Majestic High Tea at The Victoria Room, Darlinghurst

29 November 2010, 04:14

OH HAI! So how was your weekend dudes? Awhile ago I won a Red Balloon voucher from Nuffnang and so on Sunday, the boy, the mothership and the mothership’s sister and I went to The Victoria Room (Level 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst) for the Majestic High Tea ($65) which includes a glass of Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut NV Champagne. High tea without the champagne is $45 which I think is pretty reasonable esp as the fruit infusion teas were awesome

The Victoria Room is dark and climbing up the stairs is especially tricky after the harsh sunlit glare driving from Parra. The place is packed full of frocked up ladies chatting away and immediately the boy pouts and crosses his arms. Thankfully our table is in one of the quieter corners, away from the bridal shower group and after procuring his beer Noods uncrosses his arms and relaxes.

3 tiers of deliciousness! See those glasses of champagne clustered down the bottom of the photo? The boy and the mothership’s sister do not drink champagne ohoho more for me wheeee! And hey, I’m curious- do you people start from the top of the tier and work your way down? So savoury foods first, dessert saved to last? Cos I uh kinda start from the scones layer and then sweet and then end on sandwiches… my reasoning is that the sweets tier is always crazy sweet and I always feel like exploding from sugar overload.

I have to say I have high, high expectations of scones at a high tea. I’ve just had so many failure scones that I always reach for the scones first to get the disappointment outta the way but these babies were awesome! Though I wished that there were 2 plain and 2 date scones on a tier for 2 instead of having to share! Light and fluffy with the perfect crumb these scones were fabulous slathered with the Chantilly cream and jam.

Ah my favourite tier the sweets! The classic baked lemon cheesecake was my fav on the whole tier, cute as a button mini cheesecakes with just the right amount of zing balanced by a creamy, smooth cheesecake and buttery biscuit base. The dark chocolate cup with chocolate mousse, cream & fresh raspberries was cute but considering it was dark chocolate it was sooooo freaking sweet and lol it reminded me of my chocolate cupcake. The strawberry & vanilla shortbread tart was buttery and flakey, and speckled with the lives of several vanilla beans, and lastly the red velvet cupcake which was moist (ahem I miss you Ninja!) but could have done without the massive amounts of icing sugar in the creamed cheese icing. Did I mention my aunt is diabetic? Woot more desserts to share! And no I didn’t invite her along just so I could have her share of desserts lol what dya take me for!

And lastly the sandwiches. The bread was fresh and fluffy and woot no crusts ahaha I’m easily pleased :P There were- chicken & wild herbs; cucumber, crème fraiche & dill; smoked salmon, rocket, lemon, capers; watercress, celery, walnuts & goats curd. Noods has managed to scoff his share of the sandwiches before I’d even finished my scones but luckily he manages to steal some from the motherships tier who is not too fond of goat’s cheese and from my share since I can’t stand celery. I kinda wished there was a sandwich that had tasty or swiss cheese in it or maybe a mini quiche? Lol I wasn’t a huge fan of the chicken sandwich cos mine had bits of cartilage, the salmon was my fav but I have issues with dill so palmed the cucumber one off to Noods too who ended up getting quite full in the end.

The act of pouring tea into a strainer is still a novelty with me. I’m not a huge tea drinker so stuck to the safe option of ordering a ‘Fruit Infusion’ Turkish Apple tea. Loved the delicate tea cups but had issues with the burning hot metal teapots. Are there not more prettier teapots available?

Say cheeeeese!

Aftermath.

I would go scones, sandwiches and then sweets. I always have to end with something sweet otherwise it just ain’t right!
— Matthew (Masterchef) Nov 29, 08:17 AM #
ooooh those little desserts are too adorable!!! And yum I bet!
— Lisa Nov 29, 10:28 AM #
You can’t stand celery? Learn a new thing every day :) Heaven to me is a quiet room with platters of chicken sandwiches with the crusts cut off… NB Pretty impressive stuff on the photos in a pretty ‘atmospheric’/ dark room
— Tori @ Eat-Tori Nov 29, 10:35 AM #
Actually, it makes a lot of sense to go scones first, especially if they are warm and freshly baked! Heehee yay for extra champagne and sweets for you! And your nail polish is super cute :D
— Steph Nov 29, 10:46 AM #
I love the Victoria Room, great vibe and they do a fantastic high tea!
— Zina @ tastedbytwo Nov 29, 11:05 AM #
Looks lovely – I’d love to try the Victoria Room sometime. I do agree about those teapots – not only are they not very pretty but they become EXTREMELY hot and dangerous to handle!
— Ladybird Nov 29, 11:08 AM #
Oh YUM! Baked lemon cheesecake – to die for!
— James - Bay Beans coffee Nov 29, 11:47 AM #
Aww how sweet, a happy family =D
Still havn’t been to a high tea but the more I read about them I don’t seem to be as keen to go anymore.
— angie Nov 29, 11:48 AM #
I always start with savoury. And there are places with teapot handle covers so that we delicate ladies don’t have to burn our hands when pouring tea. But apparently the silver/pewter teapots are an English tradition?
— mademoiselle delicieuse Nov 29, 12:15 PM #
i’m a sandwich, scones, sweets girl!

