Le Goûter (French Afternoon Tea) In Winnipeg, Canada

French High Tea at Pauline Bistro in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Pauline Bistro in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada offers Le Goûter, a traditional French High Tea. The bistro is located in the Norwood Hotel in the St. Boniface neighbourhood, an area known as Winnipeg’s French Quarter.

An afternoon tea featuring scones, delicate sandwiches, and a selection of sweets is considered quintessentially British. The custom began in the mid-to-late 1800s as way for the elite to bridge the gap between lunch and a late dinner. According to legend, it was first introduced by the Duchess of Bedford in 1840. Some of the things I’ve read about Le Goûter suggest the custom may actually have originated in France in the seventeenth century when French aristocrats gathered for a mid-afternoon snack of tea, cake, and sweets.

Note that although we often now also refer to afternoon tea as high tea, high tea once meant something quite different and referred to a working-class supper eaten between 5 and 7 pm after the end of the work day.

Le Goûter comes from the French verb, goûter, which means to taste. It is a mini-meal enjoyed as a late afternoon pick-me-up for adults and an after-school treat for children.

When the server set our three-tiered tray on the table, she told us to start with the scones and savory biscuits at the top, then the bottom layer of tea sandwiches, and lastly with the sweets in the middle. My friend and I roughly followed that order, but, knowing there was a lot of food here, we didn’t finish a layer before moving on to the next one. After that, we went back and forth between the layers. We wound up taking a few bits home that we could not finish.

I’ve had English afternoon tea several times at different places. I have never had Le Goûter before. While I cannot compare the version at Pauline Bistro with other versions of French afternoon teas, I can compare it with the English afternoons teas I’ve had. It was, in fact, quite similar. But there were a few differences. There was a variety of whipped butters to accompany the scones and biscuits, but no clotted cream or jam. The sandwich fillings were similar to what I’d expect from an English afternoon tea, but they felt more substantial. The sandwiches included cold smoked salmon with lemon cream cheese on brioche, English cucumber with dill whipped cream cheese on marble rye, egg salad on a mini butter croissant, and ham and cheese on brioche.

I’ve read that le goûter should be as sweet as possible. The sweet layer was indeed sweet with a definite French influence. The Chocolate Bomb Tiramisu (whipped marscapone with dark rum ganache filling and marble chocolate glaze) was a personal favourite. Other sweets included macarons, Red Velvet cake, an éclair baked crisp with salted caramel filling, and an orange cupcake with orange buttercream frosting.

We had a selection of teas to choose from.

A selection of brunch cocktails were available for purchase. My friend and I opted for classic Mimosas.

Everything was delicious. It was a delightful, relaxing way to spend part of an afternoon. Pauline Bistro is open daily from 8am to 2pm for brunch, breakfast, and lunch. Le Goûter is served Sunday afternoons from 3 to 5pm. Reservations are recommended.

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