Review Zealong - Hamilton

What an amazing experience the High Tea was. From the cherry blossoms and statues and dragons in the garden to the internal setting, the team that welcomes and serves you and the tea and food were all top notch and made for a very memorable experience. A must visit for anyone close by or passing through.

Its a very very chill relax and nice place to be in for families or friends who might want some quiet time. The place is really nice and fresh, foods are really tasty and vould get you full. The tea is awesome! An awesome place to be!!!

We had lunch at Zealong on a public holiday. It was an overcast day and they were still very busy. The staff there were all amazing - friendly, gentle and warm. We were seated outdoor with enclosed area and heaters all around if we do require. We had two children (7&9), but they did not have kids menu which was a bit disappointing. We ended up ordering a high tea for each of them. The lunch options were not suitable for the children. Food was great and the teas are a good compliment to our meals. Great presentation and good atmosphere here. Playground for the kids were sub-par, but I guess that’s not what Zealong’s main focus is.

Zealong is the perfect place for a wedding or function! 5 stars is not enough to give the team at Zealong. We had a small family wedding here recently and from the very first interaction, their service was impeccable. Malin and her events team are fantastic, they went above and beyond for us. Our wedding day was perfect, we wouldn’t have changed a thing. The catering options were incredible! We were treated like royalty throughout every step of the planning process. Highly recommend Zealong and we’ll back to explore all the other offerings of this fantastic location and the team. Thank you again Malin and the team, you all are so amazing.

Beautiful atmosphere and lovely food. I loved being here. We had high tea along with one choice of tea from the options. I chose dairy free and it was just amazing. 😍

Absolutely stunning building with beautifully manicured grounds. Our High Tea was so yummy, everyone having their own 3 tier plates. Beautiful place.

It was an absolute delight to treat my wife on our wedding anniversary to a real HIGH TEA at Zealong Tea Estate. The food was perfectly presented and tasted even better. The variety of TEA just complements the food. THE ATMOSPHERE was just right for our special day.

Beautiful grounds. High tea was pleasant. Restaurant area has the beautiful outdoor area so will look to go to the restaurant next time

So my wife and I got married at the Zealong Tea Gardens in July and we felt like the location couldn't have been more perfect. Every time we got out of a meeting discussing our wedding, we always felt at peace and very comfortable with our decision. The onsite accommodation- There are 8 bedrooms, 2 Kitchens and multiple bathrooms, all with ample parking within an easy walk or a a 30 second drive to both the ceremony and reception areas meant we didn't have to stress about getting to and from places, which allowed us to really relax and enjoy ourselves. We had a vision of bringing 2 families and groups of friends together and it nailed this. It was nice having the day after the wedding to relax and continue to celebrate and have a quite day for my wife's birthday. Every part of the venue was stunning - All of the photos look incredible - The food was absolutely amazing and 2 months later we are still raving about the NZ cheese board and the 12 hour slow cooked lamb - mmm so good!! The staff were exceptional!! In particular our event co-ordinator, Malin, was a great communicator and with an eye for detail and a warm and caring nature. Even when meetings ran over time and we had to wait, this was not a bad thing. My wife loved that it gave us an opportunity to sample the exceptional free teas and talk to the friendly staff. To the team at the Zealong, Thank you so much!! Brandon & Lydia

Second visit and a new chance to make it better from last time, and THEY DID. The service was outstanding and the food was delicious. We had high tea again. One normal and one plant based. All little things on the plates where superb. Special to mention the pla t based coconut berry cream and the coconut cream chocolate mousse. The new chefs from Europe know how to make excellent food. We will come back again, and thanks for this positive experience. ‐------------------ There are only a few places you can recommend without any worries about. And this is one want to be one of those. The food was good. We had the high tea. Compared to other high tea, this one is small and has nothing really special. The pumpkin creme Brule was not set, and eggie. The service was bad, not attention to detail, not to the level expected for this type of location and price range. There are many other better high tea places in NZ for less money.

