ROSEBROOK

I'm looking for the best afternoon-tea experience for myself, daughter-in-law and 13 yr old granddaughter. My first thought is the Ritz, but.....the one previous time I was there, I found it to be very $$ and intimidating. But, very lovely and memorable.

I'm looking for a memorable experience for her, but would like to try another (perhaps less expensive) restaurant. I was wondering about Herrods, but can find any info on cost, etc. Any other ideas would be wonderful!
Joy

lincasanova

put "london tea" in search box and you will see the numerous answers to this same post.

we went to the orangery at kensington palace gardens, but it is not as "posh" as the ones mentioned . but it is a beautiful setting, and i would go back.

what nice memories. don´t forget the camera.

Carrybean

I thoroughly enjoy tea in the Georgian Room at Harrods. In May it was 19.95 GBP for the whole thing including sandwiches, scones, pastry & tea.

ROSEBROOK

Thank you lincascanova and carrybean. Both of your suggestions sound great. Thinking I might try Harrods as we plan to spend some time shopping that afternoon. Appreciate knowing the price. It's almost half of the price at the Ritz. Thanks for your responses.
Joy

carolyn

You might look at a Richoux teashop. There are several, one on South Audley a couple of blocks off Oxford Street, and another on Piccadilly near Fortnum & Mason's. I believe the afternoon tea is £17, and you get tea, three kinds of sandwiches, scones and jam, fruitcake, and your choice from their pastry case; and, believe me, it's hard to choose from the large and luscious selection. I think ordering tea for two saves you a bit, also.

I have had tea in the Georgian Room at Harrod's and enjoyed it a lot, but the Richoux shops are cozier.

historytraveler

Richoux's is fine,in fact one of my favorite stops in London across from Harrod's & on Piccadilly to mention a few locations. The Orangery is also a must do when I'm in London, but if you're looking for a memorable experience, Harrod's would be the best option IMHO.You might also look at the Lanesborough.

cafegoddess

Rosebrook,

Please try the Lanesborough. I like it better than the Ritz. The room is very lovely and the scones is much better.

Your granddaughter is very lucky, I hope you guys have a wonderful time.

Aloha

Hausmann

We also enjoyed tea at the Lanesborough. Very nice atmosphere and we included champagne and strawberries and it was expensive. We have had tea at Harrod's and the Orangery. The Orangery tea was not a formal afternoon tea--no three tiered tray and the place was noisy. Harrod's served a good tea but it was not served on attractive china but rather a plain white stoneware. The final tab for the tea at Lanesborough was well over $100. Tea at Harrod's ran about $60 for two but that was back in 2000.

RM67

I went to one at The Athenaeum which was very enjoyable and not at all stuffy and formal. From the outside the hotel was quite modern and dingy-looking - a bit disappointing - however inside the tearoom was very nicely and authentically set out with wing-backed chairs and little lamps.

Tea was very traditional - finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and a tea leaf menu. And best of all, pink champagne! Staff were very friendly and relaxed, even when they had to keep bringing us clean cups because we forgot to use our tea-strainers!!!

Some of the cakes were a bit dry, but all in all it was great fun - espcially as we'd got a combined ticket allowing us to visit Buckingham Palace, just across the park beforehand. Check out Lastminute.com for similar offers - think ours was £29, but there are tons of packages to choose from...

Kailee13

Wonderful and not overpriced!! My dad even enjoyed it. Newens is by Kew Garden.

THE ORIGINAL
MAIDS OF HONOUR LTD
288 Kew Road
Kew Gardens
Surrey TW9 3DU

Tel: 020 8940 2752

MrsCF

I have enjoyed tea at Fortnum and Mason - I think it is about £25 per person. I believe the Dorchester and many other do great teas.

I've just enjoyed a fab afternoon tea at www.theteapalace.com in notiing hill (£15 per person) however it is a little more modern and although the food and tea are divine it might not be so impressive in that way.

have fun

TeaLoverDenise

I think a 13-year old would absolutely LOVE the Prêt-a-Portea at The Berkeley.

