Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Fullerton Hotel, Sydney

Fresh, fruity flavours dance with Christmas tradition at Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Fullerton Hotel, Sydney.

What does a ‘Traditional’ Christmas mean to you? As a Londoner living in Sydney, I know as much as anybody that the term ‘Traditional’ can be totally subjective and varied, especially to those living on opposite sides of the earth. Although back in London, a traditional Christmas means turkey, stuffing, sprouts and snow, here in Australia, ‘tradition’ can look like a trip to the beach, cold white wine, pork, shrimp and mangoes. This duality of Christmas traditions, we found, was perfectly expressed in Sydney’s Fullerton Hotel’s 2024 Christmas Afternoon Tea – as we found out when we visited one sunny summer’s day in November to try it out.

Nestled quietly, yet prominently, at 1 Martin Place, The Fullerton is just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of central Sydney, and is housed inside the 150 year old General Post Office building. This heritage architecturally lends itself naturally to grandness and glamour, and afternoon teas are served in the expansive G floor Bar – a great spot for people watching. It’s a gorgeous expression of ‘the outdoors, indoors’, as the ceiling is glass and lets sunlight stream through. The vibe is bubbly and twinkling – perfect if one wants to bring a large group of friends, family, or colleagues, for a festive celebration.

After being seated in a sunny spot by our smartly dressed host, we were treated to a meet-and-greet with the savoury and pastry chefs, who explained in mouth-watering detail the craftsmanship that went into fine tuning every element of our Afternoon Tea. The food then, as if by Christmas Magic, was placed in front of our eyes on a stylish mirrored platter. We greedily whisked our napkins, which had been artfully folded into the shape of Christmas trees (cute!) into our laps, and began munching. The savoury options included a honey glazed ham roulade which genuinely looked like a tree bedecked with baubles, as it had been decorated with the tiniest of edible flowers. We loved the succulent, never-dry, stuffed roasted turkey and cranberry sandwich. Both traditions on which we can likely all agree on! The brioche with ham, vanilla, and star anise felt super festive and the brioche was light and soft.

It’s of note that the portion size of the sweeties was really rather large – it is Christmas after all – why not roll the roulade out and treat yourself? A cute chocolate coated, plum compote filled gingerbread man looked almost so sweet to eat, and the Christmas Spiced Mille-feuille, bedecked with reindeer ears that wobbled and jostled delightfully… until we ate them… was everything we wanted for Christmas and then some! A selection of plain and stollen-flavour scones with cream and cranberry jam still managed to nestle into our bellies like that one last present in the bottom of a stocking, and, just as surprisingly, a tropical fruit plate refreshed our palettes as a finisher.

The so-trendy TWG has partnered with The Fullerton hotel to offer a small selection of teas to accompany the food at Christmas High tea. We selected the Moroccan Mint, perfectly cooling on a hot summer day. If you are a tea aficionado, and looking for a long list of imaginative teas, you might be slightly disappointed, as this afternoon tea was really all about the food and not so much the tea – but we did feel it was a lovely option to have a Vittoria coffee instead if you wanted, which, if you’re anything like us, you might need to fuel your Christmas Shopping afterwards!

After sipping the last of our chilled Veuve Clicquot, which can be served with the afternoon tea as a $20 surcharge option, we felt thoroughly jingly and ready to ho ho ho off down the street for some more festive activities. The Afternoon Tea is served from 12.00pm to 4.00pm, right up until New Years Eve, though, so if you wanted to plan your tea just before taking a cab home for a traditional festive nap – that’s of course, always an option!

 

Christmas Afternoon Tea Menu:

Sweet:

• Christmas Spiced Mille-feuille
  Caramelised Puff Pastry, Spiked Eggnog Custard, Kraken-Soaked Sponge, Redcurrant Jam, Gold Whipped Ganache
• Tropical Trifle
  Mango Passionfruit Jelly, Jam Sandwich, Mango Diplomat Cream, Fresh Fruits, Coconut Mousse Bauble
• Gingerbread Man
  Streusel, Gingerbread Whipped Ganache, Plum Compote
• Peach Melba Present
  Spiced Sablés, Vanilla Mascarpone Mousse, Peach Compote,
  Raspberry Gel and Joconde

Savoury:

• Yule Turkey
  Roasted Turkey, Cranberry Sandwich
• Yamba Prawn Cocktail
  Poached Yamba Prawn with Avocado, Wild Scampi Caviar
• Festive Ham
  Honey- Glazed Ham Roulade, Braised Vanilla & Star Anise Pineapple, Brioche
• The Mosaic
  Miso-Glazed Eggplant with Honey Caviar, Spiced Pumpkin, Oxheart Tomato

 

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