This place is one of my favorite restaurants in Wellington. I have been there many times now for both high tea and just for a nice afternoon tea. The staff were so lovely and the experience is one of the nicest. The place is beautiful and quaint and its just a fun and happy atmosphere. Cudos to the owners who have done such a great job with the place.

I’ve had high tea at Martha’s Pantry and it was delightful. I think the main misunderstanding below was that the cost was $25 per person, not per 3 tiered plate. This is pretty reasonable for a high tea in Wellington (Kirks is $25, The Museum Hotel is $30 and Finc is $26.50 with bubbles) and really cheap internationally (The Windsor Hotel Melbourne $AU59, The Ritz London from 42 pounds).

Compared to coffee and a muffin, it’s a luxury, but compared to lunch out it’s quite reasonable. And far more charming.

My daughter booked a table for her birthday high tea. She ascertained at the time of making the booking that the cost would be $25.00 per tiered plate of food plus cost of drinks.
We (seven adults) had two three tier plates of nice food, two pots of tea (topped up once) and two half sized hot chocolates for my grand daughter (5 years old) and her friend.
The service could not be faulted and the setting was lovely, but when I came to pay the account I was shocked as the account was $180.00. I was expecting it to be less than $100.00 – given the prices my daughter was quoted at the time of booking.
In order not to not embarrass my daughter and her friends (we were seated right in front of the counter) I decided to pay the account without disputing it. I thought I would pay the difference by credit card, as I only had $120.00 cash on me. Unfortunately they did not offer credit card payment. Staff were most helpful when I asked if I could use their telephone to transfer money into my eftpos account, but by this time my daughter and her friends had heard all of the conversation and decided to contribute what they could. So piece meal we paid cash by collecting donations from our guests and also topping up the final difference by one of the girls money cards.
A totally embarrassing experience, especially for my daughter who had made the booking, and was quite clear re the cost of the service from her discussion with the cafe at the time of the booking. My daughter is a mature student, spent a number years as a retail manager overseeing a large staff, so is organised, professional and pays attention to detail. I therefore do not see the discrepancy in the cost as a mistake or misunderstanding on her behalf.
While we all enjoyed ourselves, the celebration was certainly marred by the exorbitant cost, and the embarrassing experience re payment at the end of the high tea.
An experience not for the faint hearted (fiscally)!!

We went to Martha’s Pantry for a birthday high tea, and were charged $181 for two pots of tea, two children’s hot chocolates and two trays of small nibbles. We enquired about prices when we made the booking, and were told that the trays of nibbles were $25 each, so the price tag after our meal came as a hugely embarrassing shock. We were mortified, then broke, and left feeling like we had been robbed.

After my experience at Martha’s Pantry I was surprised to see the volume of poor reviews here – this does not match my experience at all.
To be fair, my colleagues (all female) and I did not partake in the ‘High Tea’ which seems to be attracting most of the disappointment. A couple of elderly women next to us appeared to be enjoying their experience with what I assume was the high tea, and didn’t even finish their tiered plates of nibbles – perhaps it’s a generation thing from when men were men and women were ladies. I suggest save the high tea as a treat to compliment a day out shopping with your mum or gran, not as lunch with your male friends.

In terms of atmosphere; very relaxing, we were spellbound by the beauty of the interior and the pretty nic-nacs and art everywhere. Perfectly mature-girly.

Only cabinet food on offer; the usual slightly-gourmet fare and was tasty and fresh – no a la carte dining as far as I could tell, which was fine and suited our appetites and moods at the time. To be honest, seeing someone tucking into a plate of meat and eggs would have been way out of place in here and a bit of a put off. In terms of pricing, no bargains but also no shocks – the cabinet food was priced as you would find in any other slightly upmarket cafe.

The range of tea was impressive, but I settled for a flat white which was perfectly made (to my standards at least) in a delicate hand-painted china cup – the sort your gran would have.
Overall a lovely experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a well made cuppa of anything hot, and a light lunch or afternoon tea. The standout for me was definitely the gorgeous decor and warm atmosphere.

Although the atmosphere was charming, you were left wanting more. The food, though delicious, was sadly insufficient. The tiered ensemble could benefit from more savoury treats, as opposed to sweet.

The tea itself is wonderful, perhaps the greatest asset.

My greatest qualm is how overpriced this experience is, and the additional charge for special dietary is completely unforgivable. I don’t think persecuting those who are unfortunate enough to have this issue is necessary.

Appreciate the concept, but it failed to be very well executed. All in all,left feeling disappointed and unfufilled. Definitely will not be returning anytime soon.

Tasty morsels ( and I really mean morsels) with a variety of teas but very overpriced!! A great shame also that if you don’t drink tea you have to pay extra for a different drink as was the case with a friend- rather mean when the high tea costs $25 per person. Left still hungry and won’t be returning at those prices!

