WellingtonNZ.com,
New Zealand 

Harriet
29th April 2012 5 star 

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.

Lady S.
17th April 2012 5 star 

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.

Denise H.
13th April 2012 1 star 

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)!!

Sarah
7th April 2012 1 star 

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.

Katherine B.
2nd March 2012 5 star 

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.

Showing 1-5 reviews of 16. See more reviews on MenuMania Write Review