Vintage High Tea, Iluka

Carolyn Van Eerden opened the doors of her home late last year and has enjoyed being in the company of many strangers since that time.

Together with husband John, Carolyn runs Vintage High Tea in Iluka and several friends and I enjoyed their company and their food recently.

The setting could easily pass for early or mid-century with elegant chairs and tables covered with tablecloths, which have been painstakingly decorated with cross-stitch. The bottomless tea, served and regularly refilled by the indefatigable John, was really good. Of course using fine china and real tea leaves passed through a strainer really helps with the taste.

Our food was delicious. Carolyn’s license from the City of Joondalup does not allow her to cook with meat, chicken or seafood so all of the savouries are vegetarian. We enjoyed mushroom vol-au-vents, vegan chicken pastries, savoury tarts and festive sandwiches (curried egg, vegan turkey and cranberries).

Carolyn is not permitted to serve alcohol but is happy to provide glasses for patrons to bring their own bubbles or wine.

So, after we devoured our savouries, we poured ourselves some wine and enjoyed listening to the family history recounted by John, whose family are originally from the Netherlands. We then tackled the large scones that came with oodles of cream and a lovely plum and mulberry jam. Again our verdict was – delicious.

After another breather, filled more than adequately with another few glasses of wine, we moved on to the sweet section of our High Tea.

The Toblerone chocolate mousse, served in shot glasses, was a winner, followed by shortbread stars and mini fruit cakes. And yes by then, we were all officially stuffed!

Vintage High Tea caters for a maximum of 20 people per session. Guests are encouraged to stay as long as they like – the tea keeps coming.

For $55 per person, we had a scrumptious high tea in lovely surroundings with congenial hosts – what more could anyone want?

Address: Iluka WA

Phone: 0419 099637

Reservations: Essential

Opening hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday – two sessions – 10:30am and 12:30 pm

Gluten-free options: Not available but patrons can BYO gluten free items and Carolyn will provide tea and coffee.

Restrooms: Clean. Accessible with assistance

Parking: Limited parking

Facebook: Vintage High Tea Iluka

About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.