Even before I moved to Melbourne, I had heard quite a lot about The Windsor Hotel's traditional afternoon tea. Being a fan of this tradition myself (who doesn't want to be served bite-sized sandwiches and cake while you sip on tea) I decided that a visit to The Windsor was definitely in order. Having served this traditional afternoon tea since 1883, my expectations were high. Keeping in mind that the Windsor is known for its poised, luxurious reputation, we got dressed up for an afternoon of cucumber sandwiches and sweet bite sized morsels. We were seated promptly, our order was taken and we requested for everything - tea, food and champagne to arrive at the same time. The bubbly and three-tier gourmet finger food arrived promptly but we sat there and chatted for at least 25 minutes before the tea finally made its entrance. Needless to say I was parched by then and couldn't understand why no one even explained the delay and when we enquired about this, the student who was serving us just smiled awkwardly and walked away. The cakes/ pastries were okay (nothing to scream about) and the finger sandwiches were a little dry for my liking (this happens when bread is left out so the sandwiches must have been made much earlier). I did like the scones with jam and cream though but I didn't appreciate having to wait yet again for my teapot to be refilled. And at $59 per person on weekdays and $79 per person on weekends - I certainly expected better and cannot see what the fuss is all about. read more

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While not as classy as I was expecting, this was certainly a fun outing. The good: The scones and tea were excellent. The Windsor morning blend was nice and strong, and the scones were of a good consistency and flavour. It was also nice to have proper cream to go with them, instead of the whipped cream concoctions that you end up with at many other places. The venue is of course another plus - beautiful historic building, with nice china and table settings. The less impressive: The service was a bit underwhelming - all very nice and polite, but generally very young, and really just not the calibre I was expecting. The sandwiches were also a bit dry. It would have also been nice if there was some sort of music playing (jazz or something?) instead of silence. read more

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My girlfriends and I had been talking about getting dressed up and doing High Tea at the Windsor for years before we finally did it, so we were pretty excited when the day finally came. On arrival it was apparent we were the only people under the age of 80 doing tea that day (it was a Wednesday) but as a result I think we got extra-special attention - I'm guessing the staff get a bit sick of chatting to the olds. The service and setting were both divine, and the wee little sandwiches were fantastic! I ate about a million of the salmon ones, they were awesome. We also got scones and pastries, so it was a pretty complete meal. Generally I only drink herbal teas, so I wasn't blown away by all their specialty traditional blends, but other tables seem to be. I had the chai which was good but had been tamed for a western palate - it was not as grainy, sweet and as strongly flavoured as the stuff you get on the streets of India, which I'm a big fan of! The Windsor does two tea sittings per day - 12 - 2pm and 2.30 - 4.30pm, but on the weekend it costs $20 more for the addition of ice cream. Bookings are essential.They can do vegetarian and gluten free options if you tell them at the time of the booking. They also do breakfast and dinner, and have a bar that is open to non-guests. read more

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

We made reservations for Afternoon tea and decided to wait in the room until it was time to go. When we arrived for Afternoon tea we were third to be seated. The waiter brought us our water and we waited. At this point, there are now a lot of people who have been seated. With food at their tables. I hate to have to make things about race but sometimes it is what it is. So there was a group of ladies in the corner next to our table but in the corner. The waitress would have to pass our table before getting to theirs. Would you believe she walked by us to give the ladies OUR food? Yes I say our food because we had been there long before they arrived. So I said, "excuse me but I believe you are giving them our food, we've been here before them (before everyone for that matter). The ladies spoke up and said "yes, they've been here before us" the waitress apologized but still proceeded to give the other ladies our food. Ain't that about a bish! Finally our food was brought to us and I was already over it along with the Afternoon tea experienc. The ladies next to us apologized and said, they hate when things like that happen. They knew what the waitress did was wrong. Needless to say we still managed to make the best of the experience. Both the food and tea were alright. read more

