Enjoying the Best High Tea in Brisbane with Kids
Where in Brisbane has the best high tea for kids? That is a question I would love to solve!
Luckily my family loves high tea and does not mind trying as many as we can.
For those who read this list in order, it may seem a bit out of order. We visited these Brisbane locations for high tea over the course of a couple of years. That is why my kids are different ages!
Keep reading to find out more about various high tea experiences with kids in Brisbane. While we have yet to try them all, they are on our list! If you are just interested in a list of places that serve high tea in Brisbane, scroll down to that section.
Our Love of High Tea
I am not going to go into all of the reasons that we love tea, but I am going to go to as many high teas with the kids as I can while we are in Brisbane. Of course, it is expensive, so we usually go for important events. The kids are into it now and I have been searching for places that have kid-specific teas.
Prices are accurate at the time of writing but check before you go.
First up is a list of the places where my family has tried high tea in Brisbane and ordered high tea for the kids.
Next, there is a list of more places to experience high tea in Brisbane with kids. Of course, we are hoping to try them all!
Brisbane’s Fanciest High Tea with Kids
W Hotel
High Tea of Australia $55/$35
Within one minute of being inside the W Hotel, my 7-year-old told me she wanted to come back. Me too, fancy pants.
I told my kids to get dressed up as this is probably the fanciest tea we will be attending. Of course, getting dressed up means different things to different people.
Little Miss 7 put on her fairy costume, and Mr. 5 came out with one of his favorite t-shirts. He was willing to put a collared shirt on top but didn’t want to button it up.
The Ambiance at The Living Room Bar
The Living Room Bar at the W Hotel has a variety of seating. Luckily, my kids didn’t see that there was a swing seat option until we were leaving.
While the room isn’t huge, the tables are set up so that you don’t notice many other people nearby. It just feels fancy, which adds to the experience.
Blooming Tea
There aren’t a ton of choices for tea, but there are enough to please everyone.
One thing that makes the tea different than a normal high tea is that they are all “blooming” teas. The tea is served in a clear teapot and “blooms” when it is ready to be served.
I ordered the Globe Amaranth green tea with jasmine and marigold and it was delicious. If you do not want tea, you can order a coffee or hot chocolate.
Children can choose from tea, hot chocolate, and juice. My kids chose hot chocolate. It was served in giant mugs and arrived warm, not too hot. It was perfect for impatient children.
Aussie Childhood Favorites High Tea
High Tea at the W always has a theme, and the theme changes multiple times throughout each year. They always have a special holiday-themed tea in December.
The theme of the high tea we enjoyed was “Aussie childhood favorites.” Of course, the food is far fancier than the traditional Aussie kid favorites.
While you can make a reservation online or over the phone, I emailed as I had a few questions.
I thought that I had ordered just 1 kid meal intending to share as we never finish a high tea, but they had written down a meal for each of us and said that we could bring uneaten food home.
We did not have one bit of uneaten food at the end.
The trays are shaped like a “W” and are presented with the desserts on top. The children’s tea includes a hibiscus lamington, a macaron, and a mini Milo eclair while the adult tea also has a lemon tart and honey nougat.
Both adults and children receive mini meat pies, lemonade scones, and egg sandwiches. The adults get 3 other sandwiches as well. Adults also get 3 types of cheese with crackers.
Mark and I started with what I called “fish cones.” The charcoal cone has crab inside and smoked Yarra Valley pearls on top. Yarra Valley pearls are salmon caviar. M was willing to try them and decided she liked them. Z didn’t have any interest in them.
I forgot to special request no beef, but Mark ate my fillet sandwich and meat pie, and I was full. He also ate Z’s meat pie.
The kids aren’t interested in meat pies and sausage rolls like most Aussie kids, but M ate this meat pie and said it was okay. It came with tomato sauce on top which helped.
M’s favorite thing by far was the quandong jam that came with the scones. She claimed it was the best thing she has ever eaten.
Other Teas at the W
I am already thinking about my next trip to the W and hoping that it is sooner than later.
They offer an Easter-themed tea during the 2 weeks of school holidays in April. I chose not to attend that one and instead booked as soon as the school holidays ended. Of course, I am now kicking myself as I am sure we would have enjoyed that themed tea.
Mother’s Day is soon and they do offer a Mother’s Day Tea, but it looks to be the same as the current tea offered.
