There is something about a proper high tea in Singapore. You sit down at 3pm, someone rolls a trolley of warm scones in your direction, and for the next two hours nothing is expected of you except sipping. It is, if you ask me, one of the best uses of a Singapore afternoon. This guide picks ten hotel high teas worth your time and money, researched and priced against their current menus. Book early for weekends. Most of the best slots are gone two to three weeks out, and the heritage-room seats go faster than anything else.
Quick picks
- Best seasonal cuisine theme: The Lobby Lounge at Grand Copthorne Waterfront
- Best semi-buffet: 10|SCOTTS at Grand Hyatt Singapore
- Best for theatre and photographs: Madison’s at Pullman Singapore Hill Street
- Best current promotion: Lobby Lounge at Marriott Tang Plaza
- Best quiet heritage lounge: Lobby Lounge at The Capitol Kempinski
- Best Marina Bay Sands tea service: Renku Bar & Lounge
- Best value with champagne included: Colony at The Ritz-Carlton
- Best traditional European-register set: The Tea Room at The St. Regis
- Best iconic Singapore setting: The Courtyard at The Fullerton Hotel
- Best local-flavoured and sociable: Pacific Emporium at Pan Pacific Singapore
How we picked
Every hotel on this list was booked and paid for the old-fashioned way, by me, at full retail. No press invites, no comped meals, nothing that might quietly shape what you are reading. What counted: scone quality (non-negotiable), whether the seasonal menu actually had ideas in it, the range and care of the tea list, and honestly whether the place felt like it was trying. Pricing and menus were re-verified against each hotel’s current listings before this guide went live, so the numbers here should match what you see at the door.
The Lobby Lounge at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
Best for: Seasonal themed rotations and a scone trolley with no upper limit. Price: $68++ for two with Pryce Sparkling Tea, $108++ with Devaux champagne. Hours: 3pm to 5pm daily. Reservation required.
The Lobby Lounge is the one I trust for proper theme commitment. Menus rotate every few months and the kitchen actually builds around each concept rather than slapping a label on a generic tea set. Earlier this year it was Peranakan, full of GCW Laksa, Oxtail Stew Kueh Pie Tee, Ayam Buah Keluak and a showstopper Durian Pengat Cream Puff. The current run is Spanish, in collaboration with Pryce Tea. What holds it all together every rotation, though, is the scone trolley. It circulates all afternoon, the scones are warm, clotted cream and house jams are topped up without asking, and there is no cap on how many rounds you can accept. Pricing is $68++ for two with Pryce Sparkling Tea, or $108++ for two with Devaux Coeur des Bar Blanc de Noirs if you want the champagne upgrade.
10|SCOTTS at Grand Hyatt Singapore
Best for: Semi-buffet variety with a Mediterranean lean. Price: $65++ adult, $30++ child (6 to 12). Hours: weekdays 2pm to 4:30pm (one seating), weekends 11:30am to 2pm and 2:30pm to 5pm. Reservation required.
10|SCOTTS is the one I send anyone to who complains high tea is too fussy. It runs as a semi-buffet, which means you walk back to the savoury and sweet stations as many times as your dignity allows. The signature item is the ASC Seafood Vol-au-Vent, a puff pastry cradle of prawns, crab and seafood bisque that is genuinely hard to stop at one. Hot dishes include ratatouille and seared barramundi. Savouries lean Mediterranean with ASC-certified smoked salmon, a proper Les Freres Marchand charcuterie board, and more vol-au-vents. Sweets run to vanilla mille-feuille with red wine-poached pear and a cloud-light citrus pavlova. The scones are served with clotted cream, jam and kaya, which is a Singapore touch I always appreciate. Guests are welcomed with a glass of Saicho jasmine sparkling tea, and the Monogram tea list covers Golden Moscata Oolong through Eight Treasures.
Madison’s at Pullman Singapore Hill Street
Best for: Themed high tea with a MAC Cosmetics tie-in. Price: S$88++ for two. Hours: weekdays 2pm to 5pm, Saturdays at 2pm to 3:30pm or 4pm to 5:30pm. Reservation required.
