was totally impressed.
The shop itself is super cute — well laid out and works great for both customers grabbing a cup to stay or for those buying a gift. The owner recognizes regulars and has their little extras ready to go to speed their take-​out order up, and thus has more time to take me around the store to talk about tea.
There’s a hefty selection and a tiered pricing system — the crème de la crème looked and smelled amazing but I cringed a little when I heard the prices. Thank goodness the tiered pricing helps you find something within your price range! They also package items up nicely for a gift, though I imagine this process gets rushed once the shop gets busier.
The food here is all fantastic as well — so many pies! A lot of local organic ingredients (and a few items that works well for gluten free and dairy free friends) means some delicious snacks so it’s totally recommended.
Easily accessible via bus along Broadway (the 9, 99, or 17).

I don’t usually like froofy tea rooms, but this was more comfy & cozy than frilly, and the tea and pie were awesome.
Go straight to the table at the back with tiers of tea to check out. You can read the descriptions and smell the tea before picking one out. There are dozens of green, white, black, & rooibos.
I picked one called Margaret’s Hope, solely based on the name, and it was a nice strong black tea.
Lots of pies to choose from, and my friend & I got the chocolate banana cream pie and the chocolate pecan. Both were delicious and very rich. We were both full after half a slice.
Service was knowledgable and helpful. I also really liked how they had a side table where you pick out your own cup– plain mugs, old fashioned flowery china teacup & saucer, whatever you like.
We’re already planning on returning so we can work our way through tasting all the teas!

Formerly Steeps on Broadway.
Pekoe Tea Lounge is the same owners as Steeps on Broadway. But instead of being a franchise of the Calgary company, a few years ago they decided to be their own location serving Steeps teas. Such an awesome move for them.
I lovelovelove their tea-​smelling station. They have a huge table piled with small tins of their different types of teas. You can smell them, browse, and then approach the counter to order or purchase. It’s a sit-​down store as well as take-​home loose tea. They have a decent selection of nibblies to go with your cuppa, but not for a full-​blown lunch.
They also have a decent selection of tea accessories. I like getting the individual «Tea Sacs» envelopes for loose tea single servings. I also bought my favourite to go mug here — it’s not one of the anti-​leak ones, but the shape is perfect to hold and the design is a First Nations butterfly.

Now I don’t feel guilty eating some healthy, organic, gluten-​free pie! Though the chocolate banana cream pie still wasn’t sugar-​free or gluten-​free, I just had to have it & can recommend this for my fellow Unilocalers. Server was really helpful in whipping out underneath the counter, listing the ingredients of almost every pie!
Plus it’s a great place to bring a date to if you dont feel like having dinner b/​c it’s nice enough for sure. Esp. with the seating area in the back corner, but all commfy lounge chairs throughout.
How anyone can have the patience to choose the gazillions of tea available is amazing, flavours all around.
Parking always tough here, beware of rush hour restrictions. Saw a few cars tow right at 3pm…