Lunch at Zealong. We started with the crayfish ravioli which was amazing. The surprise was to find piece of decent size crayfish underneath the ravioli. Usually it is done with a crayfish mousse encased inside the ravioli and the sauce is so amazing. Next we had baby lamb rack which as tender, moist and succulent cooked to your preference. Delicious. And again the sauce was amazing. Next we had the chocolate cake with sago which was an unusual combination but worked really well together. We also had the blood orange terrine which was wonderfully fresh and light. I would say that this lunch was of a very high standard and thoroughly enjoyable. The chef changes the menu often so it pays to go soon to try out the menu.

A beautiful place to share an afternoon tea with friends! Friendly staff and brilliant service! Iced tea was amazingly refreshing!

Awesome hospitality. Every staff have gratitude to serve from heart. Especially Mathew and Mia who were assigned for our table were so great explained each and every way it’s serviced and specialty of food. It was our first time but staffs never made feel we are in odd place. Staff were so friendly and comicable. Would recommend to our friends who ever having time at Waikato to visit sealing for peaceful time to spend with friends and family much valued

High tea at Zealong was a nice experience. The selection was good and very good tasty, although my partner is not keen on fish and half of the savoury selection was fish. The sweet selection was great, would have been nice to have had one more piece. It was on the expensive side, but you’re paying for the experience. It was a winters day, and was inside, I felt the decoration inside was a little white and clinical. I was a good experience and would recommend the high tea, but not something you would do very often, maybe just a special occasion.

It was our first time dining in here to celebrate our daughter’s 8th Birthday. We travelled all the way from Tauranga. Even though it was a long drive and the weather was not that great, we still have had a wonderful experience at Zealong. The staff were very accommodating and friendly, special mention to Mia as she was so kind to us, she happily explained everything that we need to know and also she frequently checked if we were okay. They also made an extra effort to put a “happy bday” note on our signature high tea plate and sung a happy bday song for my daughter. Overall, we totally loved the elegant ambiance, sumptuous food and their service. We will definitely recommend this place to our friends and hopefully we can comeback soon! :)

We enjoyed a pleasant and happy lunch with a wide tea field in front of us. I also liked the various sculptures on the theme of tea and the spacious resting area. The food was also really good. Weddings and events can be held here, so if you get a chance, please use it.

Aromatic tea and outstandingly tasty food. The food is so well sauced that we ordered extra bread to enjoy without any leftovers. We would like to note our thanks to the chef. I would also highly recommend this restaurant to Japanese travellers who are not comfortable with English, as several of the staff have experience of staying in Japan. We were also surprised at how clean the tea garden was. There was not a single piece of plastic waste, which is common in tea plantations. This is completely different from tea gardens in China, where the taste is good but safety is not guaranteed at all. Among the teas, I particularly liked the pure oolong tea and the aromatic oolong tea. I bought some as souvenirs to take back to Japan and they were very well received by Japanese fans of Chinese tea.

Stunning location overlooking the tea plantations. Tea room very spacious and zen like. Great for an indulgent high tea, amazing pastries and lovely staff...tea pretty darn good too, had the breakfast beautiful flavours.

Amazing place! It's my 2nd visit to the tea farm with friends, the 1st time was 2 years ago with my hobby! Very matured restaurant now with High Tea, we had very good time!! Thanks to the owner of the Tea Farm� to bring & grow the tea trees from Taiwan so successfully. The tea leaves �are so healthy with NZ pure air & water & I'm so impressed that my 8th time cup of their tea is still good as the 1st or 2nd cup! Well done ���

Absolutely fantastic, the High Tea was so delicious and you get so much food that we didn't have room to try the fabulous looking lunch menu, staff are very knowledgeable and give great service, recommend this restaurant to everyone!

This is always a special place for my family for celebrations and even just for a nice meal out ,service is always fantastic ,food really good ,I cannot say enough how much I love it here. Highly recommend . One little minor thing please get the fireplace going ,it is the second time in winter I’ve been and it’s not going ,it was a little cold and it really adds to the ambience .

Had the most amazing afternoon having the High Tea for my Ma in laws 80th Birthday. The staff were really accommodating with a couple of changes to the menu when requested. Nothing was a bother and the children enjoyed themselves too. Tea was delicious and the selection of food was first class and beautifully presented. I can highly recommend a Zealong tea experience.

