Best afternoon tea in London?

[Humble Pi]

I'm coming to the capital end of October for DD's. I'd love to do afternoon tea whilst I'm there as it's on my bucket list.

So far Claridges is winning the race, any other I should consider? Also generally what is the dress code?

TIA>

[Ziplobb]

A smaller more intimate place - The Milestone in Kensington

[VAGLover]

The Ritz is awesome

[Tresco]

Took my Mother to Harrods for afternoon tea last month but wouldn’t recommend, Claridge’s is much better with a choice of dining areas, personally I prefer the foyer over the reading room but they’re both lovely rooms.

[Humble Pi]

Someone suggested The Rosebury to me last night, does look nice and great reviews...

https://www.mandarinoriental.com/london/hyde-park/...

[steve2]

The savoy is my wife’s favourite, another good one is the Sanderson.
Also depends if you want old world or modern style

[So]

Humble Pi said:

I'm coming to the capital end of October for DD's. I'd love to do afternoon tea whilst I'm there as it's on my bucket list.

So far Claridges is winning the race, any other I should consider? Also generally what is the dress code?

TIA>

In no particular order:

Brown's
Savoy
Ritz

[anonymous-user]

Afternoon tea not really my thing, but for something different you could try Mariage Frères in Covent Garden. It is spectacular and friends report the food is good. Couldn’t find a website for it - but the menu is on Opentable - afternoon tea £39 or £49 each.

Bit of a review to give you an idea.. https://www.hot-dinners.com/Gastroblog/Test-drive/...

[12TS]

Browns is my favourite. Avoid Fortnums, glorified canteen.

Wolsey ok, but no refills.

[Thankyou4calling]

The Ritz is considered to be the best but you won’t get in now.

Try the Shangri la at the Shard or the Mad hatters tea at the Sanderson.

BOTB are very good.

About £50 per head.

Ritz is £56

[dazmanultra]

Have not done The Ritz yet but proposed to my other half in Cafe Royale and that was really nice. The Langham is also a good option.

[Venisonpie]

Bought lady VP afternoon T at the Ritz for Xmas last year. It really was good but I wish I'd known it was eat as much as you like -they keep bringing sandwiches until you're replete!

[Planet Claire]

Venisonpie said:

Bought lady VP afternoon T at the Ritz for Xmas last year. It really was good but I wish I'd known it was eat as much as you like -they keep bringing sandwiches until you're replete!

I've been to the Ritz twice and it's lovely, and unlike other places, sandwiches and cakes are brought round on top of the ones on the cake stand.

Also, don't be afraid to ask for a doggy bag (actually a cake box) if you don't finish everything - they will glady box it up for you to take away!

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Humble Pi said:

I'm coming to the capital end of October for DD's. I'd love to do afternoon tea whilst I'm there as it's on my bucket list.

So far Claridges is winning the race, any other I should consider? Also generally what is the dress code?

TIA>

We've done loads of them over the years, it's a bit of a hobby of ours, and Claridges is still top dog. But at about £70/head, so it bloody well should be.

Smart casual is fine. Chinos and a shirt and some proper shoes, not trainers. .

[12TS]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

We've done loads of them over the years, it's a bit of a hobby of ours, and Claridges is still top dog. But at about £70/head, so it bloody well should be.

Smart casual is fine. Chinos and a shirt and some proper shoes, not trainers. .

Which was the worst one you had?

[matrignano]

I like the Dean Street Townhouse one, if you're in the smaller room to the side, it feels like having tea at a posh old lady's house

[TwigtheWonderkid]

12TS said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

We've done loads of them over the years, it's a bit of a hobby of ours, and Claridges is still top dog. But at about £70/head, so it bloody well should be.

Smart casual is fine. Chinos and a shirt and some proper shoes, not trainers. .

Which was the worst one you had?

Not really had an awful one from memory. Most are just fine, but Claridges was the stand out one. The 2nd best we had was a surprising one, the Sofitel Hotel at Heathrow T5. That was great, there's a selection of cakes to choose from that are just amazing. And the service was just perfect, not fawning all over you but just the right level of attentiveness. Every time you wanted something they just seemed to appear, and when you wanted to be left alone they were nowhere to be seen. That's a very difficult trick to pull off and a lot of the high end places don't seem to get it right. Being asked every 5 mins if everything is ok is not good service, it's a pain in the arse.

[Murph7355]

My OH, who does this sort of thing often, rates the Mandarin Oriental.

She also took me to the Ritz to explain what it was all about. The Ritz was top notch, but not sure they appreciated how much a fat Yorkshireman can eat

[Legend83]

The Lanesborough on Park Lane was lovely.

[tankplanker]

Ritz is my prefered choice. If you want something different Sketch is good fun.