Hopetoun Tea Rooms

There's so much hype about this Melbourne institution so I was very excited to book High Tea here. The sandwiches, sweet and savory pastries, cakes and scones were all yummy. The place itself is pretty and quaint but it's a bit crowded which for me affected the overall ambiance as it was a bit too noisy for me during my visit (they were busy). Overall it was a nice and enjoyable experience and the staff were all lovely.

Approximate cost: $55

We enjoyed our visit here. There's quite a queue but it's worth it seeing all the cakes on display! they look so lovely! Just looking at them already made it worth it. They seriously look so fancy. Very pretty. I love the Raspberry cheesecake and the teas are nice too. The place also looks very elegant and chic.

I've always, always wanted to go to the Hopetoun Tea Rooms. We ordered some lovely sandwiches and tea that was recommended to us by the attendant - sort of smokier and more flavoursome than your regular english breakfast, but quite similar.
It was great, and pretty, and interesting, but it wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting. The tastes were nice, but I wonder whether half the reason why the place is so popular is that it is so amazing to look at - the wallpaper is spectacular, and the place looks like a vintage tea room from the 1800s.

We liked the experience, and we would do it again on a whim, but it wasn't so wonderful that I'm in a rush to go back.

Every year the girls in our family go for our birthday (all within a week of each other), perfect high tea, delicious to die for cakes, service is excellent and everyone from my great aunt to younger cousins are happy. Best macarons EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had afternoon tea with a friend and I found it to be quite cozy with a great ambience. The window display of cakes and pastries is amazing however the flavour was slightly lacking. A bit pricey too.

Approximate cost: $45

Gorgeous place and always looks tempting, but although I've been there several times over many years the service always disappoints with being very slow and not very friendly. Also overpriced. I keep wanting it to be better (so try again) because it seems to have so much potential

The green and black wallpaper and chandeliers created a nice ambience however it was the window display of macaroons and cakes that drew me in. The place also had quite a few other tourist who likely entered for the same reason. My friend and I shared a slice pavlova topped with fresh fruit. Albeit a bit pricey, it tasted good, the sugar crust went well with the rich cream. This was a nice place for afternoon tea after a long day of exploring Melbourne.

Great location in The Block Arcade on Collins St. Easy to get to by public transport. Sometimes there can be a wait for tables but if you go outside peak times like we did you can get a table easily. Great and varied tea menu and the cakes are mouth watering. Reasonable prices. Definetly a great spot for a bit of afternoon tea

My friend took us here for afternoon tea, waited about15mins for a table. Very nice decor, tempting cakes at the window. Cake are $9 a piece. We all enjoyed it very much, wasn't too sweet and very nicely presented. We tried their teas too and it was very nice. Be early if u want the cake u want cos my friend saw one she liked but by the time we got our table and ordered they said it was sold out. They hav proper mains too, would like to try that sometime.

Somewhat overhyped. I really don't understand what the hype is all about. Although I would make a guess that it is a combination of location, exposure and theatrics.
Located at in the iconical heritage Block Arcade on Collins St, there is always guaranteed to be a steady of stream of domestic and international visitors who happy to stand in queue and go for a slightly novel experience. Whilst the tea rooms do have nice cakes & patisserie on the menu, along with a lovely interior atmosphere, the cakes are not particularly much better than the average decent coffee & cake boutique. I would not line up for it.

Having walked past the Tea Rooms numerous times and seeing the long queues, we decided to join the queue one day.

We didn't have to wait too long, maybe fifteen minutes. This gave us plenty of time to peruse the windows to make our choice. Once seated we enjoyed the ambiance - with our six year finding it delightful. The choice of teas were outstanding and my husband enjoyed his coffee - made to perfection. Our cakes were room temperature which was a bit off putting because with creams, one expects them to be refrigerated.

Given that it markets itself as “tea rooms”, I would have liked to have seen some bone china or at least commerial china that imitates a finer quality to drink my tea out of.

We have finally been to the Hopetoun Tea Rooms and pleased we have, but Melbourne has so many fine eating precincts, that I probably won't rush back.

First thing you will notice is the cake display. Very tempting.
They use a real nice cream for their cake. Taste really good.
But I think it is very expensive to charge approx $9 for a slice of a strawberry sponge cake.

