Lucy likes food.

Hopetoun Tea Rooms
Block Arcade
Melbourne, 3000

Website: http://www.hopetountearooms.com.au/

Finally made time to go Hopetoun Tea Rooms after having roamed the city daily for five years. Seemed like the perfect time to go in after the skies completely opened up while we were shopping along Collins St.

Got there around 4pm, and luckily we got a table right away, even though every time we’d passed by there was a line. And sure enough after we were seated a small line was starting to form. Having already eaten lunch we were just after a “small” snack and a nice cup of tea.

The interior was dimly lit, with a very comfortable atmosphere - which would have summed up the perfect rainy day if the windows had been on the outside watching the rain fall. Each table had a marbled-effect top, with a rose on each.

They have a large range of Serendipitea Teas which are all organic loose-leaf teas which they serve in a large teapot with about 250ml, which is enough to get you through everything; at $6.20 a serving. The teas we got were the Snow White (white tea with apples) and Passion with Envy (green tea with passionfruit). While they start off a bit bland, the flavours really start to show through as you sip them in betwen the bites of the desserts.

They are always stocked with about 20 different types of cakes, some which generally stay the same but they do change a few of them occasionally. Each serve will usually range between $8 - $10; but keep in mind one serve is usually quite rich. We were originally going to get just one dessert to share between the two of us, but after looking at the range of cakes we couldn’t decide on just one. We went for a Lemon Tart ($8.50) and an Apple and Blueberry Crumble($9.50).

The Lemon Tart was absolutely delicious! My sister, having made her way through quite a few lemon tarts in her time, said this was possibly her favourite now and I could tell why. The filling was the right amount of sourness without making you cringe though it was rich and smooth. The pastry too, was perfect and not dry which too many are these days.

The Apple and Blueberry Crumble was great as well, but not to the same level as the lemon tart. It was served cold, though it would have been ten time better had it been warmed up as any good crumble should be. However, the flavours were still great and the pastry was great too though I’m pretty sure it was the same as the lemon tart’s. I just couldn’t get past the coldness of the crumble though.

Overall, it was a great indulgence though I wouldn’t scramble to come back again too soon as though it has a great atmosphere it isn’t the most amazing place. But I would like to try a few others too.