I just went to www.gofortea.com and had no trouble at all accessing the list of hotels offering tea and the prices. It's a link at the bottom of the page. I didn't have to buy anything.

Thanks all for the great info.

Ok....I am new to this whole afternoon tea. Of course I have heard of it...I am just very intimidated, but interested. Let's say that I made reservations at Brown's. What would I expect upon arrival? Is there any one who could take me step by step through the process? I am dying to experience the "tea."

Are the prices that are given for the tea and goodies? Or is it itemized (Your costs depend on what you eat)? How far in advance should I be making reservations?

Just trying to get a feel for what to expect!

Thanks for the great posts!!!!!!!!

EBJBJR:

I just returned from a trip to London that included a visit to Brown's for tea. We went on Sunday and, therefore, could not make reservations. We just walked in (the library--where they serve tea--is just inside the entrance) and they asked us our name and how many. It ended up being about a 30 minute wait for a table, which we spent in the very nice, super plush ladies room (fireplace with chairs, magazines, etc.) downstairs. When our table was ready we went in and sat down and they handed us little menus. They basically have two teas: One that includes Champagne and one that doesn't. When the waitress comes she asks which you want and then asks you what kind of tea. There are several choices of tea. I had the Brown's house blend, which was delicious. My mom had some kind of fruit blend which she really liked. (I'm kind of a tea "purist" so I don't like the fruity teas.).

Anyway, they bring your tea and pour the first cup for you. They also bring a three-tiered plate holder with plates of finger sandwiches (ham, egg and mayonaise--basically egg salad, cucumber, salmon ) and different kinds of baked goods and pastries. Then they just kind of leave you alone . . . yet watching unobtrusively to see if you might need anything (If we'd wanted any, they would have brought us more of anything we asked for. The ladies next to us just asked for more sandwiches when they ran out).

The service is really outstanding. At one point they came around with some pieces of cake (chocolate, lemon, pound cake) and another time they came to see if we needed a "fresh cup" for our tea because, after a couple of cups, tea leaves start to collect in the bottom of your cup, despite the fact that you do have a strainer to pour through.

It was a really wonderful experience, overall. My mom and I did start out a little intimidated (do we ACTUALLY use our fingers to eat the little finger sandwiches or is it better to use a fork?), but quickly relaxed. The waitress was just so charming (she was Irish and had the most lovely accent) and the people around us (as far as I could tell everyone in our little corner of the room--probably 4 or 5 other parties--were British) were so totally NOT paying attention to what we were doing that we quickly realized there was no need to worry about anything but enjoying the delicious tea and food.

I don't know about the other places available for tea, but I HIGHLY recommend Brown's. I just can't stress again how pleasant everyone was and how beautiful the hotel is, etc. We paid 25L for our tea, but it was worth every penny!

Good luck,
Jennie

Our experience while at several different places in London for afternoon tea has been much the same. We arrived and were shown to a table, selected either the full afternoon tea (tea, scones, clotted cream, strawberries or strawberry preserves, tea sandwiches, pastries, cake) for which you pay a flat rate or just tea and a scone or pastry for which you pay according to what you order. We normally make reservations before we leave on the trip - a week or 10 days in advance - if we want to be sure to have tea at a particular place or time. Afternoon tea at a place like Browns or the Ritz is a completely delightful, indulgent experience and you will love both the food and the service.

This past summer we added The Claridge Hotel and the Lanesboroug Hotel to our list. They were both extremely good, in a lovely setting with piano [plus violin at Claridge's]. Each hotel generously offered us more sandwiches of our choice [my favorite part of a tea] and I'd recommend both teas. As we hadn't planned where to go for tea and didn't have a cell phone we had no reservations for either. It is more polite to reserve, I know.

Jennie, sounds like you had a grand time. I asumed that was 25 pounds per person at Brown's and not 25 pounds for two. Correct?

Jennie:

So glad you enjoyed Browns. I always recommend it and it's nice to see other people have enjoyed it as much as we do.