Here's a fun fact about Italian morning tea catering: in Italy, we have the same beautiful tradition you do in Sydney, that small, civilised pause between breakfast and lunch when the team gathers, the kettle goes on, and someone unboxes something delicious.
We just call it something different. Merenda.
Same idea, same magic, slightly different accent. And after years of catering for Sydney CBD offices, we've fallen head-over-heels for the local morning tea culture, the way Aussies treat it as a genuine moment in the workday, not an afterthought. So here's our love letter to it: a proper Italian merenda, with a wink to Sydney's brilliant food scene.
Morning tea, merenda: what's actually the difference?
Honestly? Less than you'd think. Both are about that mid-morning pause. Both are built around sharing. Both go better with a really good coffee. The vibes are identical, with maybe a few extra soccer arguments on our side.
What changes is the food on the table. Italian merenda has its own three unwritten rules:
- Small but real food, never a sugar bomb to fill a gap
- Sweet AND savoury together, never one or the other
- It pairs with proper coffee: espresso, ideally; we'll forgive a long black
Take those rules, blend them with everything Sydney's food scene has taught us, fresh produce, dietary-conscious options, beautiful presentation, and you get the EATALO morning tea catering range.
How EATALO does Italian morning tea catering for Sydney CBD offices
Here's what an EATALO merenda looks like when it lands on your boardroom table. Every item below is from our morning and afternoon tea catering range, designed for Sydney CBD offices.
1. The hero: Breakfast Bruschetta Platter, this is the Italian flex
If you only order one thing, order this. The Breakfast Bruschetta Platter ($75, gluten-free option available) is what we'd serve you at our table in Bologna. Nine mini bruschette, three flavours, made fresh every morning at our Bent Street kitchen:
- Smoked salmon, herbed ricotta, and caramelised onion
- Egg, prosciutto, cracked peppercorn, and basil
- Avocado spread, heirloom tomatoes, basil, feta, dukkah, pomegranate, and sesame seeds
(Yes, we put avocado on bruschetta. We've been in Sydney long enough to know what works. The Italian purists can email us their complaints, we'll read them after lunch.)
This is the platter that makes a corporate morning tea feel like an actual event. It looks beautiful, it covers savoury cravings properly, and it tells your team, and your clients, that someone in the office actually thought about the catering.
→ Order the Breakfast Bruschetta Platter
2. For the ones who arrived hungry: Prosciutto, Cheese & Tomato Croissant Platter
Italian rule: never let a guest go hungry. Australian rule: morning tea sometimes needs to hold the team until lunch. We solved both with the Prosciutto, Cheese & Tomato Croissant/Toastie Platter ($50). Four fresh French croissants filled with prosciutto, cheese and tomato, available fresh, toasted, or made on white sourdough.
(Yes, we know croissants are technically French. We're not getting into it. They work, they're delicious, and prosciutto makes everything Italian by association.)
Order this for early-start workshops, training sessions, or any morning where someone's going to skip breakfast and pretend they didn't.
→ Order the Prosciutto Croissant Platter
3. The sweet finish: Mix Dessert Sharing Tray
In Italy, merenda is rarely just sweet, but when sweet shows up, it shows up properly. Our Mix Dessert (Sharing Tray) (7 per serve, minimum 6 serve) is a daily-changing selection of freshly baked slices, muffins, pastries and cookies, all cut in half for sharing.
The half-cut detail matters. It means nobody has to commit to one item. Janet from accounting can try four different things without looking like she's hoarding. Halal, vegetarian, made fresh daily.
→ Order the Mix Dessert Sharing Tray
4. For the cookie devotees: Mixed Cookie Platter
Some Sydney offices have strong cookie energy. We see you. The Mixed Cookie Platter ($120 for 15 pieces) is a decadent mix of chocolate chunk, peanut butter, red velvet, and classic chewy cookies: soft, freshly baked, properly indulgent.
Order this for celebratory morning teas, Friday afternoon resets, or any day the team has earned it. Halal and vegetarian.
→ Order the Mixed Cookie Platter
5. The fresh element: Seasonal Fruit Platter or Fruit Skewers
Yes, even Italians eat fruit at merenda. Choose your weapon:
- Seasonal Fruit Platter ($75, serves up to 10): vibrant, beautifully arranged, the centre-of-the-table option. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, halal.