i’ll have to try it!
— laura (Starloz) Nov 29, 12:35 PM #
This makes me want to immediately book in a high tea – though perhaps I’ll take my own protective teapot cover if I go to The Vic Room though :)
— Lizzie (El Moorish) Nov 29, 01:12 PM #
Lol I always go for scones, sandwiches then sweets – breakfast, lunch then dessert! Hehehe.

I’m so picky with scones and haven’t found ANY in Sydney that I love but these look pretty good! It’s like the perfect shape!
— Karen | C&C Nov 29, 01:55 PM #
Sandwiches, sweets and then scones. I am actually a little strange the finger sandwiches are my fave at a high tea.
— Sara @ Belly Rumbles Nov 29, 02:00 PM #
EXTREMELY impressed with the quality of your photos, I was here earlier in the year and the room was so dark all my pics turned out awful! Savouries are MY weakness so I always start there first!
— Moya Nov 29, 02:18 PM #
ahh sugar and champagne, perfect combo for the weekend suze! love high tea – and am totally the same, I attack the scones first and also save the savory plate for last. LOok at you – so adorable and purrty for high tea :)
— Gianna@TheEmptyFridge Nov 29, 02:31 PM #
Ooo yay! I’m having my wedding here in about 3 weeks time…I LOVE High Tea and I LOVE the Victoria Room. There’s only 40 of us so we’re going to have the ceremony and afternoon tea at the Vic Rooms….and then go off to Una’s if we’re still hungry afterwards. I’ll be starting with the sambos and finishing with the red velvet cupcakes as they are my fav!
— MelbaToast Nov 29, 02:50 PM #
Lol. I was going to say ‘hahaha you invited your aunt so you could have her champagne and sweets’ but then i continued reading lol. I usually start with savouries and work my way down (that’s just how I roll!) Glad to hear the scones weren’t a fail – they are definitely always the test of a high tea for me! And yes, prettier tea pots please!!
— Betty @ The Hungry Girl Nov 29, 03:39 PM #
Yay someone else who doesn’t like celery! I tend to eat from the top tier down to the bottom. It’s a good thing that all the times I’ve been to high tea the scones have been pretty good so I didn’t have to end with something nasty!
— Jacq Nov 29, 04:06 PM #
It’s been more years than I’d care to remember since I last had high tea, but I think I’d start with the sandwiches because I’m all about saving the best for last…. but then again, what if I fill up and can’t enjoy the best at the end? Oh no!
— Hannah Nov 29, 05:39 PM #
been years since I’ve done high tea… but I’d go WINE layer first :p
— Fiona Nov 29, 07:32 PM #
Savoury first for me! All looks so pretty – esp the venue :)
— Tina@foodboozeshoes Nov 29, 10:16 PM #
love high tea especially the scones and the sweets! nice photos..
— Melissa Nov 29, 10:53 PM #
mmmm high tea is always fun!!! On the weekend I went to an afternoon tea thing too but it was a “healthy” afternoon tea with breadless sandwiches! Though very cool still a little unsure how I feel about breadless sammiches at tea. Anyhoos Victoria Room is so lush… I love it.
— catty Nov 29, 10:53 PM #
Nice photos. I might actually try eating the sweets first next time I have high tea too, as I always start with savoury and OD on the sweets – wishing for something savoury at the end
— Karen (missklicious) Nov 29, 10:57 PM #
lol at tea strainer novelty :) And I agree – scones were not made for sharing.
— Helen (grabyourfork) Nov 29, 11:22 PM #
It has to be scones, sandwiches and sweets. You chose all the right people to dine with, Champagne and desserts just for you! well done, I would be fighting you for both ;) Great pics :)
— GourmetGetaways Nov 30, 08:03 AM #
Looks like so much fun! I always save the best for last, so that means dessert at the end. I get the “boring” savoury stuff out of the way first ;P
— shaz Dec 2, 11:05 AM #
nawwww i missed you too colonel thye
— the ninja Dec 6, 11:29 AM #

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Majestic High Tea at The Victoria Room, Darlinghurst