High Tea at Cape Arid Rooms, Perth

Though I’d long admired the beautiful state buildings at the COMO Treasury Hotel, I had never dropped by to dine at one of its many venues. I was so excited to be booked in for a high tea experience at the Cape Arid Rooms.

The elegant rooms that overlook Cathedral Square, are both intimate and airy. Beautiful artworks of West Australian wildflowers and wildlife from Cape Arid adorn the walls. The specially commissioned pieces by local WA artists are also available for sale.

The service is seamless from our warm welcome, to the professional run-down of the high tea. All of our waiters were helpful, as well as being engaging and never left us with an empty cup or glass. Speaking of drinks… there is a wide range of hand blended teas, from the neighbouring Teassential store (good to know if you’d like to purchase a tea to take home). My husband was pleased his favourite tea of Darjeeling was on the menu. Bottomless coffee is also included with the cost ($75pp). Bubbles and other drinks are available at an extra cost.

The Cape Arid high tea changes now and then. We enjoyed the current (Jan’22) Thomas River Edition. One thing that never changes is the focus on produce from all around WA. The first tier we ate were the savories. They include:

A pea and borrello ricotta tartlet, parmesan, lemon thyme
Shark Bay crab on brioche, pickled kohlrabi, ice plant
Mt Barker chicken and sun-dried tomato, cucumber sandwich

Then we ate the warmed scones (one each of plain and fruited) with jam and homemade vanilla clotted cream. Just divine!

Then next, after a fresh pot of tea, are the sweets;

Hazelnut dacquoise, Kununurra mango compote, passionfruit
Bahen & Co chocolate tart, raspberry, hibiscus confit
Gnangara strawberries, blueberry, vanilla delice, almond joconde (an almond sponge)

While my husband just squeezed everything in – I had to take a sweet or two home. Which was no trouble at all. It is certainly a very generous high tea. It’s also the best quality high tea I’ve experienced, in terms of food freshness and quality. Plus the service is outstanding.

We very much enjoyed our afternoon tea at the Cape Arid Rooms. We took a leisurely two hours over the fine bites and many, many cups of tea. High Tea at the Cape Arid Rooms is highly recommended, it’s a wonderful experience.

Find the Cape Arid Rooms at St Georges Terrace, Perth.

Get more information about the High Tea at Cape Arid Rooms on their website.

Discover more dining in Perth here.

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About Stella B

Stella is loving retirement! Besides her loves of gardening, reading and painting, she adores spending time with her family and being out and about in Perth. Living in the Perth Hills, her time is often spent brunching with her husband at one of Kalamunda’s many cafes or enjoying a food platter over a glass of wine at a Bickley Valley winery.