If you love tea visiting Zealong is a must: if you don't like tea visting Zealong is a must! When driving in you are given a small glimpse of the tea bushes, this is then multiplied when you stand on the hill and look over the farm. A farm that produces world class tea!!! Magical tea to drink especially when one of the amazing staff (Joy) is preparing it for you and explaining the process while doing so. High tea: AMAZING! A delightful selection of sweet and savoury that will WOW your taste buds. Thank you Zealong, long may you grow and flourish: keep doing what you do!

WOW how gorgeous is this place! We did the tour & high tea .. absolutely loved it! Zealong teas are delicious the staff are fabulous & the food was scrumptious! Add it to your must do list as so worth it! We are going back in picking season .. can't wait!

What a beautiful afternoon and experience at Zeelong yesterday for a totally relaxing lunch my wife Irene. The staff were just wonderful and so welcoming and the food was great, not cheap, but the quality made it worth the money. Tasting the tea was a new experience for me and I totally enjoyed the "aromatic", so much so that I drained the pot. Loved your new gift shop - we'll be back! Thank you

Authentic, beautiful & stunning place! Our high tea was to die for and we didn’t even need lunch after that! Will definitely go back for a special occasion. Bookings are must, so don’t be disappointed!

It was my birthday gathering with friends and we had a delightful experience with good food, 4 kinds of tea and the ambience of the place. Just one thing I missed from the last time I've been at Zealong is the welcoming intro from a knowledgeable wait staff. Yesterday, we had a trainee who is good but needs more training. The other waitress was a bit clumsy and rushing to serve. Overall experience is still very good.

It is one of the most expensive place to have tea. The tea is made at Zealong Tea Estate yet it is so expensive.. Wont be recommending the place to anyone.

I organised my sister in laws baby shower for a high tea in the pavilion this afternoon. We had amazing food and service, everyone had a fantastic time! Will definitely be back and would recommend a function to be held there.

Definitely a place to visit. Service & Food excellent, and of course the teas were divine. Paying top price but worth it. Will be back.

I organised a very special birthday lunch here for my mum on the weekend. Beautiful setting and atmosphere. The food was absolutely delicious. Mum said what a special and memorable day it was. The staff were more than accomodating to include a candle that I provided for her dessert. Thanks again �

I had a lovely afternoon there on the tea tour and high tea. The tour guide German was very professional and very kind to us. The high tea had all sorts of lovely treats. Well worth the cost too. It's great that this place is right in our backyards. Thank you for hosting my family and I.

It is very seldom to find a roasted Oolong tea in Taiwaneese tradition that is organic certified. Normaly I am very sceptical about teas which are not from traditional tea countries. Since I first tasted your Oolong Dark 1,5 years ago, the qualitiy totally convinced me, so I drink it regularly. Even if I also tasted (and still do) different Taiwaneese Oolongs which are mostly not organic certified, only teas from Atong Chen which are twice as expensive as Zealong Dark can reach or top your quality. So I am very excited about getting your tea at Tee Gschwendner in Germany soon.

What an experience. I like a cup of tea but this was something special and the classic high tea was exceptional. Well worth the $45 per head price tag. Is to tea what single malt is to cheap blended whiskey

Love it! Friendly staff, we hadn't booked and it was very busy, but staff tried their best to find a table. Views were very pretty! Tea was amaze and food was good too!

very nice place！ good for inter peace！nice staff and food！

Ratings 4.0. The tea here are definitely very premium, in quality and price. You can taste the freshness in the oolong, which was also very “clean” and natural (not sure it justify the astronomical price though). The service of the tea room was slow & elaborate, difficult to get service sometimes. The lobster tart though was to die for, it’s as decadent as it sounds & lived up to it, crispy pastry & flavoursome sauce. The petit fours were nice, but that lobster tart was the star.