Traditional ‘high tea’ is a light bite (basically finger food) served late afternoon between lunch and dinner, Yes by kiwi portions they are small and its not cheap $25 PP, but you are paying for the experience the ambiance and i personally enjoyed it, perfect idea for birthdays and baby showers!

If you like ‘piling on the food’ type person this is not for you!

Recently we had an overseas guest and thought we would take her to Martha’s Pantry. Unfortunately it was not the treat we were hoping for. We were all jammed into this small room – where the waitresses could barely movey round the tables. We were lucky if we had five portions of the minutest size, the food did not resemble the photo in advertising.
For this my daughter paid $85.00, I have never felt so embarrassed, fortunately our guest had no idea. On top of that we were told in no uncertain terms by the owner we had to leave by a certain time, having made the reservation three weeks in advance I thought that was very poor.
Unfortunately I am not recommending Martha’s to anyone at all. We have so many delightful cafes in Wellington and the idea of Martha’s is great but ……

In the UK high tea is a substantial meal late in the afternoon. This was not what I consider High Tea BUT it was a very pleasant Afternoon Tea experience.
Reading some of the reviews I see that people were disappointed and I recommend that the owners change the description to Afternoon Tea. Then expectations will be met.
My partner and I had a very pleasant experience. Friendly staff and pleasant atmosphere. It was a good way to while away an hour on a sunny Wellington afternoon.

Was a bit wary, what with all the negative reviews on here, but we had a great time. My partner and I and our 2 nieces had a great time. The girls really loved the high tea, especially the whole ceremony around pouring the tea and all the little cakes. The food was reasonable, but not great value for money, and the décor was pretty kitsch, but that’s what you’re looking for when it comes to a very English high tea. While the ladies all went for the high tea, I opted for a bagel and coffee – reasonable food, price was in the medium to high range; certainly not the bargain you would get at other cafés on Cuba Street, but it wasn’t annoyingly high.

I would certainly recommend this to anyone wanting something a bit different for a special occasion (in our case, 2 nieces with birthdays close together), but I doubt I would make it a regular hangout.

P.S. Tell them you have a birthday girl and you get a candle on the top

What an absolute treat! Two friends and I had high tea at Martha’s on the weekend. The booking was easy, in fact I had to change it and they were very accommodating. We were seated right away. We chose the all day tea blend and one of the specials, which was a cinnamon blend. Both teas were extremely nice. Then our 3 tiered treat stand came out, complete with a candle in a cupcake for the birthday girl, which was a lovely touch. There were two types of sandwiches, two savories, two scones and four sweet treats each. Everything was extremely fresh and prepared with care and attention.

Now I can eat like food will disappear tomorrow. So looking at the stand I thought that I could polish that off no trouble. But in the end even I was struggling. My friend had to leave 3 of her treats, which were doggy bagged for a grateful husband.

I definitely want to go back … again and again!

The general definition of a High Tea is ‘A fairly substantial meal that includes tea and is served in the late afternoon or early evening.’

My partner and I were completely disappointed with our ‘High Tea’ at Martha’s Pantry. We paid $25 each – a price that we were completely prepared for, given our initial expectations.
To the point… Was it substantial? Barely. The food itself was simple and the taste was average. Average in the sense that you were eating nothing that you couldn’t whip up at home in half the time with what you already had in the fridge.

Eg. Half a scone cut into four pieces. A cucumber and creamed cheese sandwich that tasted like it had been left out all day. Desserts that didn’t taste fresh at all.

My partner inquired about trading his tea for a coffee and paying the difference, but he was told that he had to buy the coffee separately. We ended up buying another scone because we were still hungry, then were told we had to pay more for the jam…

We have tried a few High Tea’s in Wellington and have had a lot better. We felt completely ripped off and wouldn’t recommend the experience or food to anyone.

Went for a girlie high tea afternoon…we were not disappointed! Lovely people, great atmosphere, lovely service and delicious nibbles. Great experience and will do it again. Make sure you have a booking

Unfortunately, I was never able to actually eat or drink anything at this restaurant, so my review is based solely on the service (or lack thereof) we received.

We came in and were completely ignored. Completely. We eventually just chose a random table and were still completely ignored.

A group of three young women came in and had a reservation. They were welcomed, seated and told of the specials and how it all works.

We were still ignored despite there being 5 employees standing about not really doing much. We sat there for 20ish minutes before we just got annoyed and walked out.

My recommendation? Make reservations – they’ll then acknowledge your existence.

Such a beautiful little spot away from the ugly Bypass! Offering tea in teacups,with fresh club Sammie’s,strong brewed coffee and the loveliest family you’ll ever meet behind the counter,Martha’s pantry is small so get in quick!