There’s just something about high tea that gets us all excited. Is it the tiny sandwiches? Is it the endless pots of tea? Is it because we feel ever-so-posh? In any case, it’s no surprise that enjoying an afternoon tea is one of the most civilised ways to spend your time.

While it’s fun to put on your best dress and head out to a fancy hotel in town, sometimes you want a treat without feeling like you’re part of the cast of Downton Abbey. With this in mind, here are five great unusual spots to enjoy high tea in Cape Town.

The Alba (V&A Waterfont)

We’ve all enjoyed tea at the Waterfront, but The Alba allows you to enjoy tea while floating away from it. This revolutionary boat restaurant is known for its refined dining, but also offers a fairly unique high tea experience. Included in the R495 is a 90-minute cruise along the picturesque Waterfront, a glass of bubbly on arrival and snacks including savouries such as peppadew, goat’s cheese and caramelised onion quiches; smoked salmon and asparagus vol au vents; and prawn and avo sandwiches. For the sweet options, you can choose from milk tart, churros or vanilla cheesecake.

The Alba cruising the harbour. Photo supplied.

Ginja (Waterfront)

On the first Saturday of every month you’ll be able to head down to the Waterfront to feast on Ginja’s high tea. For R160 per person, you can enjoy their sweet and savoury tables, which feature the classic tea sandwiches, such as cucumber and cream cheese, along with freshly baked croissants and cakes. If you’re looking to make your tea experience a little more festive, you can opt to try the gin of the month for an additional fee. This month Ginja is teaming up with Wilderer gin, so you can sip on a tasty gin cocktail while you snack. With your pinky out, of course.

O’Ways Teacafe (Claremont)

If anyone in Cape Town knows their tea, it’s these guys. The Claremont-based tea merchants have been around for a while and supply many of the country’s best restaurants and cafés with their excellent Nigiro tea. At their own café they offer a tea tasting paired with their house-made dumplings. This needs to be pre-arranged with the restaurant, but we reckon that’s a small amount of admin to deal with in order to enjoy two of the world’s greatest creations – dumplings and tea.

Truth HQ (Buikenkant St, East City)

High tea? What about high coffee? We reckon that most sweet treats will accompany a refreshing pour-over pretty well. The focus here is the generous food offering, which includes at least nine different items, ranging from sweet to savoury. For R360 per person, you’re able to tuck into delicious treats such as smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches, fresh chocolate éclairs and scones with jam and cream. Master patissier Kamal Hamzaoui changes the menu fairly often to ensure he’s always using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Choose from the menu of coffees (or the curated tea menu) or pair your afternoon tea with real-deal French champagne for an additional cost.

Some of the delicious sweet treats at Truth. Photo by Jess Spiro

The Yard (Silo District)

It seems that everything at the Silo District is done with an added level of style and The Yard is no different. The food here is a refreshing modern take on South East Asian fusion cuisine and the restaurant recently added a tea offering to the menu. For R295 you can look forward to savoury options such as chicken kathi wraps, Mumbai-style sandwiches, and falafel pita pockets. For sweet delicacies, expect the likes of Gulab Jamun- (a traditional Indian sweetmeat) flavoured cheesecake, miso-glazed éclairs, saffron-spiced carrot cake and the house speciality – a green tea sponge cake served with coconut mousse. Naturally, the teas are the thing to drink here – specifically the stovetop masala chai.

High Tea at The Yard ? Launching 01 May 2018 . . . Thank you @justjadeblog for this beautiful image of yesterday’s press high tea launch ✨ #theyardcapetown #silo4 #silodistrict #rosettaroastery #hightea #deliciousdesserts #afternoontea #treats

A post shared by The Yard at Silo (@theyardcapetown) on Apr 18, 2018 at 6:03am PDT

*Disclaimer: we know that in the rest of the world, high tea and afternoon tea are two completely concepts. High tea is traditionally served as an early dinner option, whereas afternoon tea is the 3pm slot that we’re all familiar with. South Africans call their afternoon tea ‘high tea’ and, while we’re acknowledging that’s not technically correct, we’re (cake-)lovers not fighters.