An amazing place to go to even on a hot summer day for some tea. Got placed on the deck on front of the plantation with a wonderful view, the place is very nice, clean, tidy and visually placed well. This place is a highly recommended place for family outing or to go on a date on in the afternoon with some high tea. There was two options $49 pp for just high tea and $57 per person to open a bottle as well. As for the food served for the high tea it was quite nice their dessert at the bottom was delicious! When selecting what tea you want highly recommend their award winning ones, it complements the course very well, my favorite was the green zealong. Customer service from the waiters was also wonderful especially in explaining how to poor and drink the tea. 100% would go again whenever I can.

Nothing is special about this pretentious place, the tea they serve is hardly decent, needless to mention the mediocre blank tasteless food, unprofessional staff and common looking atmosphere. Won’t go again, not recommended .

Lovely place. you would come here for the experience, the views and for an education experience on tea. Food wise at the restaurant was in my opinion pricey for the standard of food such as a chicken (morrocan/curry style) and rice dish was $32. Linguine pasta with prawns $34. one cup of tea per person is $9. of course if you are looking for a day out and for something different or on a special occasion or just bringing someone along who appreciates tea I would then highly recommend.

EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the poor customer service from the manager & the person who "reserved" my table.<br/><br/>I requested to reserve a table for the Saturday 31st Aug at 11:45am for my family. However the confirmation text I received from the restaurant stated my reservation was for the 30th, so I made 3x phone calls and spoke to the person to corrected the booking to the time I requested.<br/><br/>I drove from Auckland on Saturday 31st Aug and was told by the manager that I didn't reserve a table and the reservation was at 10:30am. I even showed her my phone history as proof of the calls I made to book and correct booking time etc but she still didn't believe me. <br/><br/>She offered for me to either wait another two hours or come back next time. <br/><br/>What a lovely manager.

If you want a quiet, serene spot a team conference then this place might be good for you. Zealong Tea Estate has two venues for functions like conferences first is the Vista which can house 300 guests for cocktails and another one is the Pavilion which can cater up to 60 people, both of which offer great views of the Zealong property.

We drove up from Tongariro to Auckland and stopped at Zealong to meet friends for their High Tea and so worth it!<br/>Great price at $45pp, incredible food options with tea influences a d a very decent a la carte menu. Great for friends and worth the drive from any direction.<br/><br/>Highly recommended!

I visited the Zealong Tea Estate years ago with family and the experience was wonderful. Thought it would be the perfect to celebrate a 3rd anniversary with my partner. <br/><br/>The day was absolutely gorgeous and we were very fortunate to get an outdoor table, the view is beautiful - you are able to see rows and rows of tea plants.<br/> <br/>I ordered the black iced tea with vanilla bean and it is very refreshing. It doesn’t have a strong, bitter taste but instead has a sweet and fresh flavour. I recommend the iced tea on a hot day, it was perfect after the long drive up.<br/><br/>I ordered the fish of the day for lunch and it was very juicy. The veges had a warm, comforting flavour and the fish was fresh and juicy - the two went great together. <br/><br/>Overall had another wonderful experience at the Zealong Tea Estate, food is great, staff are very accommodating and the estate is gorgeous!

Great place to rest after a day out in hamilton. <br/>Had the high tea and it was awesome! <br/>Never thought i would go for a day trip to hamilton, but this place just top it off before headed back to Auckland.

First high tea afternoon at Zealong did not disappoint. My experience was amazing. Ambiance and the tea plantation were topnotch. Food were exquisite especially those included in the sweet plate platter. Opted for the passion red drink to freshen the warm weather. Service was ok. Will be back soon.

What an incredible place to visit.  As soon as you drive into the elegant driveway, you have an immediate wow factor about this place, so flash! My friend and I dined in "The Tea House" for lunch and chose from the menu.  We started with bread and dips (enough for 4 people!), was beautiful selection of breads and yummy dips. I had the Chicken Ras-el-hanout and my friend had the fish dish, both were amazingly divine, soooo delicious!! Had the Chocolate Mousse dessert, was just as divine as the meals and all so beautifully presented.  The tea selection is great and tasted amazing! We found the prices to be reasonable and good value for money. Sat on the deck looking over the tea plantations and countryside, is such a stunning setting and so peaceful, could have sat there all afternoon! Also beautiful landscaped gardens and sculptures, the cherry blossom trees were in bloom, so pretty!  The staff were welcoming and very friendly.  We loved this place! Would highly recommend for a casual lunch, high tea, or celebration with family or friends.  Will definitely be back!!