Lots of sugar in their cake and that's why it tastes so good.
If you are a health freak, it is not recommended to go to this place as all the cake is so buttery and creamy and sugary :)

I had their tea, i must say they have a lot of collection of teas. If you love to drink tea, you will have lots of adventure here.

They serve steak sandwich around 9-10 am as well, good if you want to get a take away for lunch time.

But again, it is more expensive than most coffee shop.

We were passing by and looking for lunch. An amazing array of cakes in the windows stopped us in our tracks and my daughter was all over the window. No choice, we had to stop for lunch! Not only did the cakes look amazing, they taste just as good. We also had gorgeous sandwiches, salmon, cucumber and dill, club sandwiches, poached chicken avocado and bacon, they were sooo yummy. The service was friendly and fast and the drinks were also good, between us we had chai with soy milk, peppermint tea, chocolate milkshake and a blood orange mineral water, so we sampled quite a few. Overall we loved this place and will definitely be going back,preferably with our mums, it is just that kind of an old-fashioned and genteel kind of place.

Hopetoun tea rooms is a hidden treasure located inside Block Arcade. I found this place while window shopping around the arcade. I saw many people lining up outside a shop and I thought I should check it out. The shop has a window display full of beautiful and delicious looking cakes . The presentation is superb and will make anyone looking at it drool and can't help to want to eat there. The inside is small but beautifully decorated in old style theme. The cakes and tea taste really good. I love the vanilla slice and my husband loves the lime tart. A word of warning though. The cakes here are not as sweet as some of the other cakes shop in Melbourne. If you love very sweet cakes, you might not enjoy the cakes here. I am the type who doesn't like mine too sweet so I especially enjoy the cakes at Hopetoun. They are always very crowded so don't expect much service from the waiters/waitresses. Although I do find there is one lady there (maybe the senior or the manager?) who is always very kind and attentive and looked after me and my husband very well each time we go there. Overall, a very pleasant experience to eat there surrounded by beautiful wallpaper and decors.

Be prepared for the waiting staff snobbery at this place especially if you are not an elderly caucasian person. I took my overseas cousins to this place when it was not crowded and there was no line. I got the attention of the waiter and let him know the number for the table seating but he rudely told me to go outside and wait (eventhough my cousins were outside waiting and I was the only one going in there to get the attention of the waiter). I thougt he was just having a bad day until a group of elderly Australian ladies came in and he was so courteous and kept joking with them and he did not rudely tell them to wait behind me in the line. Also, when we were seated he did not even speak to any of us and rather accomodate the other tables. Eventhough the food is great, I cannot put up with this kind of snobbery. Don't forget you are just a wait staff.

Approximate cost: $20

The Hopetoun tea rooms are amazing. But get there early as you will definitely be waiting in a sometimes very long line to get in.
Once in there is the most delicious selection of cakes and sweets to choose from and the coffee isnt bad either.
Dont even bother trying to get a pram or stroller in though - it is very small and the tables are quite close together.

Approximate cost: $varies

I got recommended by a good friend of mine, she said I must try the Portuguese tart! So we went there around noon, Wow it was very packed, the staff told us with a very polite tone and professional that they do not have seats available right now so either we wait or choose the tart for take away. so we chose to have the tart for take away. The tart was yummy. sure will visit there again to have my afternoon tea.

Went here for coffee with my grandma yesterday - cute little shop with lots of yummy little cakes. However (prepare for a bit of coffee snobbery) our coffees were lukewarm and my grandma's latte was served in a cup, rather than a glass. We ordered cinnamon toast, which was yummy, but they were big serves - we wished that the waiter had suggested we share one between 2.

That said, service was great, cute little tea rooms in a central location. However, I probably wouldn't venture back again in the near future, too many other places I want to try out first!

Approximate cost: $15-20

I have always heard very good reveiws about the tea room but the food and service we recieved was awful. The breakfast menu is not something I would return for. On a positive note the cakes looked good

Approximate cost: $25

We just love going to Hopetoun Tearooms as the service and food is exceptional. Whenever we go into Melbourne wouldn't miss eating here.

Approximate cost: $15

Lovely little tea house that has been around since the dawn of Melbourne. Nice little cafe to have a sit after a long days shopping. Great cakes, average coffee but a large selection of teas. Nice calming atmosphere but they need comfier chairs. 5 star cakes and desserts nicely displayed in the window.

Approximate cost: $10