There is nothing more quintessentially British than the afternoon tea. It all started in 1840s when the Duchess of Bedford starting asking for sandwiches and cakes along with tea around late afternoon to satisfy her hunger pangs (I don’t blame her since they had late dinners leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner). She then invited friends to join her and soon enough, the high society of England started doing the same. Eventually, it became so popular that it has now become a long loved and cherished British tradition.

If you have never gone for an afternoon tea, let me help you navigate this feast. You start with savory and work your way to the sweet stuff (If the place serves it right, begin from the lower most tray of the 3-tier tray and end up at the top-most plate). First course is the sandwich course. The sandwiches have a good mix of meat and vegetarian options but if you are a vegetarian you can always request for no-meat options. In fact, a lot of places in London had gluten free option available too. Coming to the scones, you will likely be served with plain and fruit scones. They are usually paired with clotted cream, jams and preserves (sometimes, you might get Lemon curd too). I know the world is divided on cream first or jam first, but I like to have cream first on my scone. Also, remember to slice the scone using your hand and not the knife (I was told that’s the correct way to do it). For the desserts, the choices can be endless and there is no set item. Usually it ranges from cakes, pastries to fancy French treats. Lastly, the most important thing – Tea. You will be presented from over 25+ varieties of tea to choose from and it can get very overwhelming. I would recommend going for the options you wouldn’t normally drink at home since it’s not easy to find all these exotic varieties at your local grocery store. Depending on the kind of place you go to, they will let you order complimentary refills on the food and even change tea as many time as you like. If in doubt, make sure to ask if you can try or sample tea or change them later. Usually, a server will come and check on you to see if there is anything you need, you can always ask politely for another sandwich or scone that you liked. Most of these afternoon teas filled me up so much that I could barely walk. In fact, I treated them like lunch or dinner depending on what time of the sitting I went for.

I was lucky enough to try a bunch of afternoon tea places during the 4 weeks of my stay in London. Presenting to you all the options along with any tips/tricks to save you money and or time:

The Savoy

There is no denying that the Savoy is one of the most iconic London hotel that is frequented by important people of world all the time. One of my English co-worker recommended that I have to try their afternoon tea since he thought it was the best that the city had to offer. Well, let me tell you that he wasn’t wrong.

Savoy’s afternoon tea takes place at the Thames Foyer in the hotel every day from 1 pm -5:45 pm. There’s natural light beaming in from the glass dome in the center underneath which a pianist entertains guests every day with seasonal performance. Since this place is very fancy, I would recommend dressing up in smart casual and avoid any sportswear. Also, I would suggest that you please make a reservation well in advance since their weekends are booked many months in advance and they can barely accommodate any walk-ins.

I had their traditional afternoon tea which came at a hefty price of 65 GBP. I really liked their Coronation chicken and classic egg salad sandwich. Their scones were very light and were served with lemon curd apart from the regular clotted cream and preserve. In the dessert course, I was a fan of their chocolate cake. For their tea, I went with their afternoon and evening blends.

Claridge’s

Claridge’s is one of the jewels of Mayfair. They are known worldwide for their connection with British royal family and of course their iconic jade and white striped Chinaware.

Afternoon tea at Claridge’s takes place in their Foyer & Reading room every day from 2:45 – 5:30 pm with sittings at different times. Again, I would recommend making reservation as they get booked up well in advance. The traditional afternoon tea costs 60 GBP and there is an additional option to pay extra for a glass of champagne too.

I was very impressed with the afternoon tea at Claridge’s. Claridge’s afternoon menu book is very informative for someone experiencing afternoon tea for the first time or even if you are a veteran. It not only tells you about their offering but offers insights into their history, the food inspiration, pairings and the hotel. I thought their sandwiches were okay but nothing extra ordinary. The scones were served with Marco Polo gelee and Cornish clotted cream. Their pastries are changed to reflect the fruits of the season. You get to choose teas from a diverse blend of 24 loose leaf teas. I loved that they had tea and food pairing so you can choose tea for each course and they suggested which tea would go with what course. I think I tried 4 different teas during my sitting.

Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum & Mason are the royal grocers. They have been delivering goods and services to the royal household for many generations now. Since the Queen gets her tea from here, you can be sure that it is indeed worth visiting this place for afternoon tea. Unlike other places in this post, Fortnum & Mason is much more than a tea house or a hotel. It’s a Mecca for food lovers. Here you can find anything and everything when you think of gourmet food. I am big fan of their teas, biscuits and preserves. Even if you don’t get time to go for their afternoon tea, make sure to go to the store and buy some items to take back home as souvenirs. If you are short on time, be sure to drop by their store at Heathrow airport or grab their products at Duty free.