Let's be simple. I was a little confused upcoming to the Tea House. Exterior looked a little ordinary I was almost mistaken I went to the wrong place. However, the tea was lovely and aromatic. Came here for a tea date along with their signature high tea treat. The high tea looked beautiful and tasted great, sadly as most high teas' just too small of a portion but the price was $45pp so I guess it was alright compared to other places.<br/><br/>Loved the collection of tea offered there, personal favourite the sweet amber one♡. The view is a bonus as we sat midway outside but still indoors!<br/>If I were to come back, would be better if I tried the other dishes offered there as would be more filling I hope!<br/><br/>Atmosphere: Mix of compact and fresh 4/5<br/>Vibe: 4/5<br/>Service: 4/5<br/>Food: Hightea 4/5<br/><br/>☆☆☆☆☆

We love this place, mainly for their unique and tasty food, bright and cosy ambience, as well as their huge and beautiful tea garden estate for photo shooting.<br/><br/>We drove all the way to this place in Hamilton for lunch. We first went to their spacious garden for photograghing and then to the tea house for lunch.<br/><br/>All their foods and desserts were delicately and delightfully presented. They tasted awesome too. Their customer service was very good.<br/><br/>Good food, excellent customer service, relaxing, cosy and serene environment and dining experience. Certainly worth visiting!<br/><br/>Food & Beverage : 8/10<br/>Service : 9/10<br/>Price : 6/10<br/>Ambience : 9/10

Came to enjoy Zealong’s signature high tea, it was exceptionally well presented and offered a unique variety of different tea infused flavours. However is it worth the price tag of $45 pp? Yes if you’re a tourist, and yes if you’re visiting for the first time, other than that, stick with the normal menu! Our waiter was attentive and super soft spoken, great place overall.<br/><br/>Food- 8/10<br/>Service- 10/10<br/>Aesthetics- 9/10

Taste: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑<br/>Interior Deco: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗<br/>Customer service: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑<br/>Recommend: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕<br/>Came here for high tea! Prefer their savoury dishes than the sweet ones! Those savoury (third plate) is our favourite out of the three. Staffs were friendly, beautiful views!

Zealong tea is known for their high tea but seriously, it is not good. Sandwiches were not nice and the cakes etc were NOT tasty.<br/>The only good thing about this place were the main dish I ordered. Tea was okay. The view was mediocre.<br/><br/>The tea and the mains gave this place the 2 stars, otherwise it would be a 0. <br/><br/>Not worth the drive from auckland. Don’t know why anyone would drive all the way here for the crappy high tea.<br/><br/>Oh and we booked in advanced only to have our booking messed up on arrival. Cool. You’re welcome for the photos.

Nice place with lovley outdoor seating with tea plantation view.We had a wonderful high tea with a glass of bubbles. Service was good for late afternoon.

Zealong tea house offer extensive quality of high tea, and other lunch options, had a great<br/>Time time there this weekend, they have got just about everything right, food quality, services, views, the team is well trained, they are absolutely on top of things, you can’t possibly pick anything on the restaurant part. <br/><br/>But the new retail shop is where I recommend you to avoid, nicely, newly fitted out out display-retail tea shop somehow had two arrogant, untrained young girls which knows nothing about customer services, your sudden appearance at the shop seemed to be disturbing to their “resting”, utterly rudeness and extremely inhospitable manner made you wander if you wrongly entered premises without invite, the Asian girl was indescribably rude, it’s obvious that she hates her job for sure or the society... we were glad we went to the restaurant first, that turned out not a bad over after lunch.

Tea was good. Pricey but when we came, told the Manager that we’ll just have Tea with my friends. When we’re ordering the waitress told us that they have mimimum $25 each person. So we order heaps of dessert even though we’re too full (like what i said i told the manager that we will just have tea, He said yea thats fine and bring us outside) Then the waitress ask us again that are bill is just $67 still and we need 100$ because we are four person. So dissapointing because its not stated in your website too, and the manager did not even inform us.