- Fruit Skewers Platter ($6 per skewer, minimum 10): individually portioned, no mess. Best for stand-up morning teas, networking events, or any setup where guests are walking around with coffee in hand.
Bonus: fresh fruit is the easiest way to make sure everyone in the room, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, or halal, has something they can grab without asking.
→ Order Fresh Fruit Platters & Skewers
6. Drinks done properly: Nectar Cold-Pressed Juices
A merenda without proper drinks is a missed opportunity. We stock the full Nectar Cold-Pressed juice range ($5.50 per 300mL bottle):
- Sun-Ripened Australian Oranges
- Carrot, Turmeric, Orange, Apple, Pineapple, Lemon
- Pineapple, Mint, Orange, Apple, Lemon
- Watermelon, Lime, Apple, Raspberry
- Iconic Greens (spinach, kale, cucumber, apple, celery, lemon)
- Cloudy Apple
Cold-pressed juices add visual colour to the spread, cover the non-coffee drinkers, and pair brilliantly with the bruschetta for a proper Italian-style brunch catering setup.
(And yes, if you want espresso to go with all of this, walk into our Bent Street cafe and we'll sort you out. We're 50 metres from Martin Place.)
A sample EATALO merenda for a 10-person Sydney office
Not sure where to start? Here's a balanced spread that would make any Italian nonna proud, and any Sydney office team very happy:
- 1 × Breakfast Bruschetta Platter ($75): the Italian hero
- 1 × Prosciutto Croissant Platter ($50): substantial savoury
- 6 × Mix Dessert Sharing Tray ($42 total): the sweet finish
- 1 × Seasonal Fruit Platter ($75): fresh, dietary-friendly base
- 10 × Nectar Cold-Pressed Juices ($55): drinks variety
Total: around $300 for 10 people. Generous portions, full dietary coverage, a spread that genuinely reflects Italian merenda culture, and a morning tea your team will actually talk about.
How much morning tea catering should you order per person?
Italian wisdom (and Sydney corporate catering experience) says:
- Light morning tea (between meetings): 2 to 3 pieces per person
- Standard morning tea (team event): 3 to 4 pieces per person
- Substantial morning tea (replacing breakfast or stretched over an hour): 5 to 6 pieces per person
If you're hosting a milestone, a project win, a farewell, or a Friday celebration, round up. People always eat more when there's something to celebrate. (Italians figured this out a long time ago.)
Catering for dietary requirements, because everyone deserves merenda
A modern Sydney office team will almost always include people who are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal or dairy-free. EATALO's morning tea range is built with this in mind:
- Breakfast Bruschetta Platter: gluten-free option available
- Prosciutto Croissant Platter: gluten-free option available
- Seasonal Fruit Platter: vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, halal
- Fruit Skewers Platter: vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Mix Dessert & Cookie Platters: halal, vegetarian
- Nectar Cold-Pressed Juices: vegan, gluten-free
Just flag any specific requirements when you order. We'll figure it out.
Delivery across Sydney CBD, Barangaroo and Martin Place
EATALO delivers morning tea and afternoon tea catering across Sydney CBD, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Wynyard, Circular Quay and surrounding suburbs. Same-day orders are possible for smaller spreads, but for larger morning teas, we recommend ordering at least 24 hours in advance so we can prepare everything fresh on the day at our Bent Street kitchen.
All catering arrives ready to serve, beautifully presented, with disposable serveware available on request.
Order your office merenda
The next time you're planning a team morning break, a board meeting, a Friday celebration or a client presentation in Sydney CBD, bring the team a proper Italian merenda: bruschetta, prosciutto croissants, sweet sharing trays, fresh fruit, and cold-pressed juices.
We know it’s called morning tea here… but to us, it’s an Italian merenda with an Aussie twist 🇮🇹😉
→ Browse our full morning and afternoon tea catering range
→ Request a custom catering quote
→ Call us on 02 9241 2127 or visit our cafe at 2/8-18 Bent St, Sydney CBD
EATALO: fresh Italian catering for Sydney CBD offices. From morning tea (or merenda, if you're asking us) to corporate lunches and pasta trays, we deliver authentic Italian food to your workplace, on time, every time.