High tea at Harrods
 

My boss and his daughter will be traveling to London soon and he would like to take her to "high tea" at Harrods. Does he need a reservation? If so, where should he make contact to do that. Also, what time of the day is high tea served at Harrods? Thank you very much. <BR>Dianne

Hi Dianne, <BR> <BR>You do need to make a reservation at Harrods for tea, but I don't think the room is as nice as those at some of the fancier hotels. In the fancy (and overpriced, but fun!) category, I would recommend either the Ritz or Claridge's. I thought the food was a little better at Claridge's but the Ritz is a slightly prettier room. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR> <BR>Jordanna

Hello, <BR> <BR>I agree with the previous writer's comments regarding Harrods. She should have added that it costs too much to go to the loo. Also the store is now owned by a foreigner. <BR> <BR>Best, <BR>Kevin

By far, I think the two best teas in London are #1 at The Duke's Hotel --but very quiet and private. And #2: actually preferred: Brown's Hotel. Wonderful rooms, sitting on overstuffed furniture around cocktail tables, great food and superb tea and top service. And the best clotted cream outside of Devon. Most of the people I see there are actual Brits--not American tour groups like at the Ritz.

Brown's also gets my vote - or the Basil Street Hotel, which is just down the street from Harrod's in case you still wanted to go shopping. And I'm not sure what relevance it is that Harrod's is owned by a foreigner, so is half of New York City.

Just curious - what would a typical high tea cost?

I had tea at Brown's in December and it cost about $25 per person.

I believe that what you are looking for is "afternoon tea", not "high tea". High tea, despite its fancier-sounding name, is what working class people have after work; in the US we might call it "supper". <BR> <BR>I have heard that tea at Brown's is wonderful. I have not been there, but can vouch for tea at the Dorchester Hotel. It is just perfect, and for an hour or two you will feel absolutely pampered. <BR>1. Brown's Hotel 29-34 Albemarle St. Reservations not accepted. phone 0171 493 6020 <BR>Afternoon tea from 3-5:45. Tea is served in the drawing room. Tube: Green Park <BR>2. Palm Court Lounge in the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly. Tube Hyde Park Corner or Green Park <BR>phone 0171 499 6321 Reservations required. <BR>An atmosphere reminiscent of the 1920s. There is a pianist on weekday afternoons, and <BR>a tea dance (with additional charge) on Saturdays and Sundays. <BR>3. The Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly, tube Green Park. Reservations required, recommended 8 weeks in advance. <BR>phone 0171 493 8181 <BR>This is the most popular place in London among well-off tourists for afternoon tea, and one of the most expensive. <BR>4. The Dorchester, 53 Park Lane, tube Hyde Park Corner phone 0171 409 0114 <BR> <BR>Less-expensive, faster, and much more casual places to have a nice afternoon tea: <BR>Richoux, 86 Brompton Road opposite Harrods, plus other locations. A tea menu plus <BR>a full menu with sandwiches, burgers, salads, etc is available. <BR> <BR>Fortnum and Mason, 181 Piccadilly. 0171 734 8040. An elegant grocery store, lots of things you can buy as gifts. On the street level is the Fountain restaurant where you can have tea, light food, and desserts <BR>in a pleasant casual setting. On the fourth floor is the St. James, a more formal restaurant. <BR> <BR>Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road. The Georgian restaurant is on the 4th floor. Teatime <BR>is Mon-Sat 3:45-5:30, phone 0171 581 1656. Afternoon tea here is crowded and busy, but <BR>civilized. Don't miss a visit to the Food Halls. <BR> <BR>Recommended by forum regular and Londoner Ben Haines for afternoon tea: the Strand lounge in the Charing Cross Hotel, next to <BR>Charing Cross Main Line station. if available, ask for a table with views of the Strand towards Trafalgar Square.

High tea is something I recommend especially while traveling. I have had high tea many places and the Ritz is definitely much better than anywhere in London. One of the nicest high teas was in the Four Seasons on Michigan Ave. <BR>in Chicago! Also Ritz Carlton in San Francisco is best there. Good Luck I guess you'll get many opinions!

I live in London and I prefer the Landmark hotel for tea. (it costs about 17 pounds for the full tea, with so much food!) The room has a high windowed ceiling so there is lots of sunlight in the room. The Berkelely hotel in Knightsbridge is good too and not to expensive.

