"Hi-tea" is the most requested format in Bangalore event catering right now — engagement evenings, office town halls, kitty parties, pre-wedding mehendi functions. It's also the most misunderstood. Here's what high tea food actually is, and the Indian high tea menu ideas we serve most, with three ready-made sample menus.
What is high tea food?
High tea is a light evening meal — served roughly between 4 and 7 pm — where tea and coffee anchor a spread of snacks, savouries and small sweets instead of a full dinner. In India, high tea food means a mix of hot fried snacks (bonda, samosa, cutlet), a chaat or two, one "filling" item like mini idli or pav bhaji, a sweet, and endless rounds of masala chai and filter coffee. Guests eat standing or mingling, plates in hand — which is exactly why hosts love it: it feeds 100 people in the budget and space a 40-person dinner would need.
The classic Indian high tea menu list
A complete hi tea menu needs one item from each of these five groups:
Hot savouries
- Medu vada, mysore bonda, aloo bonda with chutneys
- Samosa, veg cutlet, bread pakoda
- Paneer tikka or hara bhara kebab for a premium spread
Chaat
- Sev puri, dahi papdi chaat, bhel puri (mixed live, never pre-made)
- Pani puri counter — the single most popular hi-tea item we run
One filling item
- Mini idli with sambar, podi idli in ghee
- Pav bhaji or masala dosa from a live counter
- Veg sandwiches or mini burgers for corporate crowds
Sweets
- Kesari bath, gulab jamun, mysore pak
- Brownies or pastries for office events
Beverages
- Masala chai served in kulhads, filter coffee
- Fresh juice or badam milk as the non-tea option
Sample hi-tea menu ideas by occasion
Corporate high tea (office event, 50–500 guests)
- Veg sandwiches, samosa, dahi ke kebab
- Sev puri counter, mini idli with sambar
- Brownie + kesari bath, chai and filter coffee stations
Served as manned stations so a 15-minute tea break actually stays 15 minutes — details on our corporate catering page.
Engagement or mehendi evening high tea
- Paneer tikka, keerai vada, bread pakoda
- Pani puri and bhel counters, pav bhaji station
- Gulab jamun, jigarthanda, kulhad chai
Add a live counter or two — a jalebi or dosa station turns a tea break into the evening's centrepiece.
Kitty party / house function high tea
- Aloo bonda, veg cutlet, sev puri
- Podi idli, fruit chaat
- Mysore pak and masala chai
We serve this from 25 guests — see small party catering.
How much high tea food per guest?
Plan 6–8 pieces of savoury, one plate of chaat, one filling item and one sweet per person — high tea guests graze more than they eat. For a function running past 7:30 pm, either add a filling counter or accept that guests will leave hungry; our food quantity guide has the full maths.
What hi-tea catering costs
High tea menus in Bangalore typically run well below dinner menus because there's no main course line — indicative per-plate rates are on our catering prices page. Tell us your date and headcount and we'll send a hi-tea menu and quote the same day.
