Tea Time in London

Maria, I can suggest one NOT to visit. Harrod's. We have been there on previous occasions and enjoyed it. However, this last May it was absolutely filthy and the service sub standard.

Have a look at patisserie Valerie website. Lots branches. I like it, but more like a cafe with good tea and cakes. Had good tea ( ie proper afternoon tea in fortnam and mason's years ago, also Dorchester).
S

Traditional and expensive: Claridge's or The Lanesborough. Bea's of Bloomsbury is casual and less expensive. Always enjoy
it when I'm in London.

Hello- Thank you for all the suggestions! Tom- Good to know about Harrod's, that was one place I was looking into.

My wife and I enjoyed The Wolseley, a couple of blocks from Piccadilly Circus. The setting was grand, yet we felt comfortable in our--very--casual dress. Excellent tea, sandwiches, pastries, etc. They have a website and you can actually make reservations online, which is nice. If you are visiting the British Museum around teatime, they offer afternoon tea in the glass-roofed Great Court.

We enjoyed tea at The Orangery in Kensington Gardens.

I also was not impressed with Harrod's high tea.

Thank you for the replies! How about the Ritz?

Maria, I think you want to have Afternoon tea which is served in the afternoon, High tea is served after 5:30pm is a meal with a pot of tea. Here are some places that are good.... The Orangery at Kensington Palace The Georgian Restaurant at Harrods 4th floor Harvey Nichols 5th floor restaurant Browns Hotel Connaught Hotel..Red room Fortnum & Mason 4th floor Grosvenor House Hotel..Park Room
St Martin's Lane Hotel..Covent Garden

I've had afternoon tea at the crypt at St Martins in the Field. It used to be great, with freshly-baked, warm scones. For the past few years they started serving a cold plate of cakes and scones with the tea. Something got lost when they started serving up cold scones. Sigh. Afternoon tea tends to be a carbohydrate feast. Maybe once is ok, but I wouldn't want to have it daily.

Thank you Robin1 Swan- I agree!

We have enjoyed the Capital Hotel for tea the last few times we were in London. If you Google it, you can get a couple of reviews. It is just up the street from Harrods. We felt like we really got our moneys worth.
Thanks - Bill

Thank you Bill- I'll check out the reviews.

Nearly all of the Big hotels offer afternoon tea and are generally good. I love the Ritz but it's soo expensive. My husband likes the Savoy. We also had afternoon tea this spring at Harrods (the Georgian restaurant) It was perfect. I agree with Swann. The Crypt is a fun place to visit but. ... Do they even have afternoon tea or do they just offer cream teas? Either way, it's a cafeteria. I also like Browns Hotel...remember it was where Agatha Christie stayed when she was in town and "At Bertrams Hotel" was based on it. The Orangery is always good. F&M did offer a nice tea too and so do Harvey Nicks and Liberty. Plus you can do a little shopping while you're there. Liberty's is more cozy than Harrods.

The Orangery at Kensington Palace. Excellent High (or Afternoon) Tea, but at a price. London is pretty overpriced in general, but this place was an excellent experience. If you make it to Bath, definitely take tea in the Pump Room. My best experience in Britain.

Thank you Robin Darren- Thank you for the nice background.

Darren & Laurel - Thank you for the suggestions!

Another recommendation for The Orangery at Kensington Palace. I know someone else stated that it was expensive, but I found it relatively inexpensive compared to most other places. You can also order a la carte there, so you can pick and choose what you want to eat. Take a walk through Hyde Park on your way there, and then the tea will really hit the spot. I think you can ice skate in the park, which would be another fun thing to do maybe before afternoon tea (although now that I think about it, it may have ended by then, but worth checking in to). Have fun!

Thank you Maryam- Good to know about the ice skating!

The Orangery at Kensington Palace does not do High Tea (evening meal with tea) but does a lovely Afternoon Tea. @Darren...you won't see High Tea listed on a menus for the afternoon. I'm sorry, but it has nothing to do with the size of table.

@Robin - The Orangery doesn't do high Tea in the traditional sense of the term, as is dated back to the 1600's when it was the evening meal for farming and laboring families who needed a more substantial meal to finish the day. Contemporarily, High Tea has taken on the meaning of a lighter meal with Tea, served in the afternoon, especially in Non- UK countries. Even my close friend, who's English, refers to our afternoon teas as High Tea, regardless of how high the table is that we're using ;-)
At any rate, Maria, I really think you'll enjoy the atmosphere at the Orangery, regardless what you choose to call it. Have fun!

Last week The Times newspaper did a list of the top 20 places for tea around the UK, and in London, Claridges was the choice. Expensive at £39, but they thought it was worth it for the service, the food and the ambience.
Wherever you end up going, I hope you enjoy!

Maggie- Just like the Hotel Plaza in NYC. Thank you-

My wife's favorite in London is the Orangery at Kensington, but nothing compares to the Pump Room
in Bath. I'm not an afternoon tea fan, but even I loved it.

Got many votes for Orangery at Kensington- Thank you Arn!

Darren you're so funny. At the end of the day high tea is a meal consisting of something cooked, eg welsh rarebit or what-what. During all my travels in the Uk I have seen Afternoon tea listed on many a menu but never High tea. Maybe we don't go to the same places. Still, all my English friends and relatives agree with my distinctions (between the two) and those of Robinz.
Luckily there are as many wonderful places to have afternoon tea as there are Top Ten lists listing them. I think a lot of people like the Orangery is because it's really good and the prices are not overwhelming. They do not take reservations and I think most of you will agree that it is not what you would call a cozy tea room. Still, I go there whenever I can. They used also to serve a good Eton Mess.

Another Savoy recommendation, though it is expensive. We also liked the Wolsey (great for dinner, as well)

You may find this list of top afternoon teas interesting: http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=16 We have only had the afternoon tea at Brown's hotel in Mayfair, and it was very nice. They replenish the items as you wolf them down, which is a big plus in my book!

Bea's of Bloomsbury (about a 10-minute walk from the British Museum) has the best scones I ate in London and the assorted sweets were lovely. The highly-touted cupcakes underwhelmed me, though. They only do "savory" teas on the weekends. I also went to Bob Bob Ricard for a relaxing afternoon tea. At £23.50 + service it wasn't the priciest or the most economic, but it was worth it. The sandwiches were delicious, their tea ion was extensive, the scones were reheated more than once, but with only a little bit of insistence, I got fresh ones – with extra cream and jam. They don't give seconds, but they are happy to top up the teapot with all the hot water you want. And if you are too full to enjoy the cakes, they will wrap them very nicely for you to take along to the theatre for a nice snack at the interval. Best of all, they serve afternoon tea from morning till night, a real plus if you want to spend the afternoon sightseeing (or at a matinee). My friends say the Wolseley is wonderful, but I haven't been there . . . yet.

Thank you for all the suggestions!