To Dianne, Just curious. . . what was it about tea at the Ritz that you liked better than the other suggestions, particularly Brown's which I'm more familiar with. Was it the bigger crowd? the noisier atmosphere? the music? better tea? better desserts? better sandwiches? Just curious.

The RItz was far more elegant than Browns. The food was better and they had lemon curd which is one thing that I think is important. The music was wonderful. sorry my memories at the Ritz were just wonderful. I had a great table and everyone was very nice to us. My son and I were on a college graduation trip. They loaned him a jacket. He too remembers fondly. He is <BR>very athletic and I think he just liked <BR>all the deserts! And the physical rest and the atmosphere! Sorry we disagree. <BR>But high tea in London is VERY expensive <BR>compared to anywhere else. That we can surely agree on! Diane

In preparation for our trip to London, I touched base with Brown's Hotel in regard to afternoon tea reservations. They do take reservations weekdays - not on the weekend. According to them, reservations during the week are recommended and one should make them one week in advance....

You won't find "High Tea" at Harrods or most hotels. It's an evening middle class supper. <BR> <BR>You want afternoon tea. I'd perfer the Ritz since its to be an experience. <BR> <BR>You would certainly need reservations for the fancier places.

Looks to me like the original questions never really got answered. Based on memories of 4 years ago: 1) You are advised to have reservations; but you can probably make them as little as a few hours to a day before. 2) Either call or go to the in-store restaurant where afternoon tea is served. 3) I believe it was about 4-5 PM -- but am not sure; it was a couple of hours experience, with people arriving and departing throughout. What you get is a choice of teas and a three-tiered serving dish of sandwiches, scones, clotted cream/condiments and deserts; they will bring you more if you ask; but if you don't finish the first serving and want part of it packaged to take with you, you will get an argument from the staff; the argument can be won -- if done politely and rationally. They had a 4-piece, chamber music group for entertainment. Cost was in the ballpark of 20 pounds per person.

Hello, The intent of this post is to inform you of an extremely negative customer service experience at Harrod's tea service, very recommended in tourist guidebooks. First, we were turned away from the main dining room on a Saturday due to a lack of reservations even though we had just walked off the rear elevator and passed an entire room's worth of empty tables. Fortunately, we were accomodated in the adjacent sun-room. However, when served, we were not given the beautiful pastries every table around us had in plain sight and were informed they would be coming shortly. They asked us to nibble on some fruitcake while we waited. After a 1/2 hour, we inquired with the server. The server's response was that Harrod's was out of pastries. This led into the server explaining that management knowingly fails to order or prepare more deserts on Saturday, a very busy day for them, and that they tend to run out. We were seated at 16:20, certainly during the first half of the event. We were disappointed and dubious of the explanation. After all, we paid just as much as all the other tables and yet we would not receive the same product. We were not offered any kind of discount or substitute. We chose Harrod's over other tea services and went quite of our way to attend this event, sacrificing several tourist destinations to incorporate Harrod's into our schedule. Finally, the server reluctantly brought us three small tarts, and, after 15 minutes, two merengues (which I found out later were supposed to have cream on them). I suppose from Harrod's perspective, they provided desert. Even so, their tea did not meet our expecations. We had to beg for the items and the presentation involved my having to transfer the items (by hand at that) from the server's plate onto the three-tiered service. This all seemed quite unorthodox. We had the distinct experience of being treated as second-class guests of Harrod's. Then, I saw two new tables of guests were served pastries! After speaking with the manager, we were provided pastries. But, we were so upset about the service that the whole experience was ruined. The server did not apologize but proceeded to explain that everybody hated her and, as a result, she was not provided sweets for her tables. Indeed,guests at her tables did not have sweets. She asked us to feel sorry for her. Again, very unprofessional behavior and, frankly, it seemed insincere. She offered to make it up to us by packing some sandwiches for us. We decided that her story might be true and that we should tip her in case this was actually happening to her. When we got home, we found she had not packed sandwiches for us as she had offered. Instead, she had unnecessarily divided our pastries between two take-away boxes. I've never visited Harrod's before but, these events are inconsistent with Harrod's reputation for luxury and service. Neither are these events consistent with the type of service provided by comparable department stores in the United States.