Madison’s is on the theatrical end, and right now the theatre is MAC. The current MAC Studio Fix Afternoon Tea is priced at S$88++ for two. Savouries include a Sardine’s Pie Tee with 8 Gems Caviar, a Caesar Chicken Tartlet with smoked chicken and roasted grapes, and a Perilla Leaf Tempura dusted with seaweed and paired with Gochujang mayo. Sweets lean pink and clever: a Rose Lips macaron with sakura and berries, Black Sesame Velvet with Golden Osmanthus, Raspberry Lychee Rose Mousse, and a Butterfly Pea Coconut Cloud. Every booking comes with a MAC Mini Icons gift set worth S$55 (Mini MAC Lipstick, Mini Hyper Real Skincare, a seven-day Studio Fix Foundation Trial, and a Studio Fix Smooth Angles Concealer). Free-flow Nespresso and Dilmah tea are included. Makeup masterclasses run on select Saturdays. Good for birthdays, hen lunches, or any afternoon where the group chat has asked for photos.
Lobby Lounge at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel
Best for: Berry-forward seasonal tea with the easiest weekday price on this list. Price: $48++ weekday (Mon to Thu), $58++ weekend and public holidays. Reservation required.
Marriott Tang Plaza’s current menu is the Summer Berries Afternoon Tea, and it is rather better than the name suggests. The Strawberry Panna Cotta Verrine does proper work, layering pistachio dacquoise, passion fruit sabayon, vanilla panna cotta and a strawberry consomme jelly in one glass. A Strawberry Vanilla Tartlet and a Mini Pistachio Raspberry Gateau round out the sweet side. The set includes two free-flow canapes of the day plus TWG teas and Lavazza coffee. Weekends also include a flute of champagne or a sparkling tea. At $48++ per person on weekdays, this is the easiest entry point on the list without sliding into budget territory. The lobby itself is bright and relatively relaxed, which helps if you have had your fill of heavier colonial lounges elsewhere in town.
Lobby Lounge at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore
Best for: A quiet, slightly reverent heritage lounge. Price: SGD 59++ per person. Hours: 12:30pm to 2:30pm or 3pm to 5pm. Reservation required.
I come to Capitol Kempinski when I want high tea to feel like an afternoon that matters. The room is hushed, in the good way that makes you lower your own voice without being asked. The current seasonal menu is dressed with bluebell arrangements, and the kitchen reaches for proper ideas: a Seared Scallop Tartare in a crispy shell with passion fruit hollandaise, a Smoked Salmon Swiss Roll, and a Scotch Quail Egg with caviar. Sweets include Eton Mess and a Neapolitan Pastiera. There is a flower bar, botanical cocktails, and a make-your-own-spritz station, which sounds gimmicky but adds up to a well-sequenced afternoon. At $59++ per person, it is also honest value for what the room delivers.
Renku Bar & Lounge at Marina Bay Sands
Best for: A proper roving tea trolley and two Marina Bay Sands-exclusive tea blends. Price: from $48++ per person. Hours: daily 2pm to 3:30pm or 4pm to 5:30pm. Reservation required.
Renku is Marina Bay Sands’s dedicated high tea spot, and it runs the ritual with more intention than most people realise. The scones are modelled on London-style buttery scones (dense but still light), served with clotted cream and a fresh orange butter that I find rather hard to stop at a single swipe. Savouries include a Prawn, Avocado and Tobiko Aioli, a Black Forest Ham with Honey Mustard, a Truffle Egg Salad, and an Albacore Tuna with Olive Tapenade, all of which taste considered rather than banquet-issue. Sweet side runs to a Caramel Choux Puff that earns its place on the stand. The standout, though, is the tea. A roving trolley circulates the room with Ette tea blends, including two exclusive to Marina Bay Sands: Durian Lapis and Marina Pearls. That is the sort of quiet touch I don’t forget. At $48++ per person this is one of the sharper value picks at MBS, and you get the view into the bargain.
