Wise Town Cafe Ottawa Review – Overpriced Desserts and Underwhelming Experience – Average EV Score: 4.6/10
Reviewed by Tastes of Ottawa
Each dish is rated using our EV Score (Enjoyment-to-Value Score), based on enjoyment, price paid, and benchmark pricing.
Table of Contents
Wise Town Cafe Overview
329A Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1M5
Wise Town Cafe positions itself as a modern coffee and dessert spot where you can sit down for drinks, cakes, and casual conversation. At first glance, the Wise Town Cafe looks inviting enough, with decent décor and a reasonable amount of seating inside. It’s a place that seems designed for people to linger with a laptop, enjoy a slice of cake with coffee, or meet a friend for a quick drink.
However, the actual experience didn’t live up to expectations. For one, there’s no dedicated parking lot, so you’ll need to rely on street parking, which can be inconvenient depending on when you visit. The interior, while fine, doesn’t feel particularly memorable — it’s neither cozy nor upscale, landing somewhere in between without a clear identity.
We visited in the early evening, and one of the first things we noticed was the condition of the desserts in the display case. A slice of velvet cake had its layers separating, and another slice of cake was missing a chunk off the top, which made it look sloppy and unappetizing. Presentation is key for desserts, and seeing items literally falling apart in the display was disappointing. This actually stopped us from ordering a few more desserts, as we normally like to order velvet cake and lave cakes.
Prices across the menu also felt slightly overpriced compared to what was being offered. While café drinks and desserts are never cheap, there wasn’t enough quality or uniqueness here to justify the cost. I didn’t find that it was worth visiting again or even at all.
Would return?: No.
Strawberry Matcha Latte
😋 Enjoyment: 6/10
💰 Price Paid: $9
🎯 Benchmark Price: $7
📊 EV Score: 4.7/10
🔁 Order Again?: No.
The strawberry matcha latte from Wise Town Cafe sounded like it could be an interesting twist on a standard matcha drink, but it fell short. On the positive side, the matcha flavour itself was pleasant, with that slightly grassy, earthy taste that good matcha should have. The drink was smooth and well-prepared, with a nice level of creaminess.
The problem was the strawberry element, which was almost nonexistent. There may have been a faint sweetness in the background, but it never came through strongly enough to justify calling it a strawberry matcha latte. For the price, it didn’t feel like good value, especially when it essentially tasted like an ordinary matcha latte with a slightly higher price tag.
Apple Crumble
😋 Enjoyment: 6/10
💰 Price Paid: $4
🎯 Benchmark Price: $3
📊 EV Score: 4.5/10
🔁 Order Again?: No.
The apple crumble was as plain as they come. The portion size was average, and the dessert arrived looking more like a home-baked crumble than something you’d expect from a café trying to charge premium prices.
The apples were soft but lacked flavour — they didn’t have much cinnamon or spice to elevate them. The crumble topping had some crunch, but it wasn’t particularly buttery or memorable. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it was the definition of ordinary. Combined with the higher price point, it simply wasn’t worth it.
Final Thoughts
Wise Town Cafe is one of those places that looks fine from the outside but doesn’t offer much once you’re inside. The decor is decent but unremarkable, the desserts in the display case looked messy, and the prices were too high for what was served. While the Wise Town Cafe has a decent amount of seating, that alone isn’t enough to make it a worthwhile stop.
The strawberry matcha latte ended up being little more than a regular matcha latte, and the apple crumble was as generic as you could get. Neither was bad, but both felt overpriced and underwhelming.
With so many other cafés in Ottawa offering more polished presentations, stronger flavours, and better value, there isn’t much reason to choose Wise Town Café. It’s not terrible, but it’s not memorable either — and that, in many ways, is the bigger problem.