The food is quite pricey, but the atmosphere and view is amazing. I got the mushroom pappardelle, which was average, but the other food was good. The food came reasonably fast and was presented nicely :)

Had high tea here today and it was excellent. It's not my first visit, and so it was good to see that the high standard of service and food was maintained. The staff were friendly and attentive, without being pushy. The choice of teas is wide - making it difficult to choose. The only gripe I would have (and it's a tiny one) is that there's a $5 surcharge for vegetarian high tea (I would have thought that smoked salmon and duck confit were more expensive, not less, than eggplant or chickpeas). Maybe it's because they have to prepare them specially?? Whatever the reason, it didn't detract from the fabulous experience that their high tea is. I would rate this a much better experience and better value than the high tea I've had at the Langham.

Best high tea place I've been to! The place is just so beautiful and all the staff were very nice and friendly. Food was good and the presentation was excellent! I highly recommend this place for high tea!

What a beautiful spot to spend an afternoon! I thought the tour plus high tea was really great value at $60 per person. This includes a tour of the estate, a tea ceremony where you taste all of the teas and a delicious high tea. The high tea included tea infused sweet treats and a number of tasty savoury options. Took my mother in law here for her birthday, everybody had a fantastic time and the host was great.

It was ok . the place was beautiful. Staff was lovely and friendly. But i think the price is a little bit over. Special the classic high tea . it is definitely not worth with that .

The first time we came here, we were turned down despite there were plenty of empty tables. The lady in the front counter was quite rude too so that put me off for a while from visiting. Then, recently since we have some visitors from overseas - we decided to give this place a try again by booking a tour plus high tea package. The tour was informative with samples of brewed tea given to us. The tour guide was very friendly and service was great, which is the opposite of what we experienced from the front counter person last time. The high tea was beautifully arranged but taste-wise, it came second - I think the scenery saved everything. Price is on the high side but it is worth experiencing once and always book as they can get very packed.

Decided to make a day trip out here to experience the high tea here. I have mixed comments about this place.<br/><br/> For three of us we ordered a Signature high tea $42, classic high tea $42 and a Waikato Eye Fillet $38.<br/>Unfortunately I'm not impressed by the food here, just a couple of the savouries in my signature high tea were really well done (the prawn cake and fish cake) but everything else was very basic in my honest opinion. For $42, I expected more . . <br/>The steak had a strange flavour to it, it had a very strong liver taste. <br/><br/> I found I only really nibbled on the dessert except for the raspberry cake, that was delicious, beautiful light raspberry flavours in the cream icing! I found the scones rather doughy and Macarons chewy. Presentation of food is well done but execution of flavour just wasn't there for me. <br/><br/>The choice of teas here where okay, choose from five I had the green tea along with black tea. Unfortunately for me I'm did not enjoy my teas here, very aromatic but lacked body for me. <br/><br/> The staff were nice, a nice estate. I won't be back unfortunately. <br/> <br/>

This place is very interesting. Love the a service and food options. Beautiful high tea. Pricey but worth the visit. Go with the signature option. Tea is beautiful. Highly recommend place.

Definitely a place for those who enjoy tea as they have different types of tea for drinking and many tea inspired food. We booked and pre ordered beforehand since we had a large group. After confirming the orders they gave us an introduction on their teas. <br/><br/>The food was presented nicely and tasty. I had ordered the clam fettuccine. The fettuccine was nice but couldn't really taste the tea. The clams had grit in them so it was a bit unpleasant. It was a nice place for a leisurely lunch as you could re infuse the tea a few times. The high tea also looked amazing.<br/><br/>We were assigned a main server who wasn't present when the orders were brought down so we had to direct it (They were given a seating plan of where the food would go beforehand). <br/><br/>We were seated outside overlooking the plantation, which was nice. There is also parking further down the driveway. It is a new experience which was refreshing.

Such great service. The staff were friendly and attentive. I ordered the satay chicken entree and it was such a generous serving. The lemon cheese cake was amazing

One of the best tea place can be found in New Zealand and have. a good view. The staff are very lovely.