The W is (so far) the fanciest high tea in Brisbane that I can take my kids to and my favorite high tea in Brisbane.
High Tea Before a Matinee Performance
Lyrebird at QPAC
Located at the Queensland Performance Art Centre, Lyrebird offers high tea before selected matinee performances, making it a great place to take the kids to high tea before a show.
We were offered to add on high tea at the Lyrebird after booking tickets to a Saturday afternoon matinee performance of Mary Poppins. After seeing the price, I knew we had to check it out.
High Tea at Lyrebird is $25 per person, and a $30 option that includes a glass of bubbly is available.
The 3 tiered trays at the Lyrebird’s high tea include a scone with cream and jam, savory pastries and sandwiches, and sweets.
Our tray included a ham and cheese sandwich with tomato relish, a curried chicken salad sandwich, and an egg salad sandwich. The savory pastries were an egg and bacon tart and a vegetable croquette.
The 3 dessert options were varied, but most of them included a macaron and 2 tarts.
Everyone at High Tea at the Lyrebird can choose from tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. There are 6 choices for tea including Earl Grey, green sencha, peppermint, and lemon ginger.
Brisbane’s Most Kid-Friendly High Tea
Stamford Plaza
Brasserie on the River
Chocolate High Tea at Brasserie on the River at Stamford Plaza is $59/$32, children under 5 are free
There are a few types of high tea here, but I of course chose the chocolate buffet. Hopefully, we can go back and try the morning tea ($39/$25) and the Spirit of Queensland Lobby High Tea ($64/$32). Stamford Plaza also has special event high teas during school holidays.
We went on Valentine’s Day and there was a line to get in. I am sure it was extra crowded because of the holiday.
They seat you outside, under a tent with fans, with a view of the river. There were heart balloons on some of the chairs.
A waiter greeted us right away and explained the process. You order drinks at the table. There were not many types of tea, just the basics, and there was not a tea menu.
We were also able to order coffee, and the kids had hot chocolate.
The Food at the Chocolate High Tea Buffet
Whenever you want, you can go inside where there are 2 buffet lines. One has scones with jam and cream, quiche, and ice cream. The other has sandwiches and a wide variety of dessert items. While many are chocolate, many are not. My sister can not have chocolate and I noticed that she would have more options than she would be able to eat.
You can go back to the chocolate buffet as many times as you want.
While I do prefer just sitting down for tea, it was nice to have a wide variety to choose from. Also, there was a wow factor from seeing all of the desserts lined up.
So far, chocolate high tea is the most kid-friendly high tea in Brisbane. I would not want to go without another adult as the kids need help getting food, but it is nice that they can just choose exactly what they want to eat.
They also did not charge us for our 5-year-old, which was nice.
Kid-Friendly Special Event High Tea
Stamford Plaza Grand Ballroom
Wizardry High Tea in the Grand Ballroom at Stamford Plaza
$64/$49 under 5 free
My original plan was to only attend high teas that are consistently available, but I could not pass up the Harry Potter-themed high tea.
I first learned about the special event high tea at Stamford Plaza when I saw that they were having an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea. While I would have loved to go, I do try to budget so that we can do different things. Then I saw that the special tea during Brisbane kids’ winter school holidays is “Wizardry High Tea.”
My kids first learned about Harry Potter just a couple of months ago. I wrote this post on finding Harry Potter in Brisbane with kids who love magic. After writing that post, I read book 1 to my 7-year-old (as it is a bit big for my 5-year-old), and then we watched the movie as a family. Since then, the kids have watched the movie countless times.
Originally, we had plans to be out of town for the school holidays, and the first thing I did after our trip was canceled was check high tea times. Though the Wizardry Tea sold out, they added more dates and times so we were able to go.
Arrival at Wizardry High Tea at Stamford Plaza
We lined up to enter, as entry opens for everyone at 10 am (or 1 pm depending on your booking).
Our names were on a list, and we had prepaid. We were given our own hostess who brought us into the grand ballroom and showed us around before seating us.
On the way in, they have designed it to look as though you are entering a castle. The first room has a cauldron and a few props for taking pictures.
As we walked in, there were servers with welcome drinks. They had bright pink sparkling lemonade for the children and a choice of a mimosa or plain champagne for the adults.
The next room is where the food is served. To my kids’ delight, there was a fog machine. This was on for about 1.5 hours of the 2-hour booking.