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The high Tea experience at @HotelWindsor was lovely, great way to celebrate a birthday. Food was nice, wasn't wowed by the pastries or sandwiches. Dessert bar was scrumptious, favourite was the creame brûlée. Found it was extremely pricey in comparison to other high Tea events $89 pp thankfully we had a red balloon voucher as a birthday treat and nice of staff to bring out a small treat for bday girl. whilst there was heaps of desserts on offer the flavours in pastries and sandwiches weren't great on pallet ~ we left these out. Found that service was extremely slow, potentially not enough staff to cater for number of guests, Tea was served quite late and lack of refill available. Grand ballroom was lovely, nice place to hold the event, though didn't give me the 'WOW' impression as most other high tea places do. There was heaps of food bc of the dessert bar provided, chocolate fountain, fruits, marshmallows and range of cakes.. admitedly we left with bellys full though disappointed with overall service read more

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The Afternoon Tea , at the Hotel Windosr , is a way to escape the stresses and strains of everyday life . For an hour or two , you can sip , nibble and make cooing noises about the delicious treats that fill the three tier cake stand , and relax into the high back chairs and watch the world go by , or talk or gossip with your friends. You can enjoy a tea or coffe with your afternoon tea and don't forget the refreshing and relaxing glass of sparkling wine offerd complimentary with the afternoon tea , What a way to celebrate a special occasion or like me just treat yourself I highly recommend it , if high teas and old world hotels are your style , Bonn Appetite read more

I enjoy having high tea with my best friend in the afternoon. We are here to celebrate our 14 years of friendship! read more

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor - superb! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

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Everything you could ask for from a traditional high tea! Upon arrival we were ushered in to the grand tea room at the Windsor and promptly served sparkling wine to sip while we read through the extensive tea menu. You can continue the traditional theme by sticking with an English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea, or be a little more adventurous and go for the Lapsang Souchong or the Enchanted Heart Blooming Tea (the tea leaves do bloom in the cup!) The service throughout was very considered so that when we finished our wine, the tea soon arrived, as did our three tiered stand. All of the food was excellent from the delicate ribbon sandwiches to the petite savoury items and perfect traditional scones. The portion sizes were deceiving though and so we probably ate a little too much and left feeling uncomfortably full! We went on a weekday afternoon and while there were quite a few other people there, it did not feel crowded and the waiters were always attentive and close by if needed. With more and more places offering afternoon/high tea in Melbourne now, the choice of less traditional places and menu items is abundant! If you are looking for a traditional high tea though, The Windsor is definitely worth consideration. read more

According to them, they have been serving afternoon tea since 1883. $65 a pop for kitschy decor, rock-hard scones, stuffy old farts and musky carpets. If I have wanted all those shit, I coul dhave done a museum for free. Some things are better left in the last, last, last century. read more

Wonderful experience at The Hotel Windsor for afternoon tea. Lovely selection of sandwiches and cakes. I would thoroughly recommend the experience to others. read more

This is billed as a must do in Melbourne and often advertised as THE place to have afternoon tea. It's a bit barn like to be honest. Loads of people crammed in and not much atmosphere. I did not get the sense that this was classy, it was a generic experience. The food is nice and on a Sunday there is a dessert buffet. Staff are fine but take quite some time to take a tea order and the deliver it. We have been here twice now and on each occasion had drinks added to our bill that we had not ordered. An older establishment, I am wondering if it is a little tired. It is in a great location but there are better places for high tea in Melbourne. Still, if you are wanting 'original', then according to their marketing, this is the place. read more

A private room was booked in March for my mum's special birthday. Our Event Organiser told us there would be no problem catering for 3 FODMAP diets (including my mum). A menu was promised weeks before. Whilst the dessert menu arrived 2 days before the event and was satisfactory, the so-called savoury one arrived less than 24 hours beforehand and it was revolting...cucumber, dill and goat curd sandwiches,pumpkin sandwiches and olive and red pepper sandwiches, followed by a zucchini and goat cheese salad! (So much for the lactose intolerant people!) To avoid my mother being embarrassed at not being able to eat anything savoury, as she had specifically asked for everybody to have more savoury than sweet food in the room, I had option but to self cater for the event. I was up at 7am on the day of the event making sandwiches and getting a professional caterer to make savoury slices and sausage rolls. For $90 a pop (!) there was no compensation or follow-up call after the event to me, who paid for the whole thing in full 4 days before! Disgraceful! If we had been told from the beginning they couldn't do it, or provide us with edible food, we would have gone elsewhere, no questions asked...but this was not the case. They made us a couple of slivers of chicken and salmon sandwiches to try and make it better, but it most certainly didn't. Shame on you! read more