Afternoon Tea at The Wild Tart – Elora, Ontario

Named one of Canada’s most road-trippable towns, Elora is situated along the Grand River and the Elora Gorge in Southern Ontario. This beautiful village is home to many unique shops, cafes and restaurants including one that is equipped for a lovely afternoon tea service. The Wild Tart is situated in downtown Elora in a pale blue building with white trim. I have been wanting to visit this town for a while now to hike the Elora Gorge and I was even more eager to go when I found out there was an afternoon tea spot to visit, too!

Elora Gorge

The Elora Gorge is a natural area in the Grand River valley. Hiking trails in the area offer gorgeous views of the 22-metre deep gorge and cascading waterfalls. In addition to hiking, kayaking or tubing through the rapids is possible.

Feeling hot? Take a dip in the Elora Quarry afterwards. This two acre limestone quarry is available for swimming (admission tickets required in advance though) and the conversation area has spots for picnicking as well.

But, before this nature adventure, I definitely recommend going for afternoon tea at The Wild Tart.

About The Wild Tart

Established in 2019, The Wild Tart is described as a European style patisserie. The owners, Dominique and Geoffrey Wild, have over 40 years of hospitality management experience between them.

They have managed hotels and restaurants for companies like Fortnum and Mason, Soho House, Ritz Carlton and more.

Dominique’s love for Afternoon Tea actually started when she was working in the events management team at Fortnum and Mason. She was even part of the grand reopening of the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee.

Today the couple call Canada home and The Wild Tart is the first restaurant they have opened to share exciting quality food experiences with the community.

Entering The Wild Tart

Given the time of year, the front door was wide open waiting for our entrance. The restaurant was lined with wood floors and blue walls. Wood tables and blue chairs were arranged for seating in their dining areas. 

We waited by the front entrance desk for a staff member to check our reservation and guide us to the reserved table.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to view more of the indoors as we were seated outside for Afternoon Tea in their gardens. But, I took note of the enchanting ambience the moment we stepped inside.

Afternoon Tea in the Gardens (or Restaurant)

Located at the back of the restaurant is a patio area surrounded by lush greenery. Glass tables cover the deck with large red umbrellas for shade and cushioned chairs or wooden benches for comfort.

It’s a peaceful setting with soft sounds of nature and far away enough from the main street so the hustle and bustle nearby is drowned out.

Once seated with our menus we took a moment to decide on the tea to accompany our afternoon tea service. The table was set with matching all-white teacups waiting to be filled with hot tea. The teaware here was more modern and not vintage.

The Wild Tart Tea Menu

The Wild Tart offers a selection of 12 different teas sourced from Pluck Teas, a tea company based in Toronto, Ontario. The selection consists of a mix of black teas, green teas and herbal teas. So there are caffeinated and caffeine-free options.

You can order a pot of tea separately with other food items on the menu for $5.00. However, any of their 4 afternoon tea options includes a pot of tea already in the price.

I ordered Orange Pekoe of York which is an organic blend of premium high grown black and golden tea leaves. My husband went with Canadian Mint. That is an organic pan-fired green tea layered with Ontario-grown peppermint leaves, cornflowers, safflowers and sunflowers. It was inspired by the classic Moroccan Mint tea.

The tea is loose leaf and served in a white porcelain teapot with a fine mesh infuser basket inside. When the server brought our teas to the table she also brought a small pitcher of milk and a holder to place the infuser basket inside once the tea is steeped to perfection. This makes it mess-free and easier to not oversteep the tea.

Food Menu

The Wild Tart is a bit different from other afternoon tea rooms as it’s not exclusively for tea. You’ll notice this the moment you get the menu from the server as there are other food items available. This is great if you are out with someone who may not want afternoon tea as they can order something else.

But, for the afternoon tea lovers, you have a few options! You can order a full afternoon tea, a ritzy afternoon tea, a lighter afternoon tea, or even just afternoon tea sweets with a pot of tea.

I think there is something for everyone on the menu at The Wild Tart.

Savouries

The savoury portion of the menu was listed as a Selection of Finger Sandwiches. The Wild Tart stayed traditional and only served crustless mini sandwiches, no other savoury bites.

I was a bit surprised to see this first course on the middle tier which is the second course. The correct placement is the bottom tier.

There were 4 tea sandwiches served with white bread.

