Melbourne's Best High Teas for When You Want to Feel a Little Bit Fancy

The lobby bar at Crown Towers, The Waiting Room, is known and loved for its glamorous high teas and refreshing cocktails. And this winter, the venue is hopping on the seemingly never-ending matcha craze, introducing The Green Edit High Tea.

Each element is carefully considered to balance the natural bitterness, with matcha showcased across both savoury and sweet dishes and cocktails. Of course, it wouldn’t be a high tea without scones, and while plain scones are included, so is a matcha version served with raspberry jam and creme chantilly. While matcha lattes and frappés are available, we suspect it’ll be the matcha-inspired cocktails that will be the most popular.

Eleni’s Kitchen + Bar is loved for its authentic and traditional Greek food made and served with plenty of heart and love. The venue has the air of a classic Greek taverna and has brought the local Greek community together, as well as anyone else who wants great food and even better company.

And for something a little unexpected, Eleni’s is even offering a Greek high tea for a limited time. There’s prosecco on arrival, free-flowing tea throughout the service, and a hearty selection of sweet and savoury Greek treats available. Think mini baklavadakia, galaktoboureko petit fours, taramosalata tartlets and spanakopita bites.

Located within the marvellously opulent Block Arcade, The Tea Room 1892 (formerly the Hopetoun Tea Rooms) projects class, decadence and fun — with lavish wallpaper, impossibly attractive cakes and five-star service. This is one of the very best high tea experiences in Melbourne, and having opened way back in 1892, it is one of the oldest in the country.

This is old-world fun steeped in nostalgia. Think fine bone china, hanging chandeliers and opulent mirrors with la belle époque and art nouveau influences. The high tea experience here is curated by head chef Indika Rajapaksha and comes served on an elegant tiered stand. Expect all your classic high tea dishes and teas, plus a special option to make the whole affair gluten-free. It will cost you an extra $10, but it’s all worth it once you try the incredible gluten-free scones.

Image: Robert Blackburn for Visit Victoria

Melbourne’s Park Hyatt may not have had a large-scale refurb in quite some time, but the five-star hotel still oozes luxury. From the moment you enter the timber- and marble-clad lobby and circle the balcony looking down on the grand spaces below, you can see why this has been one of the city’s most luxurious hotels for decades.

And right by this lobby is where the hotel’s brilliant high tea is served. Start with finger sandwiches and house-made sausage rolls before getting into the scones, accompanied by a huge selection of jams. You’ll end on the essential tiny cakes, washing the whole experience down with unlimited Victorian sparkling wine, teas and coffee. We also highly recommend visiting the spa for those wanting to really treat themselves on the weekend.

The Langham is a proper Melbourne institution. It’s one of the city’s best hotels, home to one of the top spa experiences, with brilliant dog-friendly hotel services and one of Melbourne’s best high teas. The team here often makes special themed high teas for different seasons, but we are all about the classic experience.

Set within the luxe Aria Bar & Lounge, guests get fine tea, champagne and three tiers of brilliant eats. Start with homemade savoury pastries and crustless finger sandwiches before hitting up the scones and regularly rotating selection of bite-sized cakes. Feel like making it bottomless? The crew gives you two hours of unlimited champagne for an additional cost per person. And if you are extra keen to treat yourself, The Langham offers a spa and afternoon tea package on certain days.

The National Gallery of Victoria isn’t just good for art — it’s also good for a bit of wining and dining, with cafes across all three levels and the Garden Restaurant on the ground level. The gallery’s Tea Room on level one is perfect if you’ve brought your mum along — and she’s mentioned she’d love a cup of tea five times or more — or for you if you want to treat yourself to something a bit fancy.

The high tea option is $87 apiece and puts fresh finger sandwiches on the table, as well as homemade sausage rolls and mini quiches. As far as sweets go, there are scones, as well as the likes of pistachio macarons and apricot melba. The classic high tea is served with a glass of bubbly and a pot of tea. And if you head over during one of the gallery’s major art exhibitions, it’s likely the high tea will have elements referencing the exhibiting artist or movement.

Decadence is also a very relevant feeling at Mámor, where you can forgo a standard afternoon tea for something a little different. Sink into its plush red velvet furniture and feel a little bit beyond your means as you pick your high tea poison. The standard option — which is still quite extra — is more of a traditional sandwich situation, with scones included as well as petit fours and artisan chocolates, and bottomless tea or filter coffee — sparkling wine available as an extra.

The Chocolate High Tea is a brilliant cacao-only dessert degustation, and the unique Evening Soiree High Tea is served beneath the salon’s lit-up chandeliers — coming with larger dinner-sized savoury options, a selection of cakes and chocolates, a glass of sparkling wine on arrival and free-flowing tea and lemonade. The bottomless scones are an excellent way to add on extra indulgence.

The Hotel Windsor has been hosting Melburnians for high tea for over a century. And we mean that literally — the hotel has been serving up high tea daily since 1883. The restaurant One Eleven Spring Street is adorned with glittering chandeliers, velvety chairs, and stretches of Victorian-style carpet, which really adds to the extravagant experience.

The tiered offering includes pastries, both savoury and sweet, a selection of ribbon sandwiches, and scones served with cream, jam and strawberries. You’ll also get a glass of sparkling on arrival, a choice of types of tea and, if you visit on a weekend, access to the dessert buffet. person.

Mary Eats Cake is serving up decadent high teas on two sides of Melbourne: Brunswick and Montrose. With an enticing selection of sandwiches, cakes, scones — and, of course, tea — it’s one of Melbourne’s best high tea options.

You can choose from the standard package or the fancy high tea package with unlimited tea and scones. If you’re having an extravagant celebration off-site, with more than 50, they’ll even come to you. The two venues often host themed high teas, too, and work with sites across the state for seasonal pop-ups.

The Ritz-Carlton is a fairly new addition to Melbourne’s hotel and high tea scene but is already one of the greatest. The rooms here are luxe beyond measure, the views almost unbeatable, and the dining experiences are some of the city’s finest — especially Atria. But for this piece, we’ll focus on the high tea.

This one is served up in the Ritz-Carlton Lounge up on level 80 and boasts uninterrupted views across Port Philip Bay. Expect three indulgent courses paired with a huge selection of teas and the option to add a few different bottles of bubbles — from not-so-pricy to break-the-bank expensive. And for a little extra, you can get this luxe afternoon tea with 90 minutes of unlimited champagne.