Kallista Tea Rooms

Always busy and for good reason. The building dates back to the 50's; has a great selection on the menu; kids welcome.and most important.the scones.try them they are SO GOOD!

Update, and still a great place to have a relaxing lunch. The food is still great, my coffee was beautiful and great to watch the cockatoos in the trees

Charming location with inviting staff.
Cake was delicious.
Chips were great tummy filler on a cold day. Last time I went to Kalista tea house I didn't like what I ordered from the main menu. I thought it was just me. But my friend ordered a main meal and she didn't eat it. I asked why "not enjoyable".
Again, location and setting charming. The cakes and scones are delicious.

The place is incredibly beautiful and the service is very helpful, but the food needs a little improvement.

We came in for breakfast and had a really lovely time. The view is pretty with a large tree full of cockatoos peeping through the windows at you, so cute!

The staff were really lovely, the coffee and mocha were very nice. I had the eggs Benedict, the pork was a tiny bit dry and there was just too much for me, I wasn’t really a fan of the cooked apples on it either, something a little bit more refreshing would have been nice. My partner had the chilli scramble and really enjoyed it, he just said the egg whites were a little undercooked but other than that really good

Surprised by the quality and service from this place. A random stop by didn't disappoint. We will be back again I'm sure

I ordered the mushroom medley with a side order of bacon, and my daughter ordered the avocado toast. Don't know about medley, there was not many mushrooms on the plate, certainly not enough to cover the 2 pieces of toast that arrived, maybe 2 medium/small Swiss browns, and a few small pieces of different mushrooms, the bacon shattered into small pieces when I cut it, never had bacon that crispy (overcooked). Overall my meal was very disappointing, they did remove the bacon from the total bill. My daughters meal seemed much more generous and she enjoyed it.

The place is very nice and the food is not bad, but it is nothing to write home about. Abundant portions

Nice coffee place in the dandenongs. The cockatoos hanging out on the tree add a unique atmosphere and ambient to the place.

Arrived 30 minutes after they opened, and already so busy! Clearly a crowd favourite. So many different dogs out the front, and families having breakfast.
Food arrived quickly for 3 people, was delicious. Beautiful stop, would recommend.

Coffee average
Red velvet cake dried out, tasted like it was 2 weeks old. Unfortunately I got takeaway to go. So was not able to return cake, won't be going back in a hurry.
Service was very lack luster

Wow, what a place. I booked a table for my mums birthday breakfast. She is elderly (don’t tell her) and has trouble moving around. I called ahead to ask about accessibility and we’re given instructions on the easiest path. I decided the wheelchair was needed as she struggles with steep inclines.
So I get to the door and before I reach it a staff member has opened the other door to allow additional room to get her in. They then offered to help get her over the threshold (which I politely declined).
The service was amazing. There is heaps of gluten free items on the menu and my daughter was thrilled that the hot chocolate was listed as gluten free too. My mocha was very fancy with Lindt chocolate though far too small.
Everyone was happy with their meals and we can’t wait to return.

We booked to have brunch here on a Saturday. It’s clean and cozy, nice environment, not overly loud from neighbouring diners. Good view especially of the tree outside with lots of cockatoos. I had the tea room breakfast with added salmon and pumpkin sourdough (equivalent to “the big breakfast” most places would call it). It was absolutely delicious. The grilled items (mushroom, sausage, potato etc) was not oily at all so it didn’t feel heavy and greasy to eat. Flavour wise it was just too right not too salty. Many places in the city / metro area when you order the big brekky you feel too gross from the oil and thirsty from the salt. Not this place. Would definitely come back for the big brekky or burger (a table next to us the lady ordered it)

Lunch with my daughter on a busy Saturday. SENSATIONAL SERVICE - hospitable, polite, professional and focused. Drinks came out promptly, food met my expectations.
Kitchen - please don't continuously ring the bell, not necessary and a little annoying for for the customers I'm sure the FOH heard it the first time.
I'm more than happy with a 10% weekend surcharge - if you don't like it eat out during the week or.
Overall - great value for money and a very enjoyable experience.
See you again soon

Massive scones and just the right amount of topping, the accompanying tea (leaf variety, in a pot!) was also excellent. Beautiful view of the cockies outside and accommodating staff made this a very enjoyable break in our travels.

** Weekend surcharge a huge turn off: (**

Decided to give the Kallista Tea Rooms another go after our last experience which wasn't very great. Looks like a bit of a refresh has taken place which looked nice. Place was filled to the brim with staff racing around so decided on takeaway instead. Chose serves of scones and sweet treats. Good sized scones and treats were tasty.

Massive turn off by the 10% weekend surcharge applied. Can argue for a surcharge for public holidays, but this is a bit rich. It was enough to buy another meal. No visible signage to disclose extra charge. It really should be on the door as you're coming in as well as on the menu because it's not a charge you can avoid. Or, be totally transparent and incorporate it into your COGS price offerings accordingly.

Given hospitality would have their best trade during the weekend, penalising customers for a business who choose to open isn't reasonable and is super sneaky.

Plenty of other options around the Mountain that we'll try next time.

We found this place just before 3pm when a lot of cafes in the area were closing. Much to our delight, the food was great, the service was great, and the scones were huge!

We went there in the last hour so we didn't have that many options to choose from. The coffee is okay, but the service and atmosphere are top notch. Might come back some day to try the food.

I have been to Kallista Tea Rooms many times over the years, and have always had a really great experience. The food, service, location, atmosphere and surroundings are all really top notch - it's an institution in the hills! Cannot recommend highly enough.

Coffee was great as was the welcoming service. Budda bowl was great and catered for Low FODMAP.
Our take home scones were excellent, as usual. The burger was inferior to most other cafes and needs a review. The chips failed to excite. We will go back and I recommend this place for breakfast, morning and afternoon teas

Not as good as it used to be.
I’ve given the tea rooms a go four times since the owner changed. Service is always second rate now. Coffee and food not so good.
Last time I was there surrounding uncleared tables remained uncleared the whole time. It was the majority of the tables that were left with dirty dishes. Harder to find a clear table than a dirty one. Quite disgusting trying to eat surrounded by dirty, uncleared tables.
It’s such a shame. This place is a beautiful building in a great location and used to be a great place to eat and enjoy the view.
So disappointing.