This included Smoked Salmon and Lemon Cream Cheese, Egg Salad with Celery, Truffle and Pickled Onion, Traditional Peameal Bacon and Classic Aioli, Cucumber and Lemon Cream Cheese.

My favourite tea sandwich was the Egg Salad followed by the Cucumber. These are classics for afternoon tea menus. But, I loved how The Wild Tart put a unique spin on them with additional ingredients. 

The flavours of the truffle and pickled onions were phenomenal with the Egg Salad. I quite enjoyed the crunch from the chopped celery in the mix.

I usually have Cucumber tea sandwiches with plain or herb cream cheese. However, a bit of citrus in this one was a refreshing change. 

Those finger sandwiches were also my husband’s favourites. Luckily he got double of those as The Wild Tart was able to accommodate his dietary restrictions.

Scones

Guests are served 2 scones with the Classic Afternoon Tea service. One is a sweet scone that is more traditional and the other is a savoury scone. At the time of my visit this was a herb and cheddar scone.

The scones were served on the bottom tier which is incorrect. As they are the second course they should have been placed on the middle tier.

They were wrapped in napkins. I assumed this was to keep them warm so guests can enjoy them as fresh as possible.

The scones are a fair size. The sweet scone is round, while the savoury scone is square. They were served with herb butter, Chantilly cream and house made preserves. 

I quite enjoyed both, but if I had to pick a favourite I would say the sweet scone with jam and Chantilly cream.

On that note, I appreciated that The Wild Tart made sure to identify what would traditionally be clotted cream as Chantilly cream. I find that afternoon tea rooms in North America will often still list the cream based spread they are serving as a scone accompaniment as clotted cream even if it’s more of a whipped cream. So, kudos to this establishment for distinguishing it properly on their menu.

Sweets

Presented on the top tier, which is proper, is the Sweets course. This final course consisted of 4 bite-sized cakes and pastries.

This included Baked Lemon Cheesecake with Strawberry Jelly, Mango Lime Mousse with Passionfruit Glaze, Coconut and Matcha Macaron and Grapefruit Tartlet with Ginger Cream.

The downside to enjoying afternoon tea in their beautiful gardens outside was that the heat wasn’t friendly to some of the sweets. To be fair, there was an extreme heat warning during the summer day we visited, so the Baked Lemon Cheesecake and Mango Lime Mousse were beginning to lose their form a bit when we placed them on our plates. 

I’m not usually a big fan of macarons so I was quite surprised that my favourite item from the Sweets portion of the menu was the Coconut and Matcha Macaron. The flavours were outstanding.

Sometimes I find that matcha based desserts don’t taste enough like the green tea, but that wasn’t the case here. This is definitely a sweet a matcha lover would appreciate. 

Price

Afternoon Tea at The Wild Tart will cost you anywhere from $45-$70 plus applicable taxes and gratuities. The price will depend on the afternoon tea service you order as there are a few options.

Classic Afternoon Tea (which is what my husband and I enjoyed here) is $45 per person.

There is a similar service that is Gluten Free & Vegan for $52.00 per person. If you’re into more savoury bites and delights and no sweets, their Savoury Afternoon Tea is $55.00 per person.

Signature Afternoon Tea priced at $70.00 per person is a bit more extravagant with a glass of martini prosecco and summer gazpacho included as well.

Finally, there is a Children’s Afternoon Tea for guests 12 years old and under. For $22.00, this includes juice, lemonade or house made iced tea, 2 finger sandwiches, a vanilla scone and 3 sweets.

Overall Thoughts

The Wild Tart is located in a picturesque town and in a lovely building. I would like to return one day and enjoy afternoon tea inside next time but I definitely recommend experiencing afternoon tea in their gardens if you can. 

Unfortunately, the afternoon tea was not presented properly with the scones on the bottom tier and tea sandwiches on the middle tier instead of the other way around. But, that didn’t ruin the whole experience. My husband and I still enjoyed the food in the traditional order. 

Afternoon Tea at The Wild Tart is a spot to add to your list if you are looking for a relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere to share a pot of tea, bites and delights with a close friend or loved one.

Don’t forget to visit the Elora Gorge when you’re in the area, too!

Visit The Wild Tart:

61 Metcalfe Street
Elora, Ontario, Canada
http://thewildtart.ca/

*Reservations can be made online here.

**Prices and tea/food options may change. All were accurate at the date of this tea room review.