Runya’s Room, Melbourne CBD (by invitation) by Ruby Grapefruit

Runya’s Room café and tea room is a new establishment located in the St Collins Lane retail mall. I was invited to sample their high tea which included a selection of savoury and sweet bites with a distinctly Middle-Eastern twist.

This is the lovely three tiered cake stand that the high tea is presented on.


Savoury items 

The savoury items were (clockwise):

• chermoula chicken tart, 
• smashed broad beans with lemon and garlic tahini and coriander on crostini,
• spinach and cheese boureka, and 
• fried mushrooms and spiced hummus on a toasted pita cup.

Starting with the hot savoury items, both the chicken tart and the spinach and cheese boureka had a lovely light pastry. My favourite of these was the chicken tart which had a subtle spicy hint. I thought that the cheese used in the boureka could have had a bit more bite to amp up the flavour. The cold savoury items were both very good. My favourite of the savouries was the mushroom pita cup which was very moreish and well complemented by the spicy hummus.


Sandwiches

I then moved on to the tea sandwiches which included:

• sumac poached chicken, coriander, lemon mayonnaise and onion on pita,
• grilled salmon, pea hummus, lemon dill aioli, and pea sprouts on rye bread,
• cucumber, dill and coriander cream cheese ribbons on white bread,
• and pastirma (air-dried cured beef), aged goat’s cheese, heirloom tomato and toum (garlic sauce) on wholemeal bread.

The standout of this selection was the pastirma sandwich which was super tasty and included all the strong and punchy flavours that I love. I also enjoyed the addition of pea hummus to the salmon sandwich which gave it a Middle Eastern twist.


Sweets

The sweet items included:

• vanilla and strawberry open choux,
• raspberry and vanilla macaron,
• tutti frutti tart,
• chocolate mille-feuille,
• and rose delight macaron.

I was worried that I would be overwhelmed by the sweetness of these but I was very impressed by all of them. The macarons were some of the best I have tasted and they looked stunning with vibrant colours and gold leaf flakes. The chocolate filling in the mille-feuille was surprisingly airy and not too sweet at all. The choux pastry was delicate and was filled with a very light cream.


Scones

The tiered cake stand was taken away and out came the scones. There were two types – orange blossom, and rose water and prune – and they were served with two types of homemade jam (orange and quince) and clotted cream. Both scones were light and moist, and the Middle-Eastern flavours featured again. Thankfully the rose water was quite subtle as it’s a flavour that doesn’t appeal to everyone’s taste.

All of this was washed down with a glass of sparkling wine and pot of raspberry tea. I’m not a fan of fruit flavoured teas but surprisingly this one was light and not too sweet.

The high tea at Runya’s Room includes a lot of food, but I think that the two hours allotted to each session should be long enough to get through it all.

The luxe 1970s inspired décor adds to the high tea experience and the lovely window display shows off the other enticing cakes that are available.

Verdict

We loved it.

Overall

This was a very enjoyable and delicious high tea experience. I would say that it’s one of the best in Melbourne because of its Middle-Eastern inspired selection of treats which sets it apart from the rest.

Find it at

Runya’s Room
Ground floor, St Collins Lane
260 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Telephone: (03) 9663 4780