This charming affectation evolved from the 18th and 19th century passion for fancy sandwiches, tea, and extravagant pastries and cakes. In some respects, it’s a miracle it’s survived into the 21st century. But boy, are we glad it has!
Combining an elegance of presentation with a sense of celebration and an air of sophistication, it has far from died out. Instead, it’s become a pinnacle of social outings.
It’s a “Yes!” meal. A decadence, an indulgence, or even, occasionally, just a way to leave the mayhem of the modern world behind and embrace an older tradition of elegance for a while.
And if you’re in Melbourne, there are plenty of places to indulge that elegant fantasy or mark that celebratory day. So grab your bone china cups, extend your little fingers, and let’s take a tour around 15 of the best high tea venues in Melbourne.
For a long time, The Conservatory at Crown was one of the best high tea venues in Melbourne. Sadly, those days have gone. But don’t panic. Instead, there’s a new, more modern and (arguably) even more fabulous spot to indulge in perfect Pastries and delicate Sandwiches – The Waiting Room (TWR).
Set in the dramatic Lobby of the Crown Towers Melbourne, the kitchen is currently (March 2025) creating a very modern take on a traditional High Tea. In collaboration with the stunning Van Gogh exhibition running at THE LUME Melbourne, just around the corner, the chef’s have magicked up a gorgeous themed dining experience.
After opening with a Van Gogh Cocktail Taster, patrons have a selection of Cold, Hot, Sweet and Scones to sample and enjoy. the delicacies on offer include an incredible Atlantic Crab & Green Apple Salad, Charred Pineapple Emulsion, Compressed Cucumber, Saffron & Sunflower Seed Brioche. And believe us – it tastes are wonderful as it sounds. Especially when matched with a flute of Chandon Rose.
Clearly, the team has taken their brief and run with it – giving full vent to their artistic sides. The result is a High Tea that is not only imaginative flavour-wise, but beautiful to look at.
If you’re a food instragrammer, this is the must-try!
We’re heading out of the city to elegant Lancemore Mansion for the next of our best high tea venues in Melbourne.
High Tea at Joseph’s transports patrons back in time to an era when everything stopped for a Ribbon Sandwich and a Pot of Earl Grey – or glass of Prosecco.
Joseph’s Dining serves High Tea on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in a lovely space looking out onto the lush beauty of Werribee Gardens.
The point is to give you a glamorous venue for your high tea irrespective of the weather, and it absolutely works. From those tantalising Sandwiches, to Madeleines and mini Lemon Meringue Tarts, everything is on point.
What’s more, part of the fun of the Lancemore High Tea is that you can treat a friend or relative with a voucher to cover the cost of tea for 1, 2, or 4, and then let them book their treat when they most need picking up or have cause to celebrate.
Part of the Melbourne Marriott Hotel, Essence offers a changing selection of High Tea during the afternoons. The current (December 2025) menu is the Summer High Tea.
With 3 tiers of treats, and the accent is on miniature dainties to intensify the feeling of a special occasion. Dinky, little sandwiches, tiny scones and the unending pleasure of a macaron plate could well be on the high tea menu when you visit.
One thing to note though is that if you’re upgrading from tea to champaign, the per-person cost goes up with a bang. Even so, we feel it’s one of the top high tea venues in Melbourne.
You can get a whole range of high tea experiences at the Melba Restaurant at the Langham, and many of them are heavy on the Wedgwood.
Using both tailor-made Langham Rose Wedgwood teaware and specially blended Wedgwood tea, the high tea at the Melba also brings you a menu of pastry delicacies not otherwise available, from the restaurant’s highly experienced pastry chefs.
Other time-specific high tea options include a twilight high tea, a mother’s day high tea, and an afternoon high tea – the content of the tea is generally the same, but the detailing allows you to celebrate specific times or people with the high tea of their dreams.
Editor’s Update: As we write (December 2025) the Aria Bar & Lounge is running a Festive Afternoon Tea. And heads up – there’s a Prawn and Saffron Arancini with Lemon Mayo that is to die for.
The InterContinental Melbourne is another grand hotel that likes to keep customers coming back with a regularly changing HightTea menu.
Currently, the Alluvial Restaurant is the place to be for a Spring Afternoon Tea that shimmers with native flavours and fresh ingredients.
