A High Tea of five-star luxury in the centre of it all at Auckland’s Cordis Hotel.
Take a break from sightseeing and shopping or celebrate a special occasion in the Cordis Chandelier Lounge and enjoy their classic High Tea featuring premium teas, handcrafted sweets and savoury bites with a distinctly local flavour.
Situated between the bustling central city, funky Karangahape Road and Newmarket shopping precincts, just a stone’s throw from the Waitemata Harbour and verdant Auckland Domain, the Cordis hotel is the perfect base from which to explore all that New Zealand’s largest city has to offer. Part of the Langham Hospitality Group, the Cordis prides itself on providing five-star luxury and internationally recognised facilities in the heart of Auckland city.
The hotel boasts a number of premium restaurants, a spa, a swimming pool and health centre and focuses on keeping its guests at the centre of its operations, providing heartfelt service in chic accommodations.
High Tea at the Cordis is created by two internationally recognised chefs, Volker Marecek and Anton Pochtar. With several awards under his belt for his afternoon tea services, stints at internationally recognised hotels such as The Savoy, London, and The Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin and a guest judge spot on Master Chef New Zealand, Executive Chef Volker Marecek joined the team in 2009 when the hotel still operated as The Langham. Recognised as the HM Awards Hotel Chef of the Year award in 2024, Executive Pastry Chef Anton Pochtar worked at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai and Moscow before joining Cordis in 2022. Together these two have created another accolade-worthy experience.
Served beneath the dazzling chandelier, and to a soundtrack of live harp, the exemplary High Tea by Cordis with TWG is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. We were lucky enough to arrive on a crisp afternoon shortly after the launch of the new Autumn menu which was designed to celebrate the warmth and richness of the season with a range of seasonal savoury bites and decadent sweet treats. We opted for the regular High Tea, but vegan options and a children’s menu are also available.
The tea selection is from TWG Singapore, a luxury tea brand formed in 2008 that boasts 800 different types of tea, ranging from black, green, white, and oolong teas to rare and specialty blends. At Cordis, we enjoyed a pot of the signature French Earl Grey which was light and subtle, the perfect counterbalance to the richness of the food we enjoyed. Tea is served in chic elegant tea ware in crisp white with a simple gilded rim, alongside starched white napkins, focusing attention on the bright colours of the treats on offer on the tea stand. For an extra touch of indulgence guests can choose either a locally made sparkling wine, or the exquisite Louis Roederer Champagne to accompany the two hot beverages that are served as part of the afternoon tea experience. And for those who are true aficionados of all things tea, Cordis offers the TWG Golden Yin Zhen tea. This one-of-a-kind experience is crafted from precious “Silver Needles” white tea leaves, transformed into ambrosial jewels, and plated with 24ct gold. It is available at $188 per pot.
Displayed on a traditional three-tiered tea stand, we started with sandwiches in timeless combinations such as egg salad, cucumber, pea and goat cheese and ham ribbon. Served on simple white bread, these were a nod to a classic high tea and were a great start to a lovely experience. They were excellent alongside the fine bubbles of the champagne we sipped – any day is a good day for a celebration in our books and high tea at the Cordis was definitely a reason to celebrate!
The savoury tier of the tea stand was a beautiful selection of moreish bites, including a Gin-Cured Salmon with Cucumber and Wasabi Emulsion Bagels, a Cauliflower and Aged Gouda Mousse with Smoked Lamb Rump and Puffed Rice, a Baked Swede, Pickled Celery, Toasted Hazelnut bite with Truffle Vinaigrette and to finish a Crab XO Taco, which was our favourite, though we also really enjoyed the creamy cauliflower and aged gouda mousse which was nicely piquant without being overpowering. Each of these savoury bites was expertly balanced and showcased premium local ingredients such as Mt Cook Aoraki salmon and premium New Zealand lamb rump from Neat Meat.
Whether you move to the scones between the savoury and sweet tiers, or whether you save them for a final farewell remains up to you – but what you should know is that Cordis serves traditional plain scones and a lemon and ginger variety, both of which are buttery, crumbly and delicious. These are perfect alongside a glass of champagne – the bubbles and the butter playing nicely together and providing a perfect balance amongst decadence. At Cordis these are also served with a one-bite Cherry and Almond Tart – a little more robust than the sweets on the tea stand and one we’d like to have snuck into our bags for later, if we hadn’t gobbled it up right away!
The Cordis offer guests two hot beverages as part of the High Tea experience offering tea lovers a wide selection, or, as we did on this occasion, allows you to indulge in a rich, creamy hot chocolate with fluffy marshmallows. Perhaps not the most traditional choice but perfect for those with an extra sweet tooth, or for younger guests in attendance. Moving onto the top tier of the tea stand we started with the Macadamia and Caramel Paris-Brest which was lightly sweet and an excellent one-bite treat! Two mousse-based bites came next, one in the style of a cheesecake with cherry, and another with Earl Grey, Date and Orange which really paired well with the French Earl Grey tea we were sipping. The star of the show here was the Bittersweet Chocolate and Coffee Tart which was big on flavour, but not too intense – a wonderful finish to an excellent experience!
It was a quiet afternoon when we visited and the calm interior of the Chandelier Lounge was a welcome respite from the busy city outside. The soft sounds of the live harp, low hums of other guests’ conversations and the general noises of a busy hotel provided a soft backdrop to our experience. On busier days, with larger groups of guests we imagine the atmosphere would be a little more celebratory and exciting – we think either would be equally enjoyable for an afternoon of High Tea.
Having indulged and celebrated a little it was time to head out in the late afternoon sun of Auckland city, but not before making a note to return to the Cordis to explore some of their other dining options – and to plan a return visit for High Tea of course!
