Hi! My family (husband & 2 kids) will be in London for a few days in June. It is important to me to do an afternoon tea. I had tea at Fortnum & Mason last year (loved it) and am looking for a different spot this year. I am considering Sketch, Wyld Tea at the Mondrian, The Orangery and The Wolseley. Any experiences at these spots, opinions &/or recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2774 posts
We always have Afternoon Tea at The Organgery when in London. It’s good and beautiful inside.
Posted by
St. Louis metro area
139 posts
I had last June at The Wolseley, a freestanding restaurant next to the Ritz. It was wonderfully atmospheric, food good. While feeling upscale, it does not at all feel stuffy. Greeting was warm and friendly, even though I was solo. I did have reservations. I would do it again and would also consider meals there.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2296 posts
hey pj
we were looking at this couple years ago: b-bakery.com since you have kids, thought this would be fun for them, mom and dad would be happy, plus see the town.
they have one at the british museum, or check out afternoonteaonline.co.uk
we took the train to bath and stopped in sally lunn's for her famous buns "teacakes".
keeping these sites bookmarked, my niece from kentucky will be spending a semester outside london at University of Hertfordshire, and she'll want to do all then more. happy travels
aloha
Posted by
392 posts
Afternoon tea at The Dorchester is rather something. But will cost you a small fortune.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
The Orangery is a perfect place for afternoon tea with kids. It is very affordable compared to the hotels--the Lanesborough was very expensive and not worth the price IMO. The food at the Orangery was very nice and the setting is lovely. We took our tweens there on a recent visit and they loved it. Check on the times--they take no reservations and I think the earliest service is 2 pm.
Posted by
Reading, PA, USA
1584 posts
"The Orangery at Kensington Palace is now closed for restoration work until 2020."
The above is from the RS England guidebook updates page on the RS website.
Posted by
Los Angeles
305 posts
The website use to say that The Orangery was closed for renovation (due to open this spring) but it no longer says that and it is taking reservations:
http://www.orangerykensingtonpalace.co.uk/
Posted by
24 posts
Had a great afternoon tea at "The Roseberry Lounge" at mandarin Oriental. The place is very nice and also they accommodated their guests properly.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3205 posts
Harrods is also a suggestion
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4297 posts
Wolesley is good and has accomodating staff-we were running late for our reservation and had to go to airport immediately afterwards, called them and the answer was "no problem". We were seated immediately upon our arrival.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2774 posts
The Orangery is open, you can make reservations on their website, but you don’t need reservations.
RS book is not correct.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32683 posts
The Orangery has yet again changed owners and reopened.
When I was at Kensington Palace to pop in to the last days of the old Victoria exhibit in March I was told that it was unlikely that the Orangery would reopen at all.
So obviously there have been big late changes.
The RS guidebook was correct when it was written...
Posted by
Land of La
8629 posts
If you are willing to spend the money then hands down this afternoon tea excels.
Posted by
Washington, DC
870 posts
We were in London in beginning of April 2018, and The Orangery was closed. It might be worth an email to them to confirm, and if indeed open, then a good choice for afternoon tea with the kids. We ended up going to Gallery Messa at Saatchi Gallery which was nice and inexpensive although probably not as traditional a setting one may expect. They had a cute kid afternoon tea option my two seven year olds enjoyed (and they ate plenty off of ours as well).
Posted by
11 posts
The Orangery is Open but it is in a temporary Pavillion for the next 3 years while they update the old building.
https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/hire-a-venue/the-pavilion/#gs.pX1cz7A
Gardens look nice but you will be in a new multi-purpose use building and not the beautiful old building. We were looking at if for our upcoming trip but decided to make reservations at The Wolseley instead. The nice thing about the Wolseley is that if kids are hungry before the 3pm Tea time you can get there early and grab lunch instead. Also, if you look at the menu they do just Cream tea for $13 pounds and a la carte pastries. I am pretty sure my kids will not be interested in cucumber or egg sandwiches so this is a good flexible option for them.
Posted by
San Diego
1540 posts
I would recommend Tea & Tattle across the street from the British Museum.
Not as expensive and the Ritz, or other formal tea room.
here is their link