My husband and I will be visiting London, England in May. I am considering afternoon tea. We will be out sightseeing so do not want to get dressed up. I have looked at St. James Restaurant and Rubens at the Palace. I would love some input. And, if anyone has other recommendations they would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Jo Jo

We are going in May also. The Wolseley got good reviews on this site so I am going to try it.

http://www.thewolseley.com/

I always go here for my clotted cream fix: http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonpala...staurants.aspx. Dressing up not required, and better prices than the hotels.

I will also be traveling to London in May and hope to do the afternoon tea soiree. After reading the forums over the years have also considered the Wolseley and Kensington Palace.
Hope you all have a wonderful time..

Like thursdaysd, I always go to the Orangery. Bonus of a lovely walk through the park to get to it, and a nice outdoor patio area if the weather's nice. Casual clothes are perfectly appropriate.

The Richoux chain has different locations, is quite nice, and is not as expensive as the hotels. I like it a lot better than the Orangery.

What do you mean by "don;t want to get dressed up". If you mean jeans and sneakers you should stick to a casuale place like Richoux - which isn't bad and will be a reasonable price. For one of the major hotels they will expect you to be dressed in at least business casual and the price will be MUCH higher.

We had a very pleasant afternoon tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace in May 07. For a modest price, you get tea + cucumber or salmon sandwiches, a scone, and some other sweet thing (cake, tart?). They also have a champagne tea, which includes a flute of champagne for a few more pounds. It wasn't the BEST food we encountered, but it was yummy, priced right, and in a lovely setting. The room is filled with natural light and there was a nice 70 degree breeze coming in through the windows. Nicely removed from the hustle and bustle (and all that traffic noise!) of London.

I like the Wolseley - it's fairly posh, but if you're going to do the whole High Tea thing, you might as well do it right. It's not cheap, but won't break the bank either, tea is good and the tray is stacked with cakes etc...

I just returned from London and had tea at the Berkeley. It had a current fashion theme which meant some pastries in the shape of shoes, purses, and some were abstracts of dresses, etc. Based on current season's fashion. I picked this one because it was a unique take on traditional tea.

I have also eaten at the Orangery but thought service was horrible.

I actually had the best toasted scones with jam and clotted cream at a small tearoom called Muffin Man near my hotel in South Kensington.

I love the Muffin Man- very small place and quite inexpensive. It is close to the Kensington High Street underground stop. It is also good for breakfast and they have crumpets as well as scones.

I am going to go to Brown's for tea when I am in London next year. I see they have totally redone(in 2007?) the place they serve tea. It used to be quite dark and the furniture was very soft(from a lot of use?). it was a really nice place to have tea- pricey but for one time during the trip it was quite special and I didn't have to eat dinner that night.

Has anyone had tea at Fortnum & Mason, the dept. store? I loved the store when we were there a few years ago. I have been to the Orangery also for tea.

Last September we had tea at the Dorchester. We had been sightseeing all morning and weren't exactly dressed up, but were prepared for something posh. I wore the usual slacks and top, and black walking shoes, which could pass for dressier shoes if no one looked closely. I sort of dressed it up with a light jacket and a colorful scarf. The guys did wear coats and ties. We fit in fine and it was well worth it. The Dorchester was fantastic, elegant without being snobbish. The waiters were attentive, plus being willing to take pictures of people. All the tasty sandwiches and pastries you could eat, plus the scones and clotted cream. No dinner for us!

I love Afternoon Tea at the Lanesborough. The Assam White tea is my favorite and the salmon roll is delicous! The room is gorgeous with a lot of natural light coming in from the glass roof. The staff is friendly. I can't wait to go there next week.

I did have tea at Fortnum & Mason's once. It was a little late in the afternoon but still within serving hours, but the wait staff evidently wanted to go home. We were seated at a table with a tea-stained cloth, and it took forever to get served. The food was good, and I have read a number of favorable comments about them on this forum; however, I haven't been back!

The Georgian Room at Harrod's is nice.

I forgot to add, we went to the British Tea Museum several years ago and had tea there. You don't have to go thru the museum (we didn't). It was nice, not as classey as others, but you can also buy teas and teapots.

The georgian tea rooms at Harrods is very good and of course the Ritz Hotel is THE place for afternoon tea (but must be booked in advance)

If you're near the Ritz feeling peckish and want to have tea there, it's worth a try politely asking if they have room for you. A lovely room, nice tea last time I tried it ages ago.

I took a look at the Ritz' website - minimum of 37 GBP for afternoon tea!!! I think I'll stick to the Orangery. BTW, for the OP, this is what the Ritz says about dress: "Befitting the elegant style of The Ritz, we observe a formal dress code in the public areas of the Hotel. With the exception of breakfast, gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie in The Ritz Restaurant, The Palm Court and The Rivoli Bar. Jeans and sport shoes are not permitted in any of these areas." They also suggest booking 12 weeks in advance.

I think the main thing is to be able to say, "My, my. Here I am at the Ritz."