Room with Roses is something of a Brisbane institution when it comes to high tea. Often voted as Brisbane’s best high tea and with a string of awards under its belt, I was excited to try this one.
Located in the middle of the hustle and bustle of central Brisbane, Room with Roses is a place of calm sophistication. Harking back to the elegance of a bygone era – when the pace of life was slower and people had time to stop in the middle of the day and partake of afternoon tea and a gossip with friends – it offers a beautiful sense of escape.
I took my high tea buddy with my for this outing – my 9 year old daughter Rose (how fitting to take Rose to Room with Roses!).
Here is my full review of the Room with Roses high tea.
Looking for more Brisbane high teas? See my full list of Brisbane’s best high teas here.
The Setting
Room with Roses is located in the heart of Brisbane city, inside the Brisbane Arcade. The Arcade is a European-style, heritage-listed shopping arcade, reminiscent of something you’d find off Bond Street in London. It’s highly decorative, sophisticated and upmarket, with shops selling fine merchandise such as watches, jewellery and wedding dresses.
It’s actually a very beautiful building and one of the oldest in Brisbane, at over 100 years old.
This classic setting and sense of timelessness lends itself very well to a high tea.
If you walk all the way to end of the Brisbane Arcade and go up the stairs to the balcony level, you’ll find Room with Roses. Technically not an enclosed venue, given that it’s on the balcony and open to the shopping centre, Room with Roses nevertheless manages to achieve a lovely vintage ambience, perfectly fitting for a comfortable high tea.
It’s quiet and relaxing – there’s no foot traffic through this part of the Arcade so it feels like you’re in a hidden, peaceful corner of Brisbane. Even though you’re only steps from the busiest shopping street in the Brisbane CBD – Queen Street Mall – you’ll forget you’re in Brisbane at all and think you’ve accidentally stepped into a London tea parlour.
Room with Roses does well to carry its theme throughout the venue. It’s a pretty space, with fresh roses on the tables, vintage floral plates, food decorated with flowers, cake forks, upright armchairs and a general atmosphere of English gentility.
There are some private rooms for larger groups to enjoy high tea, but the main seating area has plenty of tables and chairs. We sat on a table for two with armchairs. I generally prefer an upright table for my high tea, but we were in a nice cosy corner of the room so this made up for it.
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The Menu
There are a few high teas to choose from:
- The Deluxe High Tea – $57
- Chocolate High Tea – $60
- Ultimate Chocolate Fondue High Tea – $65
You can add champagne to any of the high teas for $12 per glass.
There is no dedicated children’s menu here. The options for children are either to order them a full high tea – which Rose did eat – or they can share your adult high tea at no extra charge.
Looking for more of a child-friendly high tea? Look no further than the Stamford Plaza – read my review of this wonderfully themed high tea here,
In addition to the high tea, Room with Roses also offers a full breakfast menu, sandwiches, light lunches and lots of cakes. Everything is made fresh on the premises.
The Tea
The Deluxe High Tea comes with a pot of tea, coffee or soft drink. Obviously, as I’m a high tea purist, we had a pot of tea each.
The tea menu is fairly limited, but they did have Earl Grey and Darjeeling. Rose had the Turkish apple tea, which smelled delicious, and I had the peppermint, as I was feeling like going caffeine-free that day.
The tea came in smaller-sized tea pots, with a strainer – which I strongly approve of. Another little touch of well-mannered Englishness!
The Food
The food, like the venue, is well-presented. Delicate, pretty and served on a tiered stand – what more could you ask for? Edible flowers adorn the plates, and everything is brightly coloured and visually appealing.
Everything apart from the sandwiches is miniature-sized, which makes for a lighter high tea.
The Savouries
The savoury selection consisted of three warm items and two ribbon sandwiches. Well, they say ribbon sandwiches but actually they had three layers of bread so I’d call them dainty club sandwiches. Our sandwiches were egg and lettuce, and chicken and mayo. The sandwiches were classic flavours, nothing too unconventional, and we liked them both.
The warm savouries included a mini vegetable feta muffin, a ham and cheese mini-quiche and a mini vol-au-vent with a green spread inside. To this day we still can’t work out what that green spread was.
The warm vegetable feta muffin was really delicious, and the mini-quiche was Rose’s favourite. We both would have preferred to substitute the vol-au-vent for a third sandwich instead – perhaps a cucumber and cream cheese given that they’re going for such a traditional high tea.
When it comes to high tea, nothing is more traditional than The Ritz. This also happens to be my favourite afternoon tea of all time. Read the full review here.
The Scones
I’m sorry to say the scones did let the high tea down. We got two each, and they looked so nice – miniature sized and with a little raspberry baked into the top. I should have been really happy with these scones – sometimes heavier scones can weigh down an afternoon tea before you get to the sweet treats – but unfortunately, they were dry. More like stale bread than soft and fluffy scones.
The jam, however, was delicious, and the cream nice and thick (but still not clotted. Australia why do you have such an aversion to clotted cream?).
We may not get proper clotted cream in Australia, but the closest I’ve come was at The Imperial. Read more about that here.
The Cakes
As is often the case, the plate of cakes was the highlight of the high tea. Everything looked dainty, colourful and enticing. You get three miniature cakes each – chef’s selection.
We had:
- a mini strawberries and cream tart (can you get any more English than this?) with a hidden jam surprise
- a mini honey Bundt cake
- a mini Turkish delight butterfly cupcake
The strawberries and cream tart was so delicious, definitely the winner. The honey Bundt cake was light and fluffy. I loved it, though Rose found it a little too simple. The Turkish delight cupcake was pretty and well-decorated. It needed the Turkish delight filling, otherwise the cake itself was a little plain.
Room with Roses High Tea – Final Thoughts
Room with Roses does a really good job of recreating a traditional old-fashioned-style high tea, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I really liked this high tea. It was simple and light thanks to all the food being so dainty. The setting was elegant and conventional – which is my favourite kind of setting – and the high tea itself was colourful and tasty. The scones were a little disappointing, and there are were a few small tweaks they could make to get a perfect score, but on the whole it makes for a very pleasant spot for high tea and I can see why it receives such high accolades.
Room with Roses isn’t trying to reinvent the high tea like some other venues – but they are paying respectful homage to the classic British afternoon tea, and for that I give them top marks.
Keep scrolling to watch my video of our high tea at Room with Roses.
What Else to Do in the Area
Room with Roses is right in the heart of central Brisbane so there’s plenty of shopping all around you.
If you’re looking for more things to do in Brisbane I’ve got plenty of ideas here.
Getting to Room with Roses
If you can, take public transport to Room with Roses. Check Translink for the bus and train times, and for discounted train tickets use Trainline.
Nearby parking is available in the QueensPlaza parking lot, but it’s pricey. If you’re driving, purchase your parking in advance for the best rates. During weekends and school holidays, cheaper parking is available in the CBD as you’re not competing with all the commuters.
Where to Stay in Brisbane
If you’re looking to extend your stay in Brisbane – why not make a weekend of it and stay overnight after your high tea? There are some really nice hotels in Brisbane if you feel like pushing the boat out, such as the Stamford Plaza and the W Hotel.
You’ll find good rates on all Brisbane hotels here.
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