There is something incredibly soothing about watching the city roll by from 40 storeys up with an incredible selection of dainty pastries, sandwiches and warm scones by your side. It’s even more relaxing when you’re looking down on a traffic snarl that you’re not in.
That was melbourning.com.au’s lazy Sunday high tea brunch at Strato Melbourne Restaurant and Bar, the uber-cool eatery at the Oakwood Premier Melbourne hotel in Southbank.
The Strato team bills this experience as Melbourne’s highest high tea, and at $85 per person, it’s got to be one of Melbourne’s cheapest, too.
On its north side, Strato is a cool and relaxed hip bar that on weekends between 12pm and 3pm hosts the Highest High Tea with café and soft booth seating and stunning views of the CBD and far beyond – right above the West Gate Freeway and the soothing jam.
The north side has an open-air lounge that is surprisingly quiet, with guests shielded from wind and noise by high glass walls.
The south side has a sophisticated dining atmosphere with panoramic views of the bay all the way down to Port Phillip Heads and Geelong.
The bar’s hip vibe and tasteful modern décor is designed with comfort in mind, inviting patrons to linger for the views alone.
This high tea is a modern take on the traditional. No frilly napery, no floral, gilt-edged crockery, no stuffiness. This is high tea that appeals to a modern crowd, and it matches much more famous high teas around town for quality and service.
The attentive and friendly staff presented us with complementary bubbles (my companion opted for a mocktail instead) and a three-tiered platter of goodies. We started with scrumptious Signature Sandwiches:
- Silken Egg – free-range eggs with Dijon mustard and chives on fresh white bread.
- Prawn Cocktail – Australian prawns in a house seafood sauce and fresh cos on brioche.
- Smoked Salmon – with whipped yuzu cream cheese on tiny toasted sesame bagels.
- Golden Mango Coronation Chicken – the showstopper, with a mildly spicy coronation chicken with ripe mango mint and coriander on multigrain.
Savouries also included mini slow-braised beef and poppy seed mini-pies. The pastry was light and delicate and topped with poppy seeds (natch) while the pie was filled generously with tender beef mince and rich gravy. The house-made chutney was a perfect accompaniment.
Then came the sweet treats. The fresh-baked Strato scones, plain and fruit, were crisp on the outside, golden in the middle and served with fruit jam and Chantilly cream. As civilised people do, we applied the jam before that glorious cream. We enjoyed:
- Jewel Berry Custard – a dreamy, creamy tart topped with seasonal berries.
- Midnight Chocolate Gold Dome – Dark chocolate (this writer’s weakness) with crispy pearls and (wait for it) decadent gold leaf.
- Vanilla Silk Choux – buttery choux with piped vanilla cream.
- Velvet Raspberry Macaron – crisp, light and filled with a raspberry centre.
It was an opulent experience, but you can crank the luxury meter to 11 with Strato’s Signature Spritzes ($15) or its Gin Collection cocktails ($20).
If that’s not enough, opt for the Naughty Indulgence, the Bottomless Signature Spritz Upgrade ($50 per person for two hours).
Despite a single glass of bubbly between the two of us, we left Strato’s Highest High Tea in very high spirits. Try it for your next special event.
Strato Melbourne, Oakwood Premier Melbourne, 40th floor, 202 Normanby Road, Southbank. Website: https://www.stratomelbourne.com.au/
Melbourning.com.au dined courtesy of Strato Melbourne.
