cynthia_booker

My college age niece had nothing to compare it with but very, very much enjoyed having tea at the Orangery. Some day she may feel like having tea in a more 'posh' sort of place, but at her time and situation in life, the Orangery was the perfect choice.

annw

Last year we had tea at the Ritz, Fortnum and Mason, and Orangery, among other places. We enjoy the ritual and the little sandwiches, scones, clotted cream (not impossible to get around here but not easy).

Agree the Orangery is a casual and somewhat mass market approach despite being attached to Kensington Palace. You'll be able to get in, you'll get a sense of the tea ritual, and you can be relatively casual.

Fortnum's might have a wait, but not long, you can shop the room with your eyes, meanwhile, you get the general concept, service is decent, and it's convenient, and being a store as well doesn't require the dressing up. If memory serves there are places to eat on two different floors.

For tea at the Ritz, be sure to make reservations; we didn't have reservations, but we were still able to have most of the "tea" menu in the little sitting area outside the actual tea area. Still lovely.

I would love to have taken my sons to "tea at the Ritz" -- it's gorgeous, service is amazing, and it's one of those bucket list type experiences. It is a dress decently moment. Also, no photos (technically).

We also had a meal in the "bar" area -- again, impeccable. We aren't into snooty places but I'm glad we did this one, even if it weren't quite the formal full tea experience.

Any of the above, and the others mentioned (Claridges for ex.) would convey the general idea. Personally as the mom of former teenagers I think dressing up and going for tea would be something they remember for years.

Just another thought--we were staying in the Green Park area so stopped at Buckingham Palace -- looked like they had tea as well--on the left side/street as you face it, where tours assemble.

Whatever you end up doing have a great time and I hope you report back!

Scootoir

I had a very disappointing lunch at the Orangery last fall. The room was comfortable but the chicken on my salad was not very good.

Tea at the Wolseley on the other hand was very enjoyable. Lovely setting, good food but it was busy, not the quiet, elegant experience some might want for tea. The scones were good and the price reasonable. I don't think you can go wrong here.

janisj

Many post that only tourists do full afternoon teas, especially the posh ones like the Ritz. Once again I have to disagree. I actually did tea at the Ritz yesterday. Walking through the room 4 times and noting the tables near us - the vast majority were British. A couple of families with tween kids - most likely some special occasion, several tables of people in business attire. And many tables of 'ladies who lunch' types. Of the 5 or 6 tables nearest us - my cousin and I were the only ones without an English accent (or in one case - Scottish).

My guess is maybe 25%-30% were American or European tourists.

tarquin

Thursday is right, the British do not take afternoon tea except as a rather self-conscious social exercise or a special treat, for instance my book group meets for tea once a month. Some of afternoon tea's current popularity in London is due to the after effects of the recent baking craze on television plus the huge number of tourists in the capital, who do need to sit down for a drink now and then.

And high tea is the opposite of posh.

jamikins

I see lots of English folks at afternoon tea when I go...usually it looks to be a treat like for Mother's Day or a Hen Do (stagette). It's a fun day out, although I generally see mostly women!

stevewith

Something can be a tradition without everybody doing it. Of course many people and families have tea in a very ordinary way in their homes. But that is not what is being discussed here.

What is the basis for charging a lot of money for "afternoon tea"? It is actually quite expensive to run an eatery using highly breakable, first-rate china, silver that needs to be polished, training waitstaff to be very correct in a presentation, and handcrafting small individual food items. It is labor-intensive and the overhead is significant.

The Original Poster asked for opinions about The Orangery. Nini described an experience at the Orangery which I found curious. I have never been invited to join anyone to tea at The Orangery -- and here I will note that the ONLY people who have ever invited me to afternoon tea outside their homes are native-born Brits-- so I looked up AND POSTED information with pictures that I found. Those pictures seem to confirm what Nini described.

I'm sure there are books written about the history of afternoon tea that would be a better source of information about the custom than I am. However, I will stand by opinion that if one is looking for more than a cup of tea and a snack in the late afternoon in London, that if one is curious to experience "a traditional afternoon tea", and one is prepared to lay down many pounds for that, then I would advise spending those pounds at a place where the price is justified by the high-quality of the service.

That's all.

DMuller

Great information...thank you all for your input. Now off to investigate!

kmowatt

I've had tea in lots of different locations on London trips and usually now return to Sotheby's on Bond Street...probably not what everyone will want from their first "tea" experience, but I like the quiet atmosphere here after the bustle of west end shopping and it's fun to overhear some of the conversations about what people might have to sell...and watch people coming and going from the auction rooms...they also offer champagne which is fun in the afternoon...

The Wolseley is also a good choice...and having just looked at the Goring website, I'm thinking I might try that in December.

I was born in the UK and on all trips back to my aunts we would stop for some form of tea break in the afternoon...it was not usually a hotel tea, but for sure they had a break with tea and scones or cake...

Pepper_von_snoot

Aunt Judith likes Browns.

Thin

Rushil

It might be too late, but I definitely have a great option for you. Check our "Soho Secret Tea Room". It is exactly that, a secret tea room hosued above an old pub in Soho. Climb up the stairs of the pub, and enter the 1940's style tea room. The music is great, the waitresses look adorable, and the tea is lovely. I would stick to the yummy scone and some small finger sandwiches, as the fair cakes are too heavy for my liking. The experience is lovely, and I always take people visiting form outside London to this place

eastave

This isn't for the OP, since they are intersted in dressing up. I recently had tea at the Ritz with my daughter, and I was surprised by the number of non-tourists that were there. My impression was that a number of people do this for birthdays or other special occasions. Midway thought, the piano player played a verse of happy birthday and about 10 waitstaff came out carrying various sized cakes with birthday candles for several tables.

We didn't go because it was some sort of British tradition, but because my 6-year old loves dressing up and doing this sort of thing. I have a feeling that as the years pass, she will forgot the things she saw at the British Musuem and the other fantastic places we visited, but will remember the tea.

eastave

Ugh, are NOT interested in dressing up...

DMuller

Just found this...

http://www.citycruises.com/city-crui...a-cruises.aspx

Since we wanted to take a river cruise anyway, maybe this will be nice? But then again...

DMuller

Probably not a great idea...

I will stick with one of the other options.

Rushil

eastave - my option has no dressing up involved! its low key but at the same time quite different and memorable

eastave

Rushil - if we are ever in a situation where my husband will be with us, your find sounds perfect. There is no way he will drag a jacket and tie along on a trip. My daughter on the other hand, loves occasions that involve wearing dresses, and her fancy clothes are still pretty small and can easily fit in a carry on.

Pepper_von_snoot

What would we think of English geezers who came to the US to dress up and pay 50 quid for the oportunity to have coffee and doughnuts in the lobby of a posh hotel?

Honestly, I just don't get the enthusiasm of Americans who come to London to pay a lot of money to eye up the cake trolley.

You can get a tea and scone at any takeaway place like Pret-a-Manger for a few quid then go sit on a bench in a nice park. Just as good if not better.

Do you really have to behave in London like you are Lady Marchmain?

Just wondering.

Thin

DMuller

When in Rome...or in this case London.

carolyn

Thin, we have read and loved all those English novels.