The food was separated into “sweet” and “savory” lines, with a few exceptions of sweet items on the savory table. Our hostess told us that we could use our own tongs so that everyone wouldn’t be touching the same things.
We were seated in a giant room, which was darkly lit for ambiance. Two giant screens had a picture of giant cauldrons on them, and music from the Harry Potter movie was playing. There were also street lamps scattered throughout the space.
Because it is a buffet, you can get food and drinks at any time.
The Food at Wizardry Tea
We started at the savory side of the buffet table.
The very first thing was a popcorn maker. You could help yourself to buttered popcorn, or they had candied “wizard popcorn.”
After the popcorn was jars of candy. There were disposable bowls between the popcorn and candy which could be used for either.
Harry Potter takes place in England, and the food is themed.
Enchanted Savory Selections
- roast beef, green peas, and Yorkshire pudding
- lamb and rosemary pies
- cornish pasty
- pigs in a blanket
- pumpkin and pine nut quiche
Spellbinding Sandwiches
- wizard dark rye, chive cream, and Tasmanian salmon
- smoked leg ham, tomato relish, and swiss cheese
- egg, watercress, and cucumber
Philosopher’s Scones
- pumpkin fizz
- buttermilk
- white chocolate treacle
After getting our first round of savory food, I found the coffee and tea station. There is one on each side of the buffet room.
While there were servers to clear plates and offer drinks from the bar, the diners helped themselves to tea and coffee. It is unlimited and you do not have to stick to one type, like a typical high tea. The tea felt like an afterthought, but we did not mind.
There were 2 drinks available for purchase.
The Snitched Mocktail $10: fresh pineapple juice, fresh orange juice, and lime-infused simple syrup with a dash of bitters
Golden Snitch Cocktail $18: The snitched mocktail with Absolut vodka Aperol
We did not order any drinks as the welcome drink, water, and unlimited tea and coffee were enough, but we did see that many tables did order drinks.
To my surprise, there were lots of groups without children. It makes sense since there are lots of adult fans of the Harry Potter books and movies.
There was a prize for the best costume, and many adults and children were dressed up.
After eating our scones, pies, and sandwiches, we went to check out the dessert table.
Not all of the desserts were listed on the menu. Besides the candy on the first table, other desserts include madeleines, jam-filled donuts, and Portuguese egg tarts
Magical Sweet Treats
- Butterbeer cupcakes
- The Alchemist
- Cockroach Clusters
- Shimmering Squares
- Astral Jelly
- Treacle Treats
- Ministry of Macarons
- Fantastical Fudge
- Wizard Popcorn
I am pretty sure that the kids would say that this is their favorite high tea in Brisbane. They are already talking about finding more Harry Potter-themed teas and wanting to go to every special event with high tea available. I am keeping my eyes open for the next themed tea over the spring school holidays.
While the tea did seem like an afterthought, that was okay, and I would recommend this high tea for kids during the school holidays in Brisbane.
Holiday High Tea with Kids
Six Acres at Rydges
Rydges Fortitude Valley is located on King Street by the Brisbane Showgrounds and they offer a family-friendly high tea on various holidays.
We attended the Mother’s Day High Tea at Rydges. High tea at Rydges costs $60 for adults and $30 for kids.
Each adult was offered a glass of champagne on arrival. Everyone was able to choose tea or coffee. Juice and soda were available to pour yourself at the buffet.
Everyone can help themselves to the food at the buffet as many times as they would like during the 2-hour booking.
Of course, the kids loved being able to choose exactly what they wanted. They were especially happy with the large array of fruit that was available.
We attended this special Mother’s Day High Tea with 8 people including 2 kids and it was nice that everyone could get exactly what they wanted.
Only 2 or 3 types of sandwiches were offered, and 1 type of scone, but there was a large variety of desserts and fruit, which is not typically offered.
Brisbane’s Most Traditional High Tea with Kids
Room with Roses
Chocolate High Tea at Room with Roses $45.
Room with Roses is probably the most traditional tea house that we have been to so far. It is located in Brisbane Arcade and while they serve regular breakfast and lunch, it seemed as though everyone was there for high tea. It is a cute cafe, perfect for a girl’s day. We were there for a birthday, but we saw large groups of women for wedding showers and other occasions.
There are 3 types of high tea to choose from (deluxe $42, chocolate $45, and chocolate fondue $49). They come with bottomless tea, coffee, or soda, or you can add champagne for $8.
Vegetarian and gluten-free high tea options are available.