Savoury Delights include Rare Seared Kangaroo Fillet with a gorgeous Manuka Honey Caramelised Onion Relish and the Coffee Notes of Wattleseed. From the Sweet Delights, our pick is the riff on a very popualr Chocolate Bar – the Chocolate Bounty. The Rialto version layers rich Chocolate with – you’ve guessed it – Coconut and then makes it totally Australian by adding indigenous Strawberry Gum. And it most definitely works!
If you want a ‘grammable spot for High Tea, it’s hard to do better than Ascot Vale cafe, Old Man Drew. With a whimsical garden, a riot of plants and artfully constructed spaces perfect for Tea Sets and Ribbon Sandwiches, it’s all rather special.
The cafe itself is home to Miss Violet’s Tea Rooms and Functions where fresh cut flowers and delicate patterned china make any occasion memorable. Edibles include Patisserie, those Sandwiches and Mrs. Drew’s Sausage Rolls.
Whatever you decide to nibble, make sure you pack your camera. You’ll want to take pictures!
Here, the High Tea menu has all the things that we crave. The Spiced Egg, Mayo and Watercress Finger Sandwiches are divine. The Lychee en Rose – a Rosebud & Strawberry Mousse on an Almond Sponge is perfectly balanced. However, we’re totally here for the Cinnamon Brioche Doughnuts with Raspberry Jam & Double Cream. You’ll never eat a ‘regular’ doughnut again!
Throw in a glass or 2 of genuine Champagne from the Drinks List and it should be an afternoon to remember.
Yes, it’s another Hyatt, but the Grand Hyatt and Collins Kitchen in particular has a reputation that runs ahead of it. There’s a distinctly French feel to the high tea at Collins, with the likes of macarons and handmade petit-fours taking the place of chunkier high tea staples.
Standing up to the quality of the French patisserie, Collins Kitchen also uses 24-carat gold-rimmed plates from Cristina Re, to add that extra luster.
If that’s not enough to sell you on high tea at Collins, there’s a simple one-price upgrade fee to take your high tea to a free-flowing champagne high tea.
Do you have an elegant tea set at home that you bring out on special occasions, or when guests pop over? There are some beautiful designs available – and at all price points. Take a look at some of the most striking tea sets here.
To describe the Hotel Windsor is an institution is an understatement. Suffice to say, we COULD NOT compile a list of the best high tea venues in Melbourne and not include it.
There’s a certain “Two million guests can’t be wrong” feel about high tea that the Windsor. Because yes, Melbourne’s favourite grand hotel has been serving high tea for more than 140 years, clocking up well over two million high tea-fiends.
It’s also fair to say that high tea at the Windsor includes elements that give you a really different take on the luxury tea than you’ll get in many other places. Smoked Salmon Cannoli anyone? Matcha Swiss Roll, Rice Cream, Yuzu & Osmanthus? Plus a free pass to the Dessert Buffet at the weekends.
All available as part of the Windsor’s innovative take on high tea – alongside it’s distinctly more traditional scones.
Unless you have a very traditional experience in mind, if you’re only in Melbourne for a handful of heartbeats, this is definitely one to put on your list.
Incidentally, the Hotel Windsor also currently serves a Children’s Afternoon Tea at the weekend. But with a Cornflake-Crumbled Chicken Slider and a Golden Gaytime Choux amongst the array of gourmet delights, we reckon quite a few adults would like an invite.
High tea at The Westin really is significantly about the tea – there are blends from the world’s most significant growing regions, along with a heaping handful of herbal infusions to stir a stick in. If you want high tea with a huge variety of tea, this is the one to go for. And if Coffee is your poison, don’t panic , as you are well catered for as well.
The Westin has partnered with a number of notable Melbourne providores over the years. In our opinion, the partnership with Cheese Merchants, Maker and Monger was a triumph. However, we love that the team continually move forward with their High Tea menus. So pop over to the website and see what they are cooking up at the moment. Whatever it is, it’ll be delicious!
Don’t shoot the messenger – we didn’t expect this one, either. But with great art comes fantastic high tea, it seems. Macarons, eclairs, savouries and the like matched with a variety of teas and china.
Surprisingly unstuffy given its location, the high tea at the NGV will surprise you. It’s not mandatory, but it’s fun to check out the art first – then you feel like you’ve earned yourself some sophisticated decadence. Plus, they do a Children’s High Tea, which we think is rather cute.
