It’s become something of a tradition of mine to try out at least one place for afternoon tea in every place I visit. Scones are readily available in most places in Australia, including Cairns. For the full-on high tea experience, there aren’t that many options, though, which is why I eventually settle on Coco’s, the lobby bar at the Cairns Pullman International Hotel.

Location

The Pullman is located only 500 metres away from the Shangri-La. It’s further away from the water. However, it’s quite a tall building, so I’m assuming that you can probably see the sea if your room is on one of the higher floors and facing in the right direction. Coco’s sits off to the right of the lobby as you enter through the main doors.

Staff & Service

The staff at Coco’s are great and friendly in an unpretentious way. I rather like them. We’re brought to our table by an elderly gentleman who has an interesting way of speaking. I’d say he’s Indonesian or Malaysian. When he speaks, his English is idiomatic and typical of the way they speak in Australia, but with a thick Asian accent which is somehow incongruent with his way of speaking. He takes our order for tea, inquires about allergies and tells us that it will be about fifteen minutes before the food arrives.

Afternoon Tea at Coco’s

The afternoon tea at Coco’s is quite traditional. We start with an étagère with the savouries at the top and bottom and the sweets in the middle. The first thing to point out is the perfect ratio of savouries to sweets, which is only seldom achieved: there are five savoury items and only three sweets, which is how I prefer it. The savouries are very nice, especially the cucumber and cream cheese is simple but looks quite dramatic with the two slices of red strawberry on the green cucumber. My favourite, though, is the smoked salmon and asparagus with pickled onion. The sweets are also very nice, although I don’t think I’ll ever be a big fan of cherries, no matter what form they come in.

One of the staff comes to top up our drinks and tells us that the scones will take about fifteen minutes to bake. We should just let them know when we’re ready, so that they can tell the kitchen to start preparing. We’re not in much of a hurry, so we wait until we’re done with the étagère before we let them know.

The presentation of the scones and condiments is nice. There is a tray with whipped cream and two jams, one of which is strawberry and the other is a homemade raspberry coulis that is just lovely. The scones are brought out warm and they’re divine. They’re just so incredibly fluffy and light, really good. To accompany the food, I have a nice and subtle Earl Grey tea.

Conclusion – Afternoon Tea at Coco’s at The Pullman International, Cairns

I rather enjoy the afternoon tea at Coco’s. This was rather an unexpected treat and certainly one of the better afternoon teas I’ve had. Of course, there was nothing extravagant about it like the one I recently had at the Waldorf in New York, but it doesn’t have to be and still be good. In fact, I think what I enjoy so much about Coco’s version of the afternoon tea is precisely how unpretentious and traditional it is.