The Victoria Room Tea Salon (CLOSED)

Penned into a white picket fenced enclosure on the fourth level of Westfield Shopping Centre, the Tea Salon doesn’t have the elegance of other establishments but it is a perfect place to take high tea if you’re pressed for time. Service is swift without feeling rushed, so diners can keep it brief or linger for a gossip over one of the salon’s many scone varieties – there’s gluten-free, cheddar and thyme, lemon and pistachio, lavender and many others. The teas are mundane, predominantly black tea infusions – except, that is, for the rogue Turkish apple tea for the very sweet-toothed. The real win is the generous plate of ribbon sandwiches (no stable bread here). The fingers of smoked salmon, cucumber and dill butter, chicken and roasted almond and roast beef made up for the less-than-impressive assorted sweets – leave the mini pannacotta with fairy floss to the little ones, who can enjoy a cute kids’ high tea with milkshakes. Book ahead or just walk in for this one.