The Happy Tart

I needed a cake for a workplace party and The Happy Tart delivered! The cake was a smashing success, a chocolate and peanut butter cream with salted caramel frosting that had people lining up for seconds! It was absolutely delicious and I won’t hesitate to use them again the next time I need a catered dessert.

Desserts are delicious! Quiche is also very good. Café and seating area are clean. Didn’t give 5 stars because it’s a bit pricey.

This was my first time at The Happy Tart — and first time at a gluten free bakery. First off, I’m happy that there are options out there for the truly gluten intolerant — I read exceptional things about this bakery. I, myself, do not normally care for gluten free products, but tried to keep a very open mind when going in.
My fiancé and I went in for a cake tasting. We wanted to try something that might wow us, that would be off-​the-​beaten-​path for wedding cakes. We had scheduled an appointment and arrived about an hour early. This gave us time to enjoy some coffee and tea. The tea I had was expensive for run-​of-​the-​mill bagged green tea, but the coffee I was able to taste was pretty tasty.
The whole experience after, however, left a lot to be desired. While we were early, we were very disappointed that the woman who we were meeting with never came out to introduce herself or say we would have to wait. We knew we were early, and had no problem waiting, but there was zero personalization. It made it worse that she wasn’t with another client at all, but just sitting on the computer in the back room most of the time (many windows to see in the back).
When the time came for our cake tasting, she came out, never introduced herself, never asked for our names, and made the whole process very quick. Of all the cake tastings we’ve done, it was the least personal, and felt very unprofessional. It felt like a very «get in get out» situation, which was upsetting.
To the cakes themselves: I was pleasantly surprised with how tasty the vanilla cake options were! They really beat my expectations in flavor. The chocolate options, however, were insanely underwhelming. Very heavy, but not in an overly-​chocolatey way, and exceptionally dry. All of the cakes were very dry as well — though, I don’t know if this is because they are gluten-​free or because they just weren’t that great of cakes.
In the end, we tried 6 different cakes, giving us a pretty decent view of their options. If you are looking for anything cake related, whether it be for personal, party, wedding, etc — I would say you might have better luck elsewhere. However, they have other baked items that people seem incredibly fond of, so if you aren’t looking for a cake, it might be worth a shot.

I had to ask if everything was really gluten free! There were so many amazing choices, I couldn’t believe they could all be Gf, but they were! It’s a dedicated facility and everything I’ve tried is awesome. My least favorite was the Nutella tartlet, current favorites are the pumpkin roll and lemon sugar cookies.

I went in today because my friends have been raving about the Del Ray location. I didn’t need to know what I was missing. Almond milk cappuccino, pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting, pecan tart, lime tartlette… Dangerous! The Falls Church location is so close. Couple that with the ambience of the patisserie, the friendly attentiveness of the staff, and the crave-​inducing GF treats and beverages what we have here is a dangerous new addition to Falls Church!

Finally! We’ve been waiting for The Happy Tart to open in its new Falls Church location. I stopped by the soft opening this morning. The owner was there and justifiably beaming. All the gluten-​free baked goodness that we have loved at the Del Ray location is on display in a modern space in close-​in Falls Church (a few minutes from the Arlington border.) Coffee and espresso are available, the staff is lovely, and a cool glassed-​in prep area lets you watch the bakers at work. Today, they were decorating a wedding cake. I’ve never tried one of those, but I can recommend many of their other sweet offerings, from refined macarons to rich pastries (petit fours, apple turnovers, apricot almond tea cake) to homey cookies (lemon sugar and chocolate crackle!) The Happy Tart also has tasty savory options, including dinner rolls and quiche. I’ll be back with the family for the grand opening on ¹⁰⁄₂₄!