Escape to the countryside and indulge in the Bottomless High Tea at Gledswood Homestead & Winery, located in Western Sydney.
After a busy week, come the weekend, do you ever just want to grab your loved ones, get in the car, drive away from it all, and have some fun? Of course you do! Although the promise of a High Tea at a glitzy CBD location is not without it’s charms, sometimes we’re raring to go wild in the country, so we were delighted when the opportunity to visit the Gledswood Homestead & Winery presented itself. A weekend at a winery – how could we say no – especially as a bottomless high tea was being offered for us to sample there!
The Gledswood Homestead & Winery is nestled almost-secretly in Catherine Field, NSW, around an hour’s drive from the centre of Sydney. It’s the perfect distance ‘away’ for those craving the country air but not wanting to spend a whole day actually getting there. As our route got more and more remote and green, we did wonder ‘who will be there?’ ‘Will we be all alone on the farm?’. We needn’t have worried. On the approach, we could hear the bubbly sounds of laughter and merriment, and as soon as we arrived at the historic Cask Room, we could see tables full of women of all ages (even a few newborn babies!) laughing, smiling, and having an absolutely marvellous time: the atmosphere was unparalleled. Our hostess Abir greeted us warmly and gestured to choose from a flute of pink moscato or golden sparkling chardonnay. Our table was laid out with the sweetest, most whimsically painted crockery we’d ever seen, the design of which really catalysed beautifully with the building’s exposed beams, fairy lights, and cosy fireplace.
On to the food! Well, the sheer quantity of it simply took our breath away. A central trestle table was laden with platters aplenty of sweets and savouries, which were all super fresh and being regularly added to by the attentive waitstaff. We were tempted to pile our plates high with everything all at once, but stuck with tradition, and sampled the savouries first. The sandwiches were both vegetarian – one a pickled beet and goats cheese, the other traditional dill and cream cheese, and were both served alongside a rustic root veggie tart, pumpkin arancini, and house made pork sausage and fennel rolls.
Sweets aplenty were everywhere in sight, so shortly after polishing off our last savoury tart, we started on the sweet ones! The mocha ganache was a favourite with the boys, whilst the ‘everyday’ lemon cake tasted anything but everyday, the icing being just that perfect texture of crisp on the outside, but seductively smooth at the same time. For the little ones, pink cupcakes with swirls of pink icing were polished off as quick as a flash, followed by strawberry streusel mini-cakes. As for the scones, well, we’d never actually seen so many scones served at once in our lives – buttery, floury, country-homestead style scones were piled on a three-tiered platter that must have been at least 4 foot high. We served ourselves along with lashings of fresh country cream and strawberry jam… and then, served ourselves again for good measure.
The nature of the ‘bottomless’ high tea is such a unique one. Usually, we’re not left too hungry by a high tea, but the fact we could just go back and keep adding morsels to our plate was a sheer treat and kept the fun going for a long time whilst we chatted and enjoyed the hubbub. We felt like slightly-tipsy kids in a candy store, and the actual kids, well, they absolutely loved everything too, especially the ability they had to burn off all that sugar running around in the green fields outside, encountering the property’s cute sheep and goats! It’s worth noting here that the Gledswood Homestead & Winery is an award-winning events venue, so as well as the monthly bottomless high tea and wine tastings it holds, it’s location where the experienced team can plan a dream wedding, function, or corporate event with finesse.
We were sad to leave the sheep (and the scones!) when the end of the session drew nigh, but we’d felt fully topped up with all that the thrill of a country escape could offer, and then some. The memories of our trip to the Gledswood Homestead & Winery lasted long after we left and cheered up even the dreariest inner-city day for days to come afterwards. We can’t wait to return!
Gledswood Homestead & Winery High Tea Menu:
Finger Sandwiches:
- Chicken, mayonnaise & Avocado
- Smoked salmon, Brie & crème fraiche
Savoury Delights
- Vegetable tart
- Prawn toast
- Caramelised onion & goats cheese tart
- Pumpkin arancini & aioli
Sweet treats
- Strawberry & lemon slice
- Raspberry lamingtons
Fresh scones
- Lemonade scones, jam & Chantilly cream
