Not cheap, but not the Ritz either: I recommend high tea at the British Museum (up in the Great Court Restaurant) overlooking the Reading Room. We were there August 03. We enjoyed it so much we plan to do it again this April (nice break during sightseeing). Dressing up is not required, but the atmosphere is nice - linens, flowers, etc. The view of the Great Court is a big plus. Entrance to the BM is free, and you don't need to make reservations for tea. If you plan your visit to the BM for a Thursday, many galleries are open until 20:30, so a late afternoon tea lets you keep going til closing!

We plan to book tea at the Ritz for May 1 - glad to know that the 17:30 seems to be the way to go. We've been trying to decide on which sitting. Are there any differences in formality or menu between the 3 sittings?

The Ritz staff informed me, when I inquired, that the menu is the same for all three seatings of afternoon tea. The level of formality is the same, as jacket and tie are required for all three seatings. The advantage of having the late seating is, as people have said in their reviews, that the staff does not have to "turn tables" in time for the next seating and the tea therefore feels more leisurely.

A while back, the Ritz used to served tea at 2:00, 3:30, and 5:00, turning tables every one-and-a-half hours -- not a leisurely tea at all! Luckily, they have expanded teatime to two hours, with seatings at 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30 -- although I can't imagine having tea at the unfashionable hour of 1:30 unless I hadn't had lunch or were having the tea as a mid-day meal.

topping for susieg22 :)

My favorite is the Lanesborough. They have tea in a lovely atrium and I've never had better service (and fresher crumpets!). I think it's about 35 pounds per person.

I have booked and am looking forward to tea at the Lanesborough in April! But I just want to point out that the two set teas that they offer are £24 and £32, respectively, including service and VAT, not £35. The £32 tea includes everything the £24 tea offers but also adds fresh strawberries with cream and your choice of a glass of Taittinger Champagne or a Champagne cocktail.

A charge of 32 pounds for afternoon tea??? Good grief. I guess I'm remembering all the teas we had outside London for a whole lot less.

Yes, you can have a very nice cream tea in a country tea shop for £5 - £7, but here we're talking about a grand, set tea in one of the 5 star London Hotels.

Afternoon tea in one of the posh Nob Hill hotels in San Francisco would cost just about as much.