The New Dundee Emporium

Myself, my mother and her friend visited last week and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Mark in Ladies Wear was very, very helpful and humorous! Just a delight! We had lunch in the tea room and we enjoyed the meals by chef, Danny! It was great fun and we felt very at home. We would recommend this lovely place highly!

We recently hosted a bridal shower here, and it was perfect! We had a group of 17 in the semi-​private front room for high tea. They were really great to work with, booking was easy, and the food was delicious! Everyone really liked the décor.

I have eaten at the emporium three times and likely will many more times. The secret of the restaurant is go with what is in season or unique. I’ve had their liver and onions, which is very good with an onion gravy that is not overly salted. I’ve had their tortierre, which uses pork, and is a fine example of the style. My favorite food was their chicken pot pie, delicious in its simplicity, but well seasoned with seasonal herbs. The Emporium is better known for their special meals and holidays like their Titanic Dinner, their Downton Abbey Dinner, or their Mother’s Day Brunch. Those meals, which require reservation and of course dressing the part, are awesome events. I’m told that they also have a wonderful formal high tea. They also have a wide variety of jams/​jellies/​pickles for sale along with other interest food items.

Cute little place to visit for tea and scones. Love the thunder and lighting. Love browsing in the boutique… beautiful jewelry. People are very friendly.

This was a very disappointing restaurant. The décor of the restaurant just looked like someone stuck a bunch of their old junk on the wall. In the other rooms of the building was a small shop for frozen meals, cheeses, bagged teas and eye glasses and also a clothing shop so it was a little confused.
We both ordered the quiche which was awful. The pastry and vegetables were mushy, and it had a huge glob of inedible cheese on top. The side salad was fine. I ordered earl gray tea and was given the cheapest tea bag. We had originally come for high tea but glad we didn’t choose this. What’s the point of high tea if you don’t have loose leaf tea? The owner commented that there is no demand for loose leaf which is why they don’t have it. Worst of all, this place was extremely overpriced.
The building is over a hundred years old which seems to be the average age of their clientele. I will not be returning.

Several recommendations brought me to the Emporium and I have to say I was disappointed. I really liked the décor and general ambiance of the building. The server was attentive and professional and I think it’s pretty cool that they serve high tea. I’m a sucker for little bits of English tradition.
I didn’t have high tea, instead I came in for lunch. The menu seems to have a decent selection of normal fare, with what I would describe as higher than expected prices for what is offered in the end. I chose the bison burger ($ 14) over the lamb and beef options as it was advertised as being locally sourced. I was hoping for something good, which might have set my expectations unusually high.
The burger was a thawed patty, flat in flavour as well as make. To be honest, the entire plate was boring. The condiments were served in bizarre little plastic tubs, the same ones you might get soya sauce in from to-​go sushi stands. For a sit down establishment, that was a little strange.
In the end, this is a great locations that I’m sure does many thins quite well, but needs some revision, more effort and more creativity with their menus.
Rural Ontario need not be the land of the bland sand… wich. I’m so sorry for that last bit.

Emporium is a little gem nestled in the countryside.
I just attended High Tea at Emporium and it was outstanding. They serve tea in fine china cups and the pastries, sandwiches and scones are served on a three tiered stand. The food was delicious plentiful. We could not finish it all. It really felt like High Tea, very refined.
Part of Emporium is also a store with jewelry and clothing, so after High Tea we shopped as well.
So, if you’re ever out near New Dundee, it’s worth checking out.