Afternoon Tea/Dining Alone in London - Recommendations
 

Hello -
I will be in London the first week of Dec. and would like to experience Afternoon Tea at its finest! I will be staying in the Covent Garden/Strand Area. Any suggestions? Also, any recommendations for restaurants that a single woman would feel comfortable dining at?
Thank you!

any of the major hotels do afternoon teas - but you will need to book ahead since they usually do set sittings. But you could also have a lovely tea at Fortnum and Mason, or any one of a number of restaurants inside Harrods.

As for restaurant recommendations -- I honestly can think of very few London restaurants where I would feel uncomfortable -- at least any in central areas a tourist would find herself. Just go anywhere you'd like. Get a copy of time out and read some of the restaurant reviews.

Instead of making special trips to specific restaurants, I usually make some lists of places near the sites I'll be visiting or near the theatres I'm going to.

The following link is a trip report by sandykins a few months ago, specifically, an afteroon tea trip report in London. She went to:
Lanesborough, Dorchester, Ritz, & Fortnum and Mason.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34508534

I am a single man, and often lunch upstairs at pubs. I can e-mail you notes on pub lunches I like if you ask me to. I often see women alone or in pairs lunching there. As I read newspaper reports, and as I see when I go there, single women lunch at Harvey Nicks on Sloane Square (officially Harvey Nicholas), in the Royal Academy on Piccadilly near Green Park, in the larger restaurant in the National Gallery and at the upstairs restaurant in the National Portrait Gallery, both on the north side of Trafalgar square upstairs at the Globe theatre near Blackfriars. But I agree with Janis, that there are few or no restaurants where single women do not lunch. We have come quite a way in thirty years. Welcome to my city.

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Hi
I've visited London a number of times, and sometimes solo, and I can't think of any place fancy or plain where I felt uncomfortable dining on my own.
For the formal afternoon teas at the better hotels, sich as the Ritz, Dorchester, Brown's etc, you need to dress a bit and reserve in advance. For a less-formal and less-time consuming experience, the Thistle Charing Cross hotel does a nice tea with good food, for a moderate price, you can relax for an hour and then be on yuor way. Ditto Fortnum's and many other places.
But I suspect you'll want the more formal setting if this is to be a highlight of your trip.

I have a long file on London; if you'd like to see it and if your email can accept large attachments, email me at
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yk, Thanks for the link to sandikins report. My mother is coming over to spend the Christmas holidays with us in Maidenhead. I would like to take her out for one formal tea experience--probably the Lanesborough. We may do a more casual second tea at the ground floor of Fortnum and Mason's (I have done that solo and found it relaxing and fun).

I also enjoyed reading sandykins report which I'd missed. Thanks for that yk. Has Brown's reopend yet?

Another casual place for tea is the Orangerie at Kensington Palace. It's not very expensive and grand so not "tea at it's finest" but a good place to stop.

I agree dining alone won't be a problem most anywhere. I usually bring a book or magazine along in case I start to feel uncomfortable.

If you're interested in a boutiquey area to shop I can recommend Walton St. The Enterprise there is a gastro pub (fancy pub with better than pub food) that I've liked.

Have fun!

Thanks to everyone for the information! I had heard mixed reports about a woman dining alone in London but you have all put me at ease.
Thanks again and I'll be sure to post my findings when I return.

I'm with McLaurie; the Enterprise in Walton Street is nice, and that is a very nice street for shopping too.

I like places where I can sit at a bar to eat; Nicole's in Bond Street is a favorite when I'm on my own.
Wagamama is good for dining alone too. If I'm alone, I don't want to spend hours sitting at a table. I also like the fifth floor cafe at Harvey Nichols; food is good, and it's an easy place to eat when dining alone; there's lots to see, and you can always buy a magazine there to pass the time. It's open in the evening, after the shop closes.

Sorry, these things are not near Covent Garden, but you may want to eat while shopping/sightseeing. I have been to London on my own a few times, and these are places where I like to go. If I have had a good lunch, I might pick up some things from Marks & Spencer or from a good food hall (Harrods, Selfridges, HN) to eat in the hotel later.

I'm not a big fan of afternoon tea (especially not when on my own) but you have plenty of suggestions here.

Have fun!

I love Afternoon Tea, and it is my goal to do tea at all the best hotels in London, but the list is long and time is short. However, I would recommend you make a reservation for Tea in December as many hotels get booked up, esp. at the weekend. I am meeting cousins at Claridge's for Tea on Dec 12 and they had to make the reservation in late Oct. to get a table...and it's Christmas Teas only with champagne at UK 39.50 per person! Many hotels do this "special Tea" bit in Dec. with higher than ususal prices...but I will swallow the fizz and enjoy it.
The Lanensborough does a wonderful tea and does not have "sitings", you can stay as long as you want. Unlike the Ritz and the Dorchester that limit your time to a "seating". The Dorchester Tea is goog, too, but I found the Ritz too crowded and they really do rush you.
If you want less food than the full Tea, Fortnum's Fountain Restaurant is good. You can choose what you want a la carte-so if you want only the scone OR the cake and/or the sandwichs-you can.
For solo dining, I like Wagammama and Yo Sushi!-locations all over London. Also pub lunches and dinners are great, too, like Ben Haines mentioned, but booking might be necessary at popular pubs. We got shut out of the Albert on a Tues night in early Dec last year--full at 6pm and booked up the entire night..
Judy