Signature Hightea is a must get!

We had to wait for more than 90 mins for our food to arrive and it was a hot day but the they refuse to serve tea with ice... the high tea was average however the view was great.

A complete waste of time - will NEVER be back.  Yes we arrived early but the retsaurant was only half or so full - and the manager said this would be not problem (we asked if it was ok and could have come back).  I noticed coming in that the chef was sitting down eating with some people - not a problem at all until....<br/><br/>From the minute we sat down our waiter was apologising for not coming to our table, not taking our order etc.  He spent the first half of our visit apologising and the second half making excuses.  We managed to get an entree (fairly good) after about 45 minutes but it was then almost impossible to get our table cleared despite empty tables all around us being cleared but staff who didn't even glance our way.<br/><br/>After an excessive (45 mins or so - after the entrees were finally cleared after sitting unclear for 20 mins or so) wait for our mains the waiter noticed that we were still waiting.  He first said that our food was being plated and that they will be 5 mins, then when they didn't arrive that he had just called them away - and when I got up to go and see where the heck they were he said that they had been delayed because a film crew had been in.  Perhaps focus on paying customers rather than 'fame'!  <br/><br/>Clearly there is no floor captain - the manager seems to have no overview and no other wait staff seemed to be interested in our table.  There were at least 15 other people served their mains who had arrived after us, while we were waiting.  The waiter the took the blame by saying he hadn't called away the mains - but come on, the kitchen needs to take responsbility as well given that they hold the dockets.<br/><br/>No one here seems to know how to run the order logistics of a kitchen and the service delivery side of the restaurant - a pleasant and apologetic waiter is not enough.  We cancelled our mains and they gave us two plastic tea mugs and some teas as way of apology - but this was not proactively offered.  A good chef should be running his kitchen first and foremost before dealing with a film crew or sitting down having lunch in his uniform (clearly on duty) with others.  Not a problem if the kitchen keeps going but in this case it failed badly.  We don't blame our waiter - the issue rests with the manager, the chef and the clear lack of a floor captain with an overview.  Other wait staff could also have a look at what's going on other tables occasionally.  The focus of this place is not about being a restaurant, but rather a high turnover high tea destination.  On a positive note, wait staff helped out with our umbrella which kept moving and re-filled our tea pot.

Nice place to have a relaxing lunch on a weekend. But be warned if you don't book ahead you will have a long wait for a table. We went in winter and it was nice and cosy. There is a fire with a kettle warming. The food is tasty and they keep changing the menu. But it is good idea to book and order ahead, especially if you have any dietary restrictions. The view is breath taking. I just wish there was a little walk through the gardens. Just to elevate the experience. It is a bit expensive but very nice for a special occasion.

I was so surprised that I could find a chinese tea farm in New Zealand! <br/>Zealong tea farm is specialize in planting oolong tea. <br/>I was told the owner is a Taiwanese.<br/><br/>Booking is essential especially you would like to enjoy the outdoor garden overlooking the farm and lake.<br/><br/>They served afternoon tea set, lunch set and a la carte meals. We tried the Penang laksa and steak. Honestly Penang laksa doesn't look and taste like what they have. We called it curry noodle in Malaysia. The curry noodle was full of veggie, a few prawns and with little bit noodle served in curry soup. The soup base was good but with veggie in it make the coconut based curry soup became diluted. The portion was very small. Couldn't even fill the tummy of a small eater. <br/>The steak was very good but the portion was very small too. <br/><br/>We are served with teas (we had the choice of green tea, pure oolong, aromatic oolong and black tea). I preferred the pure oolong cause the aromatic oolong was a bit bitter.<br/><br/>How to brew a cup of nice chinese tea? The temperature of hot water and infusing time are equally important to make your cup of tea taste smooth and right taste (not too tasteless nor too bitter). Ask the waitresses for help. They are happy to tell you.<br/><br/>Oh yes, the prices of each and single mains are not cheap.<br/><br/>During our visit, due to some other function held in their premise, we waited quite long for our food to be served. <br/>As a courtesy apologize, the manager sent us a plate of complimentary desserts all made of tea. The desserts were not up to my expectation as a restaurant running afternoon tea as their main business, they should do better.<br/><br/>Just before I left, I grabbed some of the teas selling in their tea shop.