From their website:
"Prêt-a-Portea is a new concept in afternoon tea. It has been designed to add a creative twist to the classic elements of the traditional English afternoon tea, with the cakes and pastries inspired by the latest fashion season’s catwalk designs for the style conscious and with savouries in miniature mouthfuls for the figure conscious."

http://tinyurl.com/2469kp

Bo2642

I for one was disappointed in the Orangery. For what amounted to around $30 apiece, my friend and I got to share a pot of weak tea (no refills), and for each of us three small, sad finger sandwiches, a scone which was pretty good with jam and clotted cream, and a piece of dry orange cake. As for the ambience, where is it? For a total outlay of the equivilent of $60, we felt this was the biggest rip off in London.

kenderina

30 dollars each...is very cheap for London...if you want ambiance, you go to the Ritz But then you have to pay around 100 dolars each...I can't see the rip off, really.

Bo2642

The rip off is weak tea, no re-fills, three small finger sandwiches a la 2 slices of Wonder Bread with thin filling cut into 3rds, dry orange cake, though an o.k. scone with jam and clotted cream. Nothing special with the wait person, no decor to speak of, no music. Yes, I know that London is expensive, and the problem isn't that we spent $30 for tea; it's that we spent $30 for THIS tea when there are other teas, many referred to on this thread, which run very little more but which offer a more special experience. Bottom line, were someone to ask for a recommendation for tea, I would look beyond the Orangerie.

jwb10

I would like to add another endorsement for The Orangery.

If you are looking for high tea in a formal setting, perhaps this is not the place.

However, I do not agree with some of the comments.

I think the setting within Kensington Gardens is beautiful. I think the decor, while simple, in the building is very beautiful as is the building itself. I thought the sandwich was delicious, as well the scone. I did not find the cake "dry" but found it to be very sweet, moist and delicious.

I am not sure which tea another poster had for $30.00. I had the "Orangery Tea", which if I recall was either 7.95 or 8.95 GBP.

I would encourage people to try it!

MissPrism

Please remember that it is afternoon tea, not high tea.
I wonder why Americans confuse it so often. Do they think that "high" means "posh"?
Now for high tea, Yorkshire and Scotland are the places to go ;-)

nini

I agree with Bo regarding the disappointing tea at the Orangery. Yes, it could be elegant considering it is Kensington Palace, but there is no music and it is not served as one would expect tea to be served in London--no tiered trays,lots of noise,inferior food, etc. If you don't want to spend $$$ at Ritz, Lanesborough, Savoy, etc. then consider Harrod's or Fortnum & Mason which will not disappoint. Neither of these choices will serve food that isn't good and nicely presented. Plus, you will enjoy music.

omaglo

This is my first posting as a new "Fodorite". I recently had tea at the Orangery. We were not expecting a grand high tea experience, but we were expecting tasty food and well made tea. The experience was well below our expectations and we felt that we did not even use our time wisely sitting in a rather grand cafeteria munching on stale cake and cottony sandwiches and washing it all down with very weak tea. I have nothing against small scale teas or simple decor, but the cake should have been discarded the day before. Although we did have a great time with the Host who became a real character to remember--he was really engrossed in keeping the pigeons out of the place while stomping his feet to scare them. I heard that the Brown Hotel is the place to go from a friend of mine, but as I said before, we just wanted a simple good cuppa tea.

kenderina

Then, if the quality of the food and the tea is bad..it's a whole different. I had tea at the cafe of my hotel last time in London (Millenium Mayfair, won in Priceline). I wanted to have good quality tea and food, don't mind at all the setting. I had it for 18 pounds, not cheap..but not the most expensive. We had a teapot each (2 and a half cups, more or less), three finger sandwiches each (half a regular sandwich each one of the three), two scones with a variety of jams and clotted cream each and some little french pastries. I was very very satisfied and I hope to go again when in London, even it is only for having tea there