The Tea Room Gunner's Barrack, Georges Height

For the October food fest, one of the much anticipated destination for the Cumbo fam was High Tea, and after much research and looking into, a tea room was finally chosen @ Gunner's Barrack. Even though it was ridiculously far, it was well worth the journey~



So after a painstakingly epic journey from home with MULTIPLE detours and wrong turns, we finally made it to the end of Suakin Drive, where we were greeted by the miniature sand cottage - The Tea Room! (But only after grudgingly following more signs, and walking down steps). The inside had an elegant feel to it with its aged Victorian beauty and the view outside was amazing; with the waterside views offering the soft tranquility of a nice Spring afternoon.

Even though we were a little behind schedule, the staff were really accommodating and offered delightful service. We had the Sparkling Afternoon Tea menu for $45; which offered the traditional afternoon tea (selection of pastries, finger sandwiches, scones and preserve and tea or coffee) with an additional sparkling wine. There were sooo many tea to choose from! You can see the full menu here.

Aren't the cups so fancy? Don't you just wanna take them home?! 

 Our magnificent view on a bright Spring Day.

 A tier to share

Our tiers came within minutes of arriving, which elicited squeals and furry of movements, and since our group was pretty large, our servings of sandwiches and scones came on separate plates. One of the two tiers were covered with napkins because apparently vicious birds will come and swoop at our sandwiches and cakes if they see it.

 Finger sandwiches: smoked salmon and cucumber, egg salad, ham and greens(?).  

The portions are generous compared to other places. And although the sandwich fillings were miniature, everything was in perfect proportions for a filling afternoon tea.

 Samosas, puff pastries with dippings and scones on the side.  

The samosas were nice and warm, and had a curry edge to it, without the full blast, giving it a unique taste with the yoghurt like dippings provided. And the pastry puffs were light and flaky like an egg tart with asparagus fillings? Not too sure. But the scones, omg, scones. It was delightfully soft and fluffy on the inside, whilst maintaining a crunchy exterior, and it went really well with the cream and blueberry jam provided. I only wished they had given more cream and jam as I would have packed it on!!!  

Miniature servings of cream and jam

 Cheesecake and muffins. 

 The muffins were soft and moist with a little fruit underneath the sponge, whereas the cheesecake was light and soft, complimented well with the slight sour strawberry. 

 Cake and chocolate macaron. 

The cake had a multitude of flavours within the layers of goodness. The chocolate was rich and complimented well with the soft spongey interior and base. The macaron, however was a little bit disappointing. I was hoping for a more interesting flavour than your bland chocolate, but let's not hate, cause the whole experience was fantastic. 

 Vanilla panna cotta with raspberry topping. 

I was somewhat disappointed by this as well. When reading reviews, I was awed at the mango pudding with some form of tapioca on top, however, we were given this, which didn't even taste like vanilla. It had a stronger taste of coffee than vanilla. But nonetheless, it was edible...

 Jasmine Pearl

 For my tea choice, I went with Jasmine Pearl white tea (Spring - China) - 'The leaves from this rare specialty from china are plucked by hand and rolled into small balls. It is flavoured with freshly plucked jasmine petals, which lends it its unusual delicate flowery aroma.' Instead, what I got was something that initially started out as soft and fragrant, but after being steeped too long, quickly turned bitter and uninviting, even after adding a teaspoon of sugar. However, this was quickly remedied by adding milk to the tea, and another teaspoon of sugar.

Adding the saviour...

 Transformed: Milk tea!

I LOVE MILK TEAS! The milk made the tea delicately soft and aromatic at the same time by blending out the harsh bitterness of the tea.

 Our sparkling wine - just gave me fuzzies from one sip. I still can't drink alcohol.

Cumbo family, missing Cathy and Alvin 

All in all, the experience was great. The ambiance of the restaurant was awesome as was the service and the location provided a fresh atmosphere as we can overlook the waterside whilst enjoying our afternoon tea. Definitely a place to go to with a group to mingle and have small chat. ALSO, a perfect opportunity to dress up with your girlfriends.

The Tea Room Gunner's Barrack 

End of Suakin Drive, 

Georges Height NSW 2088