Hi Tea Suggestions
 

WHat are your favorites? Is the Ritz or Brown's really worth the extra $...other ideas?

Linda<BR>if you do a search here on "tea" or "afternoon tea" (that's what you'd be having, not 'high' tea) you will find many suggestions and reviews. In fact, scroll down on the left, this subject was answered again just in the past day or two.<BR><BR>"Worth it" is impossible to answer. For every person who feels a formal tea at a hotel was a wonderful experience, there's someone else who says it is strictly for tourists and/or very overpriced.<BR><BR>Having done it a couple of times in my past at the fancy hotels, now I have it at a lesser hotel or at a restaurant or cafe. That takes less time, less money, and I don't have to go back to the hotel to change into more formal clothes. But that doesn't mean that I'm sorry that I've had the fancier afternoon teas, and probably when the timing is right I will do it again sometime.

Tea at Kensington Palace's Orangerie is expensive by Canadian standards, but extremely reasonable by High Tea standards. Not formal in terms of dress, but an extremely elegant setting. SO thrilling to take tea in a room which Queen Victoria reputedly used for garden parties. I loved the orange cake, but scones etc. are also available.

Such a silly post. Why on earth would someone go into a nice place like the Ritz or Browns, sit down, and then say "hi" to your tea?

Repeat after me: "Tea, a meal with jam and bread, scones and cakes too".<BR>"High tea, a meal jam and bread but also with quiche, toad in the hole, welsh rabbit, fish and chips etc. etc."

Definitely the Ritz - in my opinion the ultimate in the tea experience. I absolutely loved it. The service was impeccable; the quantity of items served was huge; the quality was awesome. I was very very disappointed with Brown's. I believe you must try the Ritz once. It was well worth taking the time to make reservations.

Hi,coffee.

We did high tea at the Ritz and it was worth every penny! It was the highlight of our trip to London. I would gladly spend the money to go again. We reserved months ahead via telephone which was smart. The day we were there...all kinds of tourists were being turned away who had no reservations.

We did tea at the Ritz and were totally disappointed. It was a total rip-off and tourist trap. You get about $3 worth of food and they charge $50 per person. It was laughable. ONLY tourists are there. Locals know a rip-off when they see it and avoid these stupid teas like the plague.

Americans have the mistaken idea that "high tea" is fancier than "tea", and the truth is just the opposite, according to my English neighbor/friend.

If you really want to experience afternoon tea go to Fortnum and Mason the St. James Restaurant or Harrods Georgian restaurant at around 18pounds per person, I 've not done either because I think it's a waste of money. I like the food at Harrods, I often stop in and get goodies if I take a long car or train trip. I just cannot understand why anyone would want to spend 50pounds per person on afternoon tea. I would go to Marks and Spencer food hall and buy anything that looks good, including cream cakes, sandwiches,biscuits, scones that are already made with clotted cream and jam,go back to my hotel order a pot of tea and create my own "High Tea" this I've done. It would probably cost you 20pounds if that, and you can really enjoy without wondering if your manners are always in place since cream cakes can sometimes get a little tricky to eat. Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy.

It may be a class or north-south thing. Working class people have dinner in the middle of the day and tea in the evening (this is a complete meal, not afternoon tea). Lunch is a snack taken to work to eat between 10 am and noon. Supper can be a snack eaten late in the evening. Upper class people have lunch in the day, and dinner (or supper) in the evening, with afternoon tea in between. "High tea" is tea with a hot cooked dish (boiled eggs), often eaten by children. Middle class people use any or all of these.

&gt;Upper class people have lunch in the &gt;day<BR><BR>Tut tut. Upper class people have luncheon.

In my opinion High Tea IS classier, although it may have to do with the definition.<BR><BR>Up my way, High Tea is a meal - Fish/steak pie/whatever with tea/cakes/scones etc as well.

Really a semantics thing. In different parts of the States there is the same thing -- Supper, Dinner??? In some areas these have distinct definitions and in others they are names for the same meal.<BR><BR>Anyway - What most travelers on this board are asking/talking about is AFTERNOON tea. They fall into the trap of calling it HIGH tea (I've done the same thing myself a few times) because it seems "higher" or more posh. <BR><BR>High Tea is what most Americans would call and early dinner. <BR><BR>What most visitors are looking for (tea at the Ritz, Browns, Fortnum/Mason, etc.) is afternoon tea.