Cindy,

Frommers Budget Travel Magazine had an article on this topic this month, but sadly no options are really "budget". The article does give prices and nice descriptions though. See http://tinyurl.com/2jogho

and I second the choice of Selfridges. I haven't had the tea but the store itself is fabulously contemporary. Also on the "lower ground" floor is a branch of the great Foyles book shop. It is a highlight on what I think is otherwise a disappointing street (Oxford Street).

I suspect the kids don't care too much about the food. They want to experience the ambiance and the perceived 'tradition' of such an occasion.
My neighbour took his daughter to the Ritz and said its something everyone should do once. One of lifes experiences he says.

So in conclusion; I suspect you should take afternoon tea and enjoy it, then you will never have to do it again.

I would make the kids pay at least half as they want it so bad.

Next day nip off to one of Flanners cafe's and compare which one they prefer, truly character building stuff !!

Above all enjoy it, relax and spend your money how you want.

In saying that I wouldn't do it, its just not my cup of tea.....

;-)
Muck

You could always tell them that 99.99999% of British people don't do this expensive ceremony and would laugh at the cost. Just a Typhoo teabag in a mug surfices! Then again, thats not much fun is it lol ;-)

flanner has a cafe(s) can you enlighten us Fodorites?

Fear not.

While my cooking's just fine, being nice to bleeding idiots all day (or worse, trying to hire antipodeans or Eastern Europeans and training them to be nice) really isn't my idea of the perfect life.

My contribution to Britain's catering industry will remain limited to random and intemperate attacks on its more extreme ineptitude and greed.

If you do opt to do one of the more expensive places, steel your nerves and don't think about the cost. Just take the plunge and pretend you're paying in Monopoly money. You won't enjoy it if the calculator in your head keeps ticking away and your kids will feel the stress.

Flanner,
I guess the saying two countries divided by a common language (or something to that effect) is true because I haven't a clue what you just said! But, you seem like a great guy to work for and I'm sure you're just being modest.

We Brits take our tea very seriosl;y indeed. So much so we have a Tea Council who have annual awards for tea. This year it was won by the Dorchester.

http://www.tea.co.uk/topteaplaces.php

Once you've done that you could as suggested go to the New Picadilly cafe in Soho (before it gets turned into another shop selling bongo and fanny hammers) or Dinah's Diner in Endell st and try the other kind of traditional tea.

Dennis Nielsen used to cook at Dinah's Diner - but don't let that put you off

"hey want to experience the ambiance and the perceived 'tradition' of such an occasion."

In such a case you should take them to someone's Granny's house. Only place I ever had full on afternoon tea: Granny in her housecoat and slippers, Grandad smoking roll-ups and drinking tea from the saucer in the corner by the gas stove, table groaning in the kitchen, everything home baked (bread pudding mmmm), PG-Tips and a hand knitted cosy for the pot. Running in your socks across the frosty lawn to get to the outside toilet to relieve your tea bloated bladder, and getting back before contracting frost-bite.

That is authentic!

No, its not, Waring: you forgot the over-powering scent of tinned salmon, sitting out on the plate, in slimey,skin-on, bones-in splendour...

If anyone mentions pilchards......

"tinned salmon, sitting out on the plate, in slimey,skin-on, bones-in splendour"...

would be quite inauthentic.

Mashed-up tinned salmon (bones, skin and all), on the other hand, with a few dashes of brown malt vinegar, made into Hovis sandwiches, then left a couple of hours till ths bread's just beginning to get a bit curly and crispy. Now that's real food.

And with such ambrosia at home, why would anyone go to all the expense of a 3* place in Brussels or Lyons?

Orange squash?

Hovis and salmon? Bleeding toff, Sunblest and Shipmans.

By the way, waring, you'd ADORE South Africa:

http://www.lannicesnyman.com/publish..._pilchards.htm
www.luckystar.co.za/recipes/pilchard_recipe.php

Strewth Flanneur - you ate this stuff?

Being a soft shandy drinking southern pouffe we would have Shipham's fish paste sarnies, Shortbread from a tin with a man in a kilt on it; them bloody awful pink wafer biscuits; McVities digestives, and angel delight.

Made a man of me and no mistake.

People eat them voluntarily?

Tizer for those too young to drink tea.

Try this, its a london superthread and has a lot of links to do with afternoon tea.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2