Heard about this place for a long time and finally got a try. Nice presentation of the food and also nice tea tour. The best thing is the woo long tea. U can try different tea here and purchase them in their store, a nice gift for family and friends.

Great service here. We had a tea tasting with high tea. Lots of delicious treats. It was a wonderful experience. Lots of treats such as cauliflower soup, macaron with tea filling, and profiteroles of green tea filling.

Been here twice now came back again to celebrate my mums birthday. The high tea is really good one of the best I have ever tried. The tea is amazing my favourite is the black tea! Great atmosphere and scenery. Staff are super friendly and welcoming. My mum ordered the curry and she accidentally squeeze too much lemon into so we asked our waiter if they could just add more water to balance it out again but instead they went the extra mile and prepared a whole new curry for my mum. It made my mums birthday even better for her. We live in Auckland so it's an hour drive but honesty I wouldn't mind coming down from time to time. Absolutely love this place 😁

The experience and the taste of Tea was phenomenal, enjoyed every single sip of the tea.<br/><br/>Food was on par of what I would expect of the restaurant. After all the tea was really really nice.<br/>Would definitely go back to experience the tour to get to know the tea making process.<br/><br/>The service was very welcoming and friendly. Introduction to every detail of the food and the tea was very complete. The process of brewing and steeping/sitting the tea was very well explained.<br/><br/>Its well worth every second of the experience.

Great venue and service but unfortunately the food was well below par.<br/><br/>Zealong Tea Estate is very well presented and offers diners some serene views.<br/>The service is great and some what made up for our poor experience. <br/><br/>We were greeted and shown to our table. Our waitress explained the tea that was available and also how long the tea needs to steep for the first and each subsequent cup.<br/><br/>The menu was rather highly priced and our expectation was that the food would be of a rather high standard.<br/><br/>The food was presented but unfortunately scored extremely poorly on taste. We had the laksa and a Waiygu eye fillet. My wife's laksa was doused with lemon and was left uneaten. My Waiygu was overdone and couldn't be enjoyed. My sister who was also dining with us sent her Waiygu back which was replaced.<br/><br/>We did complain and were offered two dessert platters but even these were poor quality.<br/><br/>There are high chairs but no kids menu.<br/><br/>I'm not going to write this place off as there is a lot of potential and will go back so I can change this rating.<br/><br/>Rating out of 5 (5 being the highest):<br/>Food – 1<br/>Ambience – 4<br/>Presentation – 4<br/>Service – 4<br/>Environment – 4

4 of us had lunch here 11/4/2014. as I had been before I knew what to expect, the others hadn't. as it was wet we were inside the house. the atmosphere and surroundings are lovely. service great, very friendly and helpful. a good comprehensive menu, which I think is a little on the expensive side. paying for quality not quantity. it is a place to take someone for a special occasion. would say worth while.

Awesome place for lunch. Have been a number of times and the food is really divine. I love the signature high tea but still get food envy! <br/><br/>Down side is nothing for little ones to eat - even a bowl of chips (as like comes with the steak) would be great. Service overall is great apart from the last time where it took forever to get service - not impressed that other people after us (2 groups) in our immediate sitting area of 4 tables got service before us every though our menu's where sitting on the table - a clear indication that we are waiting. <br/><br/>Will be back again soon for a high tea yummo.

Great venue. Tasty food and really loved how the tea was used in so many dishes but wasn't happy with the signature high tea. Thought this was not worth the money at all. Received only about 4 small savoury items and about 4 small sweet items for $34.00 - not worth the price at all. <br/>Food price - very disappointing !!

I have just had their signature high tea. We had their vegan version and the three tier cake stand had a huge selection of goodies . The tables around me were non vegan and they looked just as impressive. I liked the way we each brewed our tea (which they grow just outside) in china cups, with many rebrewings. The tea house has a very nice ambiance to it, so a good time was had by all. Even though it was busy it wasn't too noisy.