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The Best High Tea in Hobart for a Decadent Afternoon Treat
Looking for something special to do? Treat yourself to one of the best high teas in Hobart.
High tea may be one of the Victorian era’s greatest inventions, and thankfully Hobart has no intention of letting it disappear. Across the city, afternoons still arrive with tiered stands, warm scones, little sandwiches, pots of tea and, quite often, a glass of Tasmanian sparkling catching the light.
There are grand hotel atriums, tables high above the harbour and vineyard estates just beyond town, each putting its own Tasmanian spin on the ritual. Come for a birthday, an unhurried afternoon or simply because cake at three o’clock remains one of life’s better ideas. These are the best high teas in Hobart and nearby.
Villa Howden
Fifteen minutes south of Hobart, Villa Howden slips into another register entirely. The French-provincial manor sits above North West Bay, with old trees, clipped gardens and a sunroom seemingly designed for losing a Sunday afternoon. High tea arrives on three tiers — sandwiches and savouries, cakes, pastries and warm scones with jam and cream — alongside tea, coffee or a glass of sparkling. Afterwards, take a turn through the gardens before heading back to town, ideally in no particular hurry.
$79 per person; Sunday high tea. Bookings essential.
77 Howden Road, Howden
Maylands Lodge
There is something wonderfully hushed about Maylands Lodge, a 12-room heritage house in New Town that feels far further from central Hobart than it really is. One of architect Henry Hunter’s last significant Tasmanian commissions, its old bones now sit alongside pared-back contemporary interiors, making high tea here feel more like an afternoon in a beautiful private house than a hotel ritual. Savouries, pastries and sweets arrive with premium tea or coffee, with sparkling available for those inclined to let the afternoon stretch a little longer.
High tea is currently offered by the lodge on Fridays and Saturdays; bookings essential. Check current sitting times when reserving.
40 Swanston Street, New Town
Hadley’s Orient Hotel
Afternoon tea feels particularly at home at Hadley’s Orient Hotel, a Hobart institution dating back to 1834. Weekend sittings unfold beneath the glassy light of its restored Atrium, with greenery overhead and tiered stands arriving with finger sandwiches, Hadley’s signature scones, loose-leaf tea and sweets that nod to the hotel’s Victorian past. There is something pleasingly old-fashioned about the whole affair, which is entirely the point.
From $59 per person; Saturday and Sunday. Bookings essential.
34 Murray Street, Hobart
Riversdale Estate
At Riversdale Estate, high tea comes with a rather lovely sense of occasion. The Orangery looks across the vines and rolling Coal River Valley through great panes of glass, chandeliers overhead and tiered stands below. Everything is made in-house, from finger sandwiches and warm scones to cakes and delicate pastries, with the estate’s own sparkling an especially fitting addition. Barely 20 minutes from Hobart, it feels wonderfully removed from the city by the time the first pot of tea arrives.
From $69 per person; $79 with Estate Reserve Sparkling. Bookings essential.
222 Denholms Drive, Cambridge
High Tea in the Sky at Crowne Plaza Hobart
Twelve floors above Hobart, Crowne Plaza’s High Tea in the Sky comes with the city laid out beneath you and kunanyi/Mount Wellington rising beyond it. Saturday sittings begin with Tasmanian sparkling before the tiered stands arrive, laden with pastry-chef-made mini quiches, macarons, delicate cakes and warm buttermilk scones with jam and cream. Tea and barista coffee keep things traditional; the sweep of harbour, mountain and rooftops outside the windows does not.
Saturday at 12pm; advance bookings essential.
Level 12, 110 Liverpool Street, Hobart
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Coal River Farm’s High Cheese
At Coal River Farm, afternoon tea takes a wonderfully Tasmanian turn. High Cheese replaces the usual tiers of sandwiches and scones with four house-made cheeses, fruit paste, crisp breads, fruit and nuts, followed by hand-cut chocolates made on the farm. A glass of Tasmanian wine, beer, coffee or proper hot chocolate is included, and through the day you can watch the cheese and chocolate makers at work. Fifteen minutes from Hobart, it is a rather delicious way to spend an afternoon in the Coal River Valley.
$49 per person; minimum two people. Available daily.
634 Richmond Road, Cambridge
Deco Lounge at The Tasman
High tea finds a suitably handsome home at Deco Lounge, the light-filled heart of The Tasman’s Art Deco wing. On weekends, delicate towers arrive with a changing procession of Tasmanian produce — lobster rolls and croquettes on the savoury side, panna cotta and jewel-like tarts for something sweet — alongside organic loose-leaf tea and locally roasted coffee. The menu follows the seasons, the room has all the quiet ceremony of a grand hotel afternoon, and staying upstairs is entirely optional.
Weekend high tea; bookings essential.
12 Murray Street, Hobart
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart does afternoon tea without too much ceremony. In the bright waterfront Atrium, house-made sweets, finger sandwiches and freshly baked scones arrive with loose-leaf tea or coffee, while Hobart’s harbour goes about its business beyond the windows. There is no white linen and no fine china — deliberately so — making this one of the easier, more relaxed sittings in town, particularly if little ones are joining.
$45 per adult; $20 per child. Available daily, 11.30am–4pm. Bookings required.
1 Davey Street, Hobart
Loved this edit of the best High Teas in Hobart and looking for more venues to indulge in? Be sure to check out our edits of the best wineries in Tasmania and the best restaurants in town.
