Wild Pear Cafe, Dural

What nicer way to spend a Sunday afternoon than enjoying a dainty high tea in a beautiful garden setting? This was how I celebrated Mother's day last Sunday with all the ladies in my family!

For the past two Mother's Days, I have taken the mums out to cafes set in nurseries - all the mums love looking at plants and planning their gardens, and the cafes in these nurseries offer delicious fresh food. The cafe we (my mum, mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and sister-in-law) went to this year was Wild Pear Cafe in Dural. The cafe is set in a cosy cottage with a balcony that overlooks the nursery, perfect for a post-meal stroll. Inside the cafe itself was very busy - in fact it had been all booked out for Mother's Day! I was quite surprised given that it's in a quite out of the way part of Sydney, but at least it was a good sign that it would be a good cafe!

Our high tea started off with a colourful carafe of water flavoured with mint leaves, strawberries, lemon slices, and pomegranate seeds. I was really impressed with how I could taste all the different ingredients in the water, and it made for a naturally sweet and refreshing drink.

Shortly afterwards came the actual high tea, with loads of goodies beautifully presented on a three tier stand!

The bottom layer was filled to the edges with a delicious selection of sandwiches, including curried egg and cucumber; avocado, chicken, bacon and spinach; smoked salmon and cream cheese, avocado, ham, brie and lettuce, and falafel and salad. The sandwiches were very generously filled and heartier than the usual dainty finger sandwiches! I was also very intrigued and impressed by the interesting flavour combinations. The sandwiches stacked together looked so pretty and colourful, like a sandwich garden!

The second tier held the lovely sweets! The mini lemon meringue tarts were definitely the highlight for me - the tangy lemon filling merged seamlessly with the sweet, soft meringue so that it was one big creamy mouthful! There was also slices of carrot cake topped with a caramel pecan, squares of bread and butter pudding, and mini pavlovas topped with pomegranate, pashmak and pistachios. I loved the vibrant contrast of pink and green of the meringues and the moist, dense texture and spices in the carrot cake and bread and butter pudding.

The top layer held the scones - two plain and two fruit. As usual we were already too full by the time we got to the final plate! I managed to share one with my mum - the scones were served with deliciously thick clotted cream and strawberry jam, both of which I slathered on thickly onto my scone half!

The staff were able to accommodate Anita's nut allergy by providing her with a separately made up plate of sweets. However there was so much she wasn't able to finish it all! So I was able to save a lemon tart to take home to Mr Duckie, which he very much appreciated! I also saved a scone to take home for him, as I felt sad that he was missing out on the fun (this was a ladies only occasion!).

Finally, as usual with family gatherings, I have a funny story to share. We each received a glass of pink sparkling wine complimentary with our high tea. Our waitress mistakenly left the rest of the bottle on our table. Meanwhile, in the five or ten minute gap before the waitress came back, Grandma had already downed her first glass of champagne and asked for a second one to be poured for her! According to her, the alcohol "helps the food go down" and she claimed that it did not affect her, claiming that  "It's just like Coke!" It was quite a hilarious moment, and in any case dear old Grandma certainly got her money's worth on wine!

Helps the food go down!

Overall it was a lovely day out with good food in a peaceful location. Wild Pear is a very family friendly cafe, and it was nice to treat all the mum's out to a special afternoon. Make sure you book ahead though, especially on the weekend, as it certainly gets busy fast! I would definitely recommend a visit especially if you are in the area - I know I am looking forward to trying some of their lunches and other desserts! Hope you all had a happy Mother's Day too!

One final quick picture - our light Mother's Day brunch before high tea. I made sure it was nice and light so I had plenty of stomach space left for high tea!

Wild Pear Cafe

658 Old Northern Road, Dural, 2158

(02) 9651 6600