Their afternoon tea takes place at the elegant and refined Diamond Jubilee Salon located at the top most floor of their store. This is one of the few places where the afternoon takes place till 7:30 pm on weekdays. In fact, I went for their 7 pm sitting and treated it like my dinner. Reservations are recommended but not required since they have some openings available for drop ins. They have some fixed menus for their tea service: Afternoon tea for 52.50 GBP, savory afternoon tea for 54.50, High tea for 56.50 and a vegetarian option for 52.50. I went for their classic option. For those wanting other beverage except for tea, you will be happy to know that they have wines, champagnes, beer and even hot chocolate.

This was my first afternoon tea in London and I was very overwhelmed by the whole meal. Fortnum & Mason’s afternoon tea had almost 50 teas for you to choose from. It can be overwhelming if you grew up with only 4-5 choices of tea. I took almost 20 minutes reading the tea menu and deciding which tea I wanted. They even have expert tearistas who give you a tour of all things tea. You can even for go for tea-tasting if you like. I tried their royal blend, wedding breakfast (blend created for the wedding of Prince William and Kate’s wedding) and Jubilee blend and loved them all. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that I ended up buying all three of them from the stores downstairs. You start the meal with their classic British tea sandwiches. I really enjoyed their sandwiches and ordered refill on a couple of them. Next came the scones which were very fluffy. Their scones are more on the petite side but so fresh that they melt in your mouth. Scones here are served with clotted cream (which was one of the best I had there), strawberry preserve and lemon curd. You can even buy all of this in the shop downstairs. The highlight for their afternoon tea were their desserts. They are more on the tea cakes side than pastries which I really like.

Sketch

Full disclaimer: I went to their afternoon tea more because I had seen this place on Instagram and it looked like a hipster’s paradise. Screaming millennial pink everywhere, this place is an Instagram haven. From the eggs shaped pods for bathroom to their spiral staircase and the bar as well as the almost 50 shades of pink in the main dining room, it was an absolute treat to the eye. Due to these reasons, it is almost impossible to find a reservation for afternoon tea here. I made multiple attempts and when I saw one opening pop up, I just jumped on it.

Sketch houses 5 restaurants and bars within the same complex – all of which are worth visiting in my opinion. Since I went for their afternoon tea, it was in their gallery. Afternoon tea is offered all days from 11:30-4:30 pm. I don’t recall currently how much I ended up paying for their tea.

Sketch’s afternoon tea is anything but traditional. It’s a French take on this classic British tradition. You start your tea with Caviar or a cauliflower caviar (I didn’t know this was a thing before going here) followed by a pot of cream egg. This is followed by fancy looking sandwiches. Their sandwiches were pretty delicious and looked very Instagram worthy. This was followed by scones which I thought were okay. Lastly, for desserts, you can expect some French treats ranging from macaroons to eclairs. They even have a tea connoisseur that comes to your table and teaches you how to brew your tea. Overall, I had a really time and enjoyed my non-typical afternoon tea experience at Sketch.

The Ritz

Okay, this was the fanciest afternoon tea places that I went to. So fancy that you need to wear a suit with a tie to even go for tea. If you were like me who was traveling without a tie, they do have an option for you to borrow one for 15 GBP deposit that you can return after your tea is done. They have a strict dress code (no jeans or sportswear) for different places throughout the hotel so if you do decide to go for the afternoon tea, make sure you are well dressed.

Afternoon tea takes place at the spectacular palm court which is all lit with elegant mirrors and glittering chandeliers. Not only does it add light to the room, it transports you to a room in Palace of Versailles in France. Apparently, they boast of having the only tea sommelier in the UK who helps them source their tea from all over the world. The elegant ambience at the palm court is topped by a musical ensemble by the pianist and harpist. The regular price of afternoon tea at the Ritz is 57 GBP and is served daily at the 5 sittings. Now the best part: There are many offers that Ritz poses which help your lower the price tag of their afternoon tea or take the experience one notch up. If you go for their first (11:30 am) or the last sitting (7:30 pm), you can get a 15% deal or a free glass of champagne if you book online using their afternoon tea offers page. I did the 7:30 pm sitting and paid 48 pounds for my afternoon tea making it the cheapest option in this list.

Coming to the actual meal, they have 18 varieties of tea to choose from. I tried their Ritz Royal blend tea. Their sandwiches were okay but the scones were really good. But the highlight of their meal were the desserts. Mostly comprising of pastries I had never seen or eaten before, I tried to devour every bite of it despite my tummy being super full. I would highly recommend this place if you had to pick just 1 place for the afternoon tea.

 

Have you been to any of these places for afternoon tea? What did you think? Are there any other places you would recommend to go for afternoon tea in London?