It costs an additional $5 to share, but children under 6 can share for free. My kids eat enough that we didn’t want to share with them, so they got 1 high tea to share between them, and they ate every bite (plus more from other guests).
I am not sure if I was extra hungry or if there was less food than usual, but I managed to eat every single dessert, which is rare for me. I did skip a mini sandwich and my second scone, though it was delicious. My kids wanted two each and I wanted to make sure that everyone else got to have at least one. My daughter was in love with the jam but said that it was not quite as good as the jam at the W, which she is still thinking about.
Brisbane’s Most Affordable High Tea for Kids
Shingle Inn at City Hall
Shingle Inn ($42/$15)
I found the bench seats extremely uncomfortable. They have a straight back and keep you completely upright. It did not seem like we had much room. The chairs are tall so you are unable to see the other guests nearby.
There is an area before you enter the restaurant that seems like garden seating. The entire thing is inside as it is inside City Hall, but I would recommend asking to be sat there.
Teddy Bear High Tea
There was a large tea menu, but they did not have the tea I ordered.
The waitstaff did not seem to know what was going on. We had to order multiple times as we were told the first waiter did not enter our order. We were brought a demo stand and started to eat it before we were told that it was a demo and they would bring us our plates.
The kids were able to order milkshakes, which they of course loved. They came in cups with sprinkles on them.
All in all, the tea was okay.
I had to keep reminding myself that this is not Manhattan (where I used to live and where I used to attend high tea with a friend).
Doing the conversion, we realized that this was much cheaper than any high tea we had been to.
I hope that it was an off-day service-wise. My suggestion is that the parent order off of the menu and the child order high tea as a fun treat.
I would consider Shingle Inn to be the most affordable high tea for kids in Brisbane. That is of course if they are over 5. For kids under 5, the buffet high tea at Brasserie on the River is free with an adult purchase.
More Places to Enjoy with Kids in Brisbane
Indoor fun with kids in Brisbane
9 Family Friendly Escape Rooms in Brisbane
10 Kid-Friendly Restaurants Near Brisbane
10 Daring Things to Do in Brisbane with Adventurous Kids
More Places on Our List of High Tea with Kids in Brisbane
These are the places that I have written down so far. It is doubtful that we will be able to make it to all of them, but I will get us to at least a few more.
Where do you suggest that we try? We are up for any kind of high tea experience in or near Brisbane, whether it is meant for kids or not.
- Customs House champagne high tea is offered on Wednesdays at 3 and Thursday-Sunday at 11:30 am or 3 pm for $80.
- Passiontree Velvet at Indooroopilly Shopping Center $35.
- Belle Epoque tea is served daily 1130am-3 pm. $60/30. Options of dairy-free, nut-free, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. Seasonal menu.
- Spicer’s Balfour only has high tea once a month. They offer 3 seatings at 1130am, 1230pm, and 130pm.
- Bacchus offers high tea on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 2:30 pm for $49.
- The Matriarch 11 am-4 pm Thursday-Sunday. Boozy high tea includes Prosecco ($45), gin ($55), champagne ($65), or cocktails ($70). Vegan or gluten-free tea is available.
- The Lab-located at the Treasury, high tea is only offered on weekends. The first seating is at 1, and the second seating is at 2. $45/$25.
- Crema and Cream-it looks like high tea here is just for private functions, but it is one of the more affordable options. They also have an option for a children’s tea party.
- Keri Craig Emporium in the Brisbane arcade. $45/$25. Seafood high tea $50.
- Covent Garden West End has a gin and tea for $45. Reservations are a must and the last seating is at 3. Vegan option.
- Sofitel is open for high tea on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm and costs $79 a person.
- Mecca Bah Middle Eastern high tea $49
- Dandelion and Driftwood in Hendra have high tea in their cafe and a take-home high tea box option too. High tea is $55 per person and there is an additional charge for alcohol.
- Garlic Clove Indian in Petrie Terrace has an Indian-themed high tea that can be ordered either as vegetarian or not. It is served with Masala Chai.
Kid-Friendly High Tea Options in Brisbane
The following list includes locations in Brisbane that have a specific kid’s menu or kid’s price for high tea.
- Bell Epoque
- Kerry Craig Emporium
- Lyrebird at QPAC
- Room with Roses
- Rydges
- Shingle Inn
- Stamford Plaza
- The Labe
- W Brisbane
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