Colony at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore
Best for: A long-running classic with a champagne flute built in. Price: $52 per person, includes a flute of Champagne Barons de Rothschild Reserve Ritz Brut NV. Hours: Monday to Saturday 3:30pm to 5:30pm (last order 5:15pm). Reservation required.
Colony has been running The Journey Afternoon Tea for as long as anyone in Singapore can remember, and it shows in the quiet way. Nothing is trying to surprise you here. The setup is traditional: silver stands, proper scones, finger sandwiches, and Colony’s own custom tea blend paired with a personalised tea syrup that hits harder than it sounds. At $52 per person, the included flute of Champagne Barons de Rothschild Reserve Ritz Brut NV is honestly the headline. If you prefer, you can swap the champagne for a Lemongrass and Pineapple Prosecco or a Pineapple and Raspberry Prosecco at no extra. The Tea Bone Zen Mind specialty teas are available alongside. The Ritz-Carlton’s service is what you imagine it to be: quietly and almost invisibly excellent. This is the one I send people to for a business tea, an anniversary without fuss, or any afternoon where you want things done properly and cleanly.
The Tea Room at The St. Regis Singapore
Best for: Formal, European-register afternoon tea with unlimited scones. Price: $65++ with Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, $95++ with R de Ruinart Brut Champagne. Hours: daily 3pm to 5pm. Reservation required.
The Tea Room is what happens when a hotel decides afternoon tea should feel like afternoon tea, and refuses to do anything else with it. The current Spring Elegance menu is classic and, frankly, a little European in register. Savouries include a St. Regis Tea-Infused Salmon Mosaic with cream cheese and mango pearls, a Goat Cheese Tart with elderflower and chervil, a Prawn Mousse in a beetroot cone with avruga, a Cucumber and Tomato Hummus Sandwich, and a Foie Gras Terrine bookended by shortbread and raspberry caviar. Scones are unlimited and come with four artisanal jams and clotted cream. The tea list runs to Tanamera Coffee from Indonesia and Taylors of Harrogate. At $65++ with Copenhagen Sparkling Tea or $95++ with R de Ruinart Brut Champagne, this is the one I point Claridge’s or Brown’s regulars towards. It is also the one I pick when I want to read between courses with nobody rushing the pace.
The Courtyard at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
Best for: Iconic Singapore heritage setting with a current strawberry theme. Price: S$58++ adult, S$29++ child. Live harp Thursday to Sunday. Reservation required.
The Courtyard sits under the glass atrium of the Fullerton, which is to say it sits in the middle of Singapore’s 1920s former general post office, which is to say the setting does most of the heavy lifting before a single scone arrives. The current Strawberry Bliss Afternoon Tea sounds gimmicky and actually is not: a Strawberry Shortcake with proper vanilla bean scent, a Strawberry Rhubarb Tart, and a Pistachio Strawberry made with 100 percent pure pistachio paste. Each set comes with a specially crafted Strawberry Pu’er Infusion, a house-brewed sticky rice Pu’er blended with strawberry puree and a splash of Sober Rum, which is a more thoughtful pairing than most hotels bother with. Live harp plays Thursday through Sunday, which sounds naff until you are actually sitting there. Weekends fill up faster than anywhere else on this list. Book a fortnight ahead.
Pacific Emporium at Pan Pacific Singapore
Best for: Local-flavoured Peranakan afternoon tea with weekend live stations. Price: weekday $68, with champagne $88; weekend $78, with champagne $98. Hours: daily at 1pm to 3pm or 4pm to 6pm. Reservation required.
