Anniversary outing - a little delayed

March 3rd is our anniversary. We have this little tradition where we alternate each year, one picking a restaurant, and keeping it a secret to surprise the other. We've been to a variety of places, from the rustic to formal, and some places that have since sadly closed, but we've not had a bad choice yet.

Of course this year we were sick with the flu, so we did not mark it on the date itself. It was my turn to pick a place this year, and I chose a special Sunday brunch rather than a dinner.

The Fairmont Chateau Laurier sits at the intersection of Sussex and Rideau in all its old style splendor as an example of "Canada's Grand Railway Hotels" of the bygone railroad age. It was to be opened in April 1912 by the president of the Grand Trunk Railway, Charles Hayes, who commissioned it. Unfortunately he chose to travel back to North America via the Titanic, and so the opening was necessarily postponed, until someone else was chosen to do it.  According to legend, he still haunts the hotel.

The Chateau Laurier from the Ottwa river. (Courtesy of a photographer who released the image to Wikipedia commons.)

The hotel was the home of Yousuf Karsh for many years. I never understand that someone would spend such ridiculous amounts of money to live in a place that isn't theirs, but to each their own, I guess.  The hotel is separated from Parliament Hill only by the Rideau Canal's Ottawa locks, so it was also a convenient home to a Prime Minister for five years in the 1930's. And most bizarre to me, CBC radio Ottawa occupied two floors for eighty years.

So, on a bitterly cold, but sunny Sunday we drove to the hotel for our annual celebration.The interior is oddly reminiscent of its origin, with dark red patterned carpets, dark stained wood, and darkly upholstered heavy furniture in the lobby. The decor in Wilfrid's Restaurant is formal but airy and sunny, due to a solarium wall. They seated us right by the glass.

The hotel serves high tea on Sunday. They give you three choices: traditional, Canadian, or princess. The last option is really for little girls and comes with a teapot full of hot chocolate, with whipped cream instead of a lid. Two eight (?) year old girls in formal velvet dresses and patent leather shoes were treated to this at the table next to us.

We opted for the Canadian high tea.
Fruit cup in a martini glass was served first. Then the teapots arrived. Kyoto cherry rose for me (must find this incredible subtle green tea somewhere) and a spiced safari chai for him.
The stacked tea tray came with plain and cranberry scones, on the bottom plate. Clotted cream and strawberry jam were served on the side. Smoked salmon and cream cheese pinwheel sandwiches, Alberta beef with watercress and horseradish mayonnaise on  crostini, and smoked duck on crostini on the middle plate. On top of the stack were butter tarts, sponge cakes, and a maple leaf cookie, beautifully curled. There was a cheese platter with cheddar, oka and brie, with crackers and grapes.

Despite the fact that the sandwiches and cakes were all miniature sized, the whole meal was pretty filling. No doubt the volume of tea helps to make you feel even more sated.

When leaving, I snapped a quick shot of the locks, the hotel on the right, Parliament Hill on the left, and Gatineau in the distance across the still mostly frozen Ottawa river.  Despite the bitter cold, some runoff thaw water has started running trough the locks to the river.

And that was enough cold wind for me, and we went back home
.