Another London Afternoon Tea Question
 

I will be in London on my own for a 3 night stop over and want to do afternoon tea several times.<BR>I have been to tea at The Ritz, Browns, Claridge's etc. with my husband in the past.<BR><BR>I want something a little less formal but still English and special.<BR><BR>Has anyone had tea recently at the Hotel Goring or the Basil St Hotel? How was it and what is the current price?<BR><BR>Would black denim pants, blouse and black blazer be appropriate dress?<BR><BR>Found some information and prices for The Cadogan Hotel and Egerton House on the net.<BR><BR>Has anyone had tea at either one of these hotels and what did you think of it?<BR><BR>Thanks for all your help........

Sounds like a bore!!

We've had high tea at the Glouchester Hotel twice, and it was excellent. This is in the Chelsea area. American and Arab tour groups seem to be frequent clientele. Your dress sounds appropriate. I did not find it a bore...scones with clotted cream are my favorite British food!

Dear Donna,<BR><BR>This response does not pertain to the spots you mentioned; however, we had afternoon tea at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens (next door to the Palace), and it was a lovely experience. <BR><BR>The Orangery is lovely, bright and cheery, and the atompshere informal enough that any type attire would be comfortable.

Hi<BR>I can recommend afternoon tea at the Charing Cross Thistle Hotel. This past Feb it was 13.75#. The outfit you described would be fine. When I was there there were a few people in business dress, a few of us in casual but not-jeans outfits.<BR>As suggested by Londoner Ben Haines, this was a good choice for tea, just a short break. No formality to the service, not particularly attentive but I didn't need it to be. The Terrace Lounge is where it's served and in warm weather you can sit outside.<BR>Tea sandwiches, excellent scones, pastries, cream, jam, and of course tea.<BR>

The Ritz and Browns cater to a lot of tourists, so if you're looking for, as you said, "still English" I don't think it's a fair representation. <BR>The Cadogan is a small hotel who's reputation comes from the fact that Lilly Langtry lived there and Oscar Wilde was dragged off to jail from it. My recollection from seeking it out 8 years ago is that it was a bit of a walk from the tube stop and on a part of Sloane that doesn't house much else, so, small and charming as it is, I don't know if it would be worth a detour.<BR><BR>The St. James Room at Fortnum & Masons is always a good choice. While tourists frequent it, so do local ladies. Elegant without being stuffy, you can shop the wonderful store before or after and there's lots of other places to see in that area.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!

You might also want to consider Maids of Honor. It's a lovely tea room (very low key) by Kew Gardens.

I believe the establishment named 'McDonald's' does a decent cuppa.<BR>If you want to wear jeans go there.<BR><BR>Jesus, The Ritz or Claridges in jeans, who are these people?<BR><BR><BR>

Mel - what is the attire for the St. James room at F&M?

I absolutely agree - Fortnum & Mason. Looking forward to The Ritz and The Savoy this May; however, we are going back to F&M. Try the Royal Blend. It's excellent and you can go downstairs and take some home!

Alex, I never noticed anything specific about a dress code, but when I know I'm going to F&M I wear black blazer and black slacks. Actually, that's pretty much my uniform in the UK--flamers take your best shot :) My husband wears a golf shirt or button-down shirt and chinos.

Mel: Thanks for the info. my folks did tea at F&M but they were in the downstairs cafe and never got a loot at the St. James. I'm packing chinos and a few reasonably bright polos - going in late May so I don't want to look too drab ;) - so it's nice to know I won't be horribly underdressed.<BR><BR>Royal Blend: an excellent choice! one of my personal favorites.

Thank you to everyone who gave me positive suggestions. I think I will go back to an old favorite - Orangery at Kensington Palace and ring the Hotel Goring about booking tea when I arrive. <BR>Thanks again Donna.

Donna, I'm glad to see you're already in the swing of things for London. By all means, "ring" them up and enjoy a "spot" of tea for me!!

How I love to read the posts on this site, it is great to revisit places we have been. A major point for other readers,"high' tea is when some kind of hot dish is served, otherwise its tea----sandwiches, scones and small pastries.

Just a caveat about Fortnum and Mason: I had kind of quirky experience there a couple weeks ago. Yes, the St. James room offers several menu options for tea, with the "cream tea" (sweets only, not sandwiches) at about GBP 13.95 I think I recall. But I was seated at around 2:30 pm, when it's supposed to be available, and after not taking an order for 15 minutes, the server reported that they had nothing at all left in the way of sweets or tea! I returned a few days later and had lunch and again had weird service--they literally forgot my order, and I was served about 40 minutes later. I was very well dressed both times, by the way, so I don't think it was my personal presentation. Food was ok.

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