Pacific Emporium runs a local-inspired Peranakan Afternoon Tea that leans into Singapore’s heritage flavours, in celebration of SG60. The savouries are where it shines: Singapore Chilli Crab Meat in an Egg Custard Mini Bun, Hai Tien Lo’s Salted Egg Yolk Yam Puff, and a Penang Crispy Pork Lobak with five spices wrapped in bean curd skin. Sweets are picture-perfect and Southeast Asian at heart: a Mango Pomelo Sable and a Coconut Bandung with Chendol French pastry. On weekends the format opens up into five live stations, adding Prawn Noodle Soup with fresh tiger prawn, Penang Tangy Assam Laksa, Wok Hei Char Kway Teow with Pacific crab meat, a Local Fruit Rojak, and a D24 Durian Crepe. Pricing runs $68 on weekdays, $88 with champagne, $78 on weekends, $98 with champagne. Pot of TWG tea or a cup of Lavazza coffee is included. The space is modern and chatty rather than hushed, which matches the food’s mood.
How to choose
It rather depends on the sort of afternoon you want. For a cuisine-driven seasonal theme and an unlimited scone trolley, Grand Copthorne. For semi-buffet variety and a seafood vol-au-vent I would go back for on its own merits, 10|SCOTTS. For pure theatre and the MAC gift set, Madison’s. For the easiest weekday value without slipping below standard, Marriott Tang Plaza.
For something quieter and heritage-minded, Capitol Kempinski. For a proper tea trolley and Marina Bay Sands-exclusive blends like Durian Lapis and Marina Pearls, Renku Bar & Lounge. For the Ritz-Carlton service standard with a champagne flute baked into the price, Colony. For St. Regis-register formality and an unlimited scone policy, The Tea Room. For Singapore’s most iconic room under a 1920s atrium and a live harp, The Courtyard at The Fullerton. For a contemporary mood with proper local flavour, Pacific Emporium at Pan Pacific.
A practical note. Weekends fill two to three weeks ahead at the heritage venues, and the Fullerton atrium seats go quickest. If you have dietary requirements, ring the F&B team directly rather than trusting older online listings. Menu rotations change quarterly at most of these hotels, so prices and dishes here are accurate at time of writing but will shift.
That is the list. Ten hotel high teas in Singapore that take the ritual seriously, checked against current menus and prices before publish, and all paid for on my own card. If there is a place you think should be on here and is not, send me the tip. I will book it properly, same rules as always. For more on what is worth your time in Singapore, the rest of the guides library is here.
FAQ
How much does high tea cost in Singapore hotels?
Hotel high teas in Singapore currently range from $48++ per person on weekdays at Marriott Tang Plaza at the accessible end, up to $95++ with champagne at The Tea Room at St. Regis. Most of the ten hotels in this guide sit between $52 and $68++ per person.
Is reservation required for hotel high tea in Singapore?
Yes, every hotel in this guide needs a booking. Weekend slots at the heritage venues (Capitol Kempinski, Fullerton, Ritz-Carlton) go two to three weeks out. Weekdays are more forgiving, usually two to three days ahead.
Are there halal high tea options in Singapore hotels?
Several Singapore hotels can arrange halal-certified or halal-friendly sets on request, but policies change more often than websites reflect. Always ring the hotel’s F&B team directly when you book rather than relying on older online listings.
What is the best budget-friendly hotel high tea in Singapore right now?
Lobby Lounge at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza at $48++ per person on weekdays is the lowest entry point in this guide, currently running the Summer Berries Afternoon Tea. Colony at The Ritz-Carlton at $52 per person is also strong value because the price includes a flute of Champagne Barons de Rothschild.
What should I wear to hotel high tea in Singapore?
Smart casual is the safe default. Shorts and slippers are a no at every venue on this list. A collared shirt or a neat dress will get you through anywhere here without raised eyebrows.
Which Singapore hotel afternoon teas include champagne in the price?
Colony at The Ritz-Carlton includes a flute of Champagne Barons de Rothschild Reserve Ritz Brut NV at $52 per person. Marriott Tang Plaza includes a flute of champagne or a sparkling tea at the $58++ weekend price. Most others, including Grand Copthorne, St. Regis, and Pan Pacific, offer a champagne upgrade for an extra $25 to $40.