There are occasions only a hotel high tea can create. The fine China or the considered styling, pastries that are almost too beautiful to touch – and that particular, unhurried sense of an afternoon or a celebration.
A proper high tea arrives in tiers: finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones, cakes and savoury options. Staff are trained in the ritual, in the choosing of a blend – and the best hotels take it further, with curated single-origin loose-leaf selections and in some instances even a dedicated tea sommelier.
It’s a natural choice for birthdays, milestones, celebrations or simply a special afternoon. And of course, Mother’s Day. Cape Town does it particularly well so here are four standout experiences we can vouch for.
Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel
The grande dame of Cape Town tea. The setting alone justifies the visit – tables on the veranda or terrace overlooking manicured lawns, a resident hotel can named Nellie, live piano music, salmon-pink walls that have become a city landmark. Afternoon Tea was introduced here in 1989 and has quietly become a Cape Town institution.
Set inside the tea room – cosy on up in a table on the veranda or on the terrace overlooking the immaculate rolling lawns outside with live piano music setting the scene.
Craig Cupido is South Africa’s first certified tea sommelier. He guides guests through more than 75 teas and infusions – buchu, rooibos, honeybush and a vanilla blend that had friends swooning recently – alongside a special 125th anniversary blend of rooibos, honeybush, mesquite and apple, finished with pink rose petals. Sparkling wine and a house iced tea arrive at the table before anything else, and the savoury menu – cucumber, fennel and cream cheese finger sandwiches; soy-cured salmon on a charred aubergine rice roll; spinach tart with whipped feta – changes seasonally.
Sweets include an apricot and rooibos delice, macadamia nut tart with spiced Chantilly cream, and butternut and roasted vanilla custard mousse. A children’s tea is delightfully presented and drew swoons from fellow diners. Macarons with faces, speckled eggs and pop tarts, along with cut-up cucumbers, carrots and hummus. There’s even a pet-friendly tea menu that includes rare roast beef, meatloaf and a peanut butter bone biscuit in the mix.
High tea costs R650 a person / R350 per child under 12. Monday to Sunday, 11am to 3pm (hourly seatings).
The vibe: grand colonial elegance. A sense that you are partaking in a living Cape Town institution. It goes back decades and the most storied of the four.
The Silo Hotel, V&A Waterfront
The Silo’s Royal Tea is bold and visually spectacular. Served in the Granary Café on the sixth floor, the pillowed-glass windows frame Table Mountain and the harbour. Thomas Heatherwick’s architecture, the opulent and deliberately eclectic décor, and the hotel’s world-class art collection create a setting that feels part gallery, part tearoom. It’s as if you’re transported into the imagination of someone who plays with theme and colour.
The food matches the aesthetic. Sweet and savoury are served separately on striking Art Deco tiered platters; each piece is immaculate, with precise angles and exceptional craft. Highlights include a chocolate ganache with praline crème, mango and passionfruit profiterole, rose and raspberry macaron, and a salmon and beetroot wrap among the savouries. The scones- small, light, fresh – are worth a mention of their own.
Next door sits the Zeitz MOCAA, one of the continent’s premier contemporary art spaces, and the Royal Tea feels like a natural extension of it. Afterwards, we head out on an art walkabout which really sets the experience apart (this has to be organised beforehand).
R575 a person (Thursday to Sunday, 2.30 to 5pm). Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free options available at R650.
The vibe: Bold and art-gallery sharp. The best views of the harbour and Table Mountain. Less steeped in tradition, a more contemporary edge.
12 Apostles, between Camps Bay & Llandudno
Built into the table Mountain National Park, the 12 Apostles offers something no city hotel can match: the mountain at your back and the Atlantic directly in front. Whale sightings from the Leopard Bar are not unheard of. The room is small and intimate, the service warmly personal – guests are sometimes welcomed by a singing waiter.
The “Tea by the Sea” menu draws on recipes by Red Carnation co-founder Bea Tollman, whose influence gives the offering a distinctive quality. Standouts include a berry and frangipane tart, pecan nut and dark chocolate torte, cheese scones with jam and cream, and a highlight: Bea’s cheesecake. The sweets are not cloying, which is appreciated. A bottomless selection of loose-leaf teas and specialty coffee is included, or upgrade to the Moët & Chandon option with a glass of Brut Impérial.
R575 a person. Seven days a week, with seatings at 10am, 12.30om and 3pm. Special Mother’s Day High tea 8th to 10th May from 10am to 4pm, R625 a person.
The vibe: Dramatic and natural. An immersive setting, and pretty relaxed with the mountain at your back and the Atlantic in front of you.
The Cellars-Hohenort, Constantia
A different pace. On a historic estate in the Constantia Valley, this is high tea as a country-house afternoon rather than a city occasion. The Greenhouse and Hohenort Terrace are both lovely: the terrace wins for the garden views, the pool, and the small tortoises that cross the lawn with apparent indifference to the occasion.
Tea arrives in four courses. Savoury highlights include pickled cucumber and whipped fennel cream cheese finger sandwiches, smoked salmon and avocado roulade and a course of basial mousse with tomato bocconcini and balsamic caviar. Sweets bring hazelnut cromboloni and warm, freshly baked scones. The estate’s grounds reward a wander afterwards where you can even spot the occasional tortoise.
R485 per adult, and R265 for children 12 and under, served on Saturdays and Sundays.
The vibe: tranquil, garden-focused, manor-house charm. The furthest from the urban noise and a genteel experience.