At the time of writing, the food covered such temptations as a Mortadella, Stracciatella, Pesto, Rocket & Honey Sandwich and a Blueberry and Mascarpone Spiral. Yum!
All in all, the Tea Room at the NGV is one of the top high tea venues in Melbourne.
Mary Eats Cake – and now, so do you. The Brunswick location is slightly counter-intuitive, because Mary Eats Cake has a flowery, feminine vibe overall (though kudos is due for the idea of a gin high tea!), but the Brunswick location is industrial.
That feminine vibe extends to artisan teas, sweet treats and add-ons like a tea-blending workshop and calligraphy – right there in industrial Brunswick.
Since we last visited, the kitchen has added a Bottomless Brunch High Tea Package to it array of events. So now you can wash down one of their excellent Scones with a Limoncello Spritz or a Strawberry Mojito.
Mámor Chocolates has a sense of feather boa whimsy and all the best china. It takes luxury seriously and life with a frivolity that draws you in. Plush velvet and antique silverware are just the start.
Its Luxe high tea (a Petit version is also available) serves Lemonade Scones and very fine Petit-Fours, along with some curiously traditional savoury options like a Coronation Chicken Tartelette.
There’s respect shown to the original occupiers of the land too – an odd note among the plush and dazzle, but a good one. Enjoy the plush and the whimsy of Lemonade instead of Champagne for a high tea with a difference.
Now an industrial strip in Bayswater might be the last place where you would expect to find a magical, Alice in Wonderland themed cafe, but The Hatter & The Hare is all that – and more.
Personally, we think that the regular cafe menu is pretty fabulous, so it’s no surprise that the High Tea at THATH is quite an event. Here, our favourite of the Artisanal Sandwiches is the Devilled Ham Hock with Marinated Tomato & Aioli. Meanwhile, from the Sweet Temptations, we absolutely love the Caramel & Chocolate Taco.
However, one of the really innovative Pastries is the Prawn with Tom Yum Kewpie, Tomato & Thai Basil Relish in a Half Moon Croissant. You see, The Hatter & The Hare is the sibling cafe to the incredible Dröm Bakery – just across the parking lot. And if you’re unaware, the gifted bakers at Dröm Bakery make a number of structurally stunning Croissants that taste even better than they look.
The Hopetoun Tea Rooms have plenty of history, having started life in the 19th century and become one of the best high tea venues in Melbourne before the 20th century kicked in. Excitingly, this cake and tea institution is embarking on its next incarnation, having been closed for a short time. And whilst part of their re-invention includes a couple of new ventures such as their Bakeshop, we’re focusing on the original.
As you might expect, given the historic nature of the place, High Tea at the Hopetoun Tea Rooms takes all the best aspects of a traditional afternoon tea and amplifies them. From the Roast Beef Sandwiches – complete with Horseradish Mayo – to the mini Eclairs, everything is exquisite. Plus you get to dine in one of the most elegant dining rooms in the city.
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Currently with 2 venues across Melbourne, Feekah Cafe offers a unique – and extremely pink – high tea experience. From the walls and lighting scheme to the abundant floral arrangements and even the food – everything is pink. Very, very pink. Honestly, Barbie would feel right at home here!
The Feekah High Tea comes in 2 formats. There’s the Base Package with a selection of savoury and sweet items , gallons of speciality tea and a glass of bubbles to start you off. The cost is $60pp during the week and $70pp on weekends and holidays. Alternatively, you can throw caution to the wind with the Bottomless Sparkling Package – $99pp weekdays and $109 weekends & holidays.
This is the perfect place to unleash your inner child and simply reveal in the unicorn-world decor and delicious food.
It might be unconventional, but Feekah is one of the top high tea venues in Melbourne. And it’s also incredibly Instagram-worthy.
When it comes to great places to eat in Australia, the list really is endless. There are so many different restaurants, cafés, and chains to try that you really are spoiled for choice. From Italian food, to Japanese food, to a good ‘ole rump steak, the food options are endless.
This is why I decided to set up my blog, Eatability, to share the best food and drink spots in Australia with as many people as possible. Hi, my name is Dylan Cole, and I moved to Australia five years ago from England, UK.
Through this blog, I will be sharing and recommending some of my favorite places you need to visit, such as where to find the best pizza in Adelaide, and the best bakery in Brisbane. Whatever food you are fancying, I have got you covered!
