Arbour Restaurant Edmonton

The Arbour Restaurant Edmonton, AB is a stylish Tea Room located in the historic Rutherford House. Grab a cup of tea and read our review.

Arbour Restaurant and Tea Room

Location: in the Rutherford House, an Alberta Provincial Historic Site

11153 Saskatchewan Drive
Edmonton, AB T6G 2S1 arbour restaurant edmonton

Phone Number: 780-422-2697

Email: info@rutherfordhouse.ca

Overall Rating: 4.5 star out of 5

Go Again? As often as possible!

Food Served: Lunch, High Tea, Tea Plates, Desserts

Website: Rutherford House Restaurant

Hours:
Tuesday through Sunday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Reservations highly suggested

Parking: Six angled no-charge parking spots in front of the Rutherford House for site patrons, plus metered parking nearby.

Arbour Restaurant Edmonton Alberta Review

I really like The Arbour Restaurant and Tea Room at the Rutherford House. My four daughters like it. Many of their colleagues like it.

We like the charming setting, the light and fluffy scones, the flavourful teas, and the real china cups.

The food is tasty and the service attentive. We all refer to it simply as "The Rutherford House."

We first tried the Rutherford House's Arbour Restaurant because we had a Groupon deal , but we returned because of great food, pleasant service and the wonderful historic setting.

The restaurant capacity is only 24 so reservations are important, though you can certainly drop by and get a nice meal when the restaurant is not fully booked. Two mixed group of colleagues (men seem to enjoy the setting just as much as women,) several groups of friends and a grandmother-granddaughter duo rounded out the diners while we enjoyed our tea.

The Rutherford House is a provincial historic site located on beautiful Saskatchewan Drive. It's located on the U of A campus and has no large sign indicating there is even a restaurant in this charming house. Rather, a sandwich board modestly points patrons to The Arbour.

Arbour Restaurant Edmonton Atmosphere

Our group of six wanted to experience an afternoon tea. The Arbour Restaurant and Tea Room serves delightful specialty teas, and presents a nice selection of teatime savouries and sweets. One seems transported back in time seated in the glassed-in arbour restaurant sipping tea, sampling scones, and enjoying finger sandwiches while gentle classical music whispers in the background.

Our obliging server, Barry, seated us and regaled us with a few facts about the Rutherford House centennial. The main room was charmingly decorated with books, photographs, china, and other household artefacts from yesteryear.

A screen door lead to a couple of small patio tables by the gardens, but the mosquito problem was the likely reason they were unoccupied.

Rutherford House Restaurant Menu

We had previewed the menu online and decided to order Mrs. Rutherford's Tea. Three pots of tea promptly arrived - Strawberry Black, Scottish Breakfast and Rutherford House Blend. The Strawberry was the favourite - so much so that we purchased a tin of the blend to take home with us.

After sipping tea in the beautiful china cups and chatting for a while, finger sandwiches arrived.

Dill added an aromatic touch to the egg salad sandwiches. Small savoury pinwheel sandwiches and crisp cucumber bites piped with a creamy herb cream cheese accent completed the sandwich selection.

Barry presented dessert with a flourish to our table. Dessert scones, large, warm, and fluffy, melted in our mouths. Served with raspberry butter and Devonshire cream, these scones are reminiscent of scones we enjoyed in the UK.

Carrot cake, molasses cookies with freshly grated orange peel, peanut butter Nanaimo squares, and petite chocolate chip cookies were displayed on a tiered serving plate with wedges of crisp watermelon and slices of fresh orange.

On my previous visit to Arbour Restaurant Edmonton, our group gave thumbs up for the soup of the moment, outstanding sandwiches, delicious Turkey Pot Pie, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Ratatouille Penne, and fresh salads.

A Little about Rutherford House Edmonton, Alberta

The Arbour Restaurant is run by the Friends of Rutherford House Society which channels profits from the restaurant into enriching both the Rutherford House and Arbour Restaurant experience for the public.

Patrons can further appreciate all that is offered through the Rutherford House and Arbour Restaurant when renting the entire house for special events or arranging an interactive tea and historic talk.

We observed a young girl enjoying tea with her grandmother and hearing about how young girls a century ago would be expected to function in society. There's a nice gift shop, The Whatnot Shop, in the basement of the house.

Our whole family is enthusiastic about the food, the service and the setting of the Arbour Restaurant Edmonton at the Rutherford House. I hope you'll try it and enjoy it as much as we do!

Reviewed 8/11/11