Bacchus Brings Back Its Nutcracker Afternoon Tea

By Date Spark team · Published October 30, 2026

Bacchus is trading autumn for nutcrackers. The Nutcracker Afternoon Tea returns to the Wedgewood Hotel's dining room on Saturday, November 7, 2026, and runs Saturdays and Sundays until January 16, 2027, according to the hotel's 2026 menu. It costs $95 per person, prepaid, with seatings at 2:30pm, 2:45pm and 3pm and two hours at the table.

Christmas dinner, shrunk to fit a tiered stand

The savoury tier reads like a holiday dinner that went through a very polite shrink ray: turkey and cranberry sandwiches with mustard rosemary aioli, a chestnut pate tart with cranberry and mushrooms, bacon and leek quiche, deviled eggs and a smoked salmon profiterole. The scones are white cheddar with pumpkin seed and cinnamon bun. Sweets run to eggnog tiramisu, a Dubai chocolate profiterole, pecan pie tartlet, mint chocolate cheesecake, cardamom and orange shortbread and macarons.

The tea list adds four seasonal blends, including a Nutcracker black tea and a Sugar Plum Fairy rooibos. Bacchus's booking page promises festive decor and live holiday music in the dining room, which is where this tea is served exclusively.

What two people actually spend

The fall tea it replaces was $82 per person and finishes on Sunday, November 1, so the holiday version costs $13 more. An automatic 18 percent gratuity is added on top, which is why the hotel's Tock page shows $113 per person. For two, budget about $226 before tax. A Kir Royale each at $16 a glass takes you to roughly $258 before tax and tip on the extras. The menu also offers Taittinger by the glass at $38, six local oysters for $26 and 20 grams of Kaviari caviar from $150, which is anniversary money, not Saturday money.

Read the fine print before you book. Bacchus says it cannot accommodate nut, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free requests for this tea, vegetarian or seafood allergy requests need a week's notice, and cancellations need 72 hours.

Who should book it, and how we would do it

This is a dress-up afternoon for couples who like a sense of occasion: a pre-holiday anniversary, a birthday, or the weekend you finally stop working before 5pm. If one of you eats gluten-free or vegan, skip it, because the kitchen will not bend this menu. Take the 3pm seating and you leave around 5pm, as the sky goes dark and the lounge gets interesting. Bacchus Lounge is open from 2:30pm, the live piano starts at 5pm Wednesday to Sunday, and the lounge is first come, first served, so a nightcap by the piano is one short walk away. Our pick is a November weekend, before the office party season fills every festive room downtown.