Best afternoon tea, Harrod's or Kensington Palace Pavilion?

We enjoyed tea at Fortnum and Mason. Lovely setting, table and delicious foods.

Another enthusiastic vote for Fortnum and Mason. It was incredibly good. The highest quality of food, service, ambiance and fun. I dream of going back again.

Are neat jeans, a long sleeved shirt and a cardigan suitable for Fortnum and Mason or Harrod's, or do I need to be more dressed up?

We were dressed nicely as it was Christmas Eve day. I wouldn’t wear jeans. It was our second time having tea there.

We also really enjoyed Fortnum and Mason, We were dressed in business casual.

We really liked Pret-a Port-tea at the Berkeley Hotel. They also had unlimited refills on tea and sandwiches; not sure about the deserts but by the time we got to them we were stuffed. They did box things up to take home. While we in London, 2 of my kids went to Sketch and also really liked it

My mom and I had tea at The Ritz London, and their tea service was so lovely!

Been to both. Like Harrods better. Probably because it was the only time I’d have interest in going to the store.

Oh well. Looks like we won’t fit in at Fortnum and Mason. Any recommendations for my wardrobe? Don’t want to be inappropriate.

Wanderlust, I would check the website for FM for dress code. It is a department store after all so not sure they require no jeans. Years ago we did our first London tea at the Ritz. My partner packed the suit jacket etc and ultimately we were disappointed in the afternoon tea there; it wasn’t worth the dress code trouble. Have had much better at the Wolseley and FM.

You can absolutely wear jeans to F&M. You can wear whatever you want as long as you’re clean and presentable.
We saw people there in very casual clothes. It is not a snooty place.

F&M is a shop as well as a restaurant so nobody will be on clothing patrol on the door. But for sure, at a minimum of £75 per person for afternoon tea I would want to look presentable, probably smart.

We showed up for our reservation at F&M after touring the Warner Bros studio and making a mad dash to get there on time. We were far more casual that we'd planned to be, and kind of a sweaty mess, but they treated us as though we were the prince and princess. Could not have been nicer and more accommodating. Separate tray of wonderful treats for me and my husband, since I am gluten free and he is not. All the refills we wanted. Delightful.

We did a really lovely tea at the British Museum (we had originally planned to do Harrod's but I was sick when we went and didn't want to waste the money for something I knew I wouldn't really enjoy). I don't remember if they did refills but it was a lot of food.

I had tea at Fortnum & Mason's back in 1996 and wore very casual clothes (but not jeans, which I never travel with anyway). But what i found interesting was that the servers all wore black tie attire, except for their shoes, which were black sneakers. I loved it!

But having said that, here is what F&M has to say about their dress code:

We do not enforce a dress code here at Fortnum’s, but in keeping with the relaxed but refined atmosphere of our restaurants, the majority of our guests tend to arrive in ‘smart-casual’ attire. We understand that many of our guests dine with us in the framework of a visit to London and therefore acceptable footwear includes trainers. We also accept shorts in the warmer months.

I’m a little late to this inquiry, but I had tea at Claridge’s and it was exquisite. I loved the variety of tea they offered as well as the amazing treats