Vaucluse House Tearooms

4.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  5     

Went here for afternoon tea at around 4pm on a Saturday in a group of 5. Let's start with the good. Their scones are delicious! Really impressive and worth it.

The place does have nice views, but the tables weren't that clean, with some leftover plates etc. I'm not sure if this was because the waiters were really busy setting up a reception inside, but the tables weren't exactly cleared.

The service itself is Really poor. The staff were no familiar with their menu (when asked what items were) and just guessed at prices, when I asked about their cakes. When the bill came, everything was differently priced to what they had said! Thankfully it was cheaper.

The presentation of the cakes is also quite poor and just set up on a table (not sure how long they've been there). We got a cheesecake and chocolate tart. Neither was that great. You had to order at the counter, which is away from the cakes, so the staff member didn't even know which ones I wanted.

Would only go back for the scones.

Apr 25, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  6     

Came here on Sunday for high tea for my mother's birthday. The setting for the cafe is beautiful and our waitress was bubbly and very helpful. We had an outdoor table and the jazz band was playing in the background so we could still talk. There were bottomless cups of tea and coffee and the sparkling wine was decent. The food was fine, without being exceptional, but not in the class of QVB or Gunners Barracks which are at the same price point. At the end it was difficult to get the bill and they wanted to charge 2% for using a visa card! Overall it was a good experience.

Apr 24, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Weekends spent back home with the family generally include a visit here. It's the perfect spot to stop for a coffee after a morning walk or to wander on down for a bite to eat and read the paper. The staff and food are great and the mornings generally aren't as busy. The scones are to die for!

Feb 29, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

This is such a delightful venue with beautiful food and great service!

My friends surprised me with a last minute kitchen tea on the weekend prior to me leaving for my overseas wedding. We enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon tea, which included bottomless cups of tea and coffee and a glass of Australian sparkling wine. The lovely manager even offered us all a complimentary top up for the toast!

The grounds at Vaucluse House are spectacular and in an effort to make the most of the weekend's beautiful weather we decided to open gifts and enjoy a few games outside. The staff were most obliging and created a lovely set up for us on the grassed area between the cafe and the carpark and despite having left the cafe, still came out regularly to ensure we were Ok!

Feb 06, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     

My wife loves this place. Always a wonderful experience and a most enjoyable time thanks to the great food and excellent service. The staff are fabulous and the host most charming and personable. The baked egg breakfast is second to none and we were very pleased to discover the 'buy one get one free deal' for early bird breakfast goers!

Feb 02, 2012 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Definitely a lovely spot to have a café in the gardens of Vaucluse house.

Waited some time but ended up having to ask for the menu despite sitting beside the cashier and barista counter and frustratingly having waiters passing and ignoring us. Then had to ask to be served despite seeing at least 4 waiters wandering around and only 3 other tables occupied when we arrived.

Three other tables filled after us and orders taken and served with plated meals well after our order was taken. Then had to ask twice when our sandwiches would arrive. Had asked if ham was available for a sandwich and they said yes. Waited another 15 minutes when we then told there was no ham! So we ordered a chicken and avocado and smoked salmon baguette. The chicken was dry and tough the baguette was so stale and tough we could not bite it off or cut it (and I have a full set of my own teeth).

The thin layer of salmon and smear of ricotta and dried out greens was disappointing, expect better for a $16 sandwich. If you are unable to buy fresh baguettes or bake them yourself on the day, then take it off the menu. We saw others leaving their bread as well. We couldn't bear to go through waiting for tea or dessert! What a pity, could be a bonanza of a place

Jan 02, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

I haven't been to the Tea Rooms for years so was more than pleasantly surprised when I attended a friend's birthday luncheon last weekend. It was a fabulous afternoon, the Jazz lunch is such a steal $30 for 2 courses, especially loved the heirloom tomato salad. The service was perfect, attentive and informative.
Ideal location for a relaxed Sydney Sunday lunch with great food, service, wines and terrific live jazz band - what a find!

Nov 06, 2011 

4.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  3     

The best you can say is the lady wait staff was lovely but the whole get up is totally disorganised and the food weird and largely bad. On arrival shown to our seats and then just left for an eon. I searched out a menu after 15 minutes, waited 30 minutes for water 45 for a drink, was told it was licensed when booking but they are not and couldn't eat one meal at all, tasted off, in their defence we were not charged for this.

On Sundays its a set menu with jazz but you can't hear the jazz from inside and its ambience is cavenous and soulless. I suppose they rely on a new set of tourists each time as you would never ever return.

Aug 21, 2011 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  1     

Waste of money! Went for a baby shower. Mother to be was admitted to intensive care the night before and the tea room would not let us cancel or change the booking. A few of us turned up, the service was horrible, the kitchen staff was rude saying he was still going to charge us for the whole booking. There were birds flying around the room and had a horrible smell wafting in! Would never go back!

Jul 16, 2011 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Our partner and I went to the Tea Rooms for lunch and were very disappointed. There were only two other tables occupied and there were three wait staff (so one wait staff per table) - yet we were made to wait 10 minutes or so for a menu to be brought to the table. We then waited another 15 minutes or so for them to come back to take our order (there are fewer than 10 items on the menu so after a few minutes we were gazing at them trying to prompt them to come over). Food was OK but very limited selection and quite expensive.

Feb 15, 2011