Inexpensive but Nice place for brunch / tea in London?

[52andblue]

Does this even exist?

A friend has offered to treat me to Brunch or Lunch or Afternoon Tea at the end of this month, and told me to choose.
I really don't want to choose something expensive as they are paying.
We only meet once a year so really want to enjoy it. It needs to be central London, which I don't know well & I imagine prices are high.

I like the idea of brunch at 10am (I could offer to pay?) and Afternoon Tea at 3 (we have 10-6 as a time slot) but I imagine Tea is wildly expensive even if not in a 5* hotel with fizz (we don't need it to be this glamorous, just not Greggs...) .

Any suggestions for a country mouse like me please?

OP: tell us which area is convenient for you and your friend and we'll suggest some options. Are you coming into Kings Cross (a day trip from Edinburgh?!)?

'Central London' covers several square miles so you'll need to narrow it down a bit. Are you both happy to travel by tube too?

I think chain restaurants may suit, eg Cote, Bill's, Patisserie Valerie.

Plum and Spilt Milk in the Great Northern Hotel at Kings Cross do a good breakfast/brunch. Also lunch and dinner.

gnhlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/breakfast.pdf

If you are coming into Kings Cross then there is a lovely area behind the Station for eating and drinking. It will be a 5-10 minute flat walk from the station. www.kingscross.co.uk/eat-alfresco-at-kings-cross

There is also the Champagne bar in St Pancras for a lovely glass of something.

Some of the museums have some nice coffee shops - Tate Modern has one over looking the Thames.

Somewhere like The Barbican has a few different options for eating in at different prices - there is also a roof garden which is quite nice for a wander.

Opposite Euston station is The Wellcome Collection - a small museum of medical things and different exhibitions around health and well being. You would have to book a ticket to the museum but they have a coffee shop downstairs. wellcomecollection.org/
There used to be an upstairs restaurant too - but I can't see it on the web site so maybe closed.

I'm coming into KX. I'm paying to stay over the night before (physically cannot manage a return trip to Edinburgh in 24 hours so will stay in cheap PI Hub room in Westminster area) so I could meet centrally / South Bank area?
My friend is coming into Waterloo.
I can spend UP to £50 on brunch for the 2 of us. Friend can spend up to £50 on Tea (substantial Tea best tho as I then take a 5 hour train trip!)

Definitely brunch at Dishoom in kings cross!

The Breakfast Club for brunch? Should fit the budget, and is a bit different. Only downside is you can't book at weekends (assuming that's when you're going?), but can't imagine there'll be huge queues in these Covid times...

Also, check out the deals here for afternoon tea: www.lastminute.com/experiences/afternoon-tea.html

How about the Delaunay Counter www.thedelaunay.com/the-counter/ or Cafe Zedel www.brasseriezedel.com/our-menus/#cafe-menu? Both are relaxed but feel special, you could easily do brunch for 2 for under £50 all in, and they're fairly quiet at the moment so good for a catch up. Delaunay is Aldwych, so close to Waterloo/Charing Cross/Holborn, Zedel is Piccadilly Circus.

Soho would probably be a good place for you to meet - lots of places here

Another vote for brunch at Dishoom.

What about Afternoon Tea at The Wallace Collection? The food is perfectly adequate and in your price range, however the beautiful courtyard and the stunning collection the building houses makes the experience really great, particularly if you want to discover a world renown jewel of a collection of Louis XIV furniture, and fine and decorative arts.

OR

I could stay in the KX area and we could have Brunch there, later a walk around a park? then a bit of Tea before my train. My friend is happy to trek across London as they are able bodied.

I'd like to see Big Ben etc but don't want to be too pooped to enjoy it. I will need to sit down quite a bit I expect.

I don't know KX well but I remember it being dodgy (25 years ago!)
I expect it's changed a bit.

Some links to The Wallace Collection and their Afternoon Tea

www.wallacecollection.org

www.peytonandbyrne.co.uk/news/summertime-wallace-collection

Argh - just noticed that the peyton and byrne link is from 2019. Anyhoo, it still is a perfectly lovely tea.

Kings cross is no longer a red light district! It's had a tonne of investment and lots of big companies have moved there.

Look at the restaurants in coals drop yard, the at pancras hotel may also have afternoon tea.

Are you going on a weekend or weekday? Lots more options for brunch at the weekend. The granary brasserie at kx is good but I think only does them at the weekend.

Yes agree with @Elbels - lots of great restaurants in and around Kings X (including St Pancras, which is right next door)

If you are near Covent Garden then the French tea shop Mariage Freres is great, it’s a beautiful shop (selling tea related stuff) but also a cafe.

If you want lunch then I always recommend the crypt cafe at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square. Ok, not much of a view, but great value , freshly cooked food, and profits go back into the communities they support.

The cafe in Russell Square is lovely on a warm day. Not too far from the British Museum , and nearby there is also the tiny cafe at the London Review bookshop who do fabulous salads and cakes.

Near Kings Cross is the Welcome Museum who have two cafes, one on the ground floor which is a bit students with laptops, and one upstairs which is quieter and much nicer.

Further afield the cafe at the Army Museum , near Chelsea Hospital is amazing value, very airy and light room, great food, very reasonable pricing.

Ps if you are going to have a proper London afternoon tea with all the trimmings then don’t have lunch first! Book an early sitting for the tea and enjoy it hungry.

@52andblue

I'm coming into KX. I'm paying to stay over the night before (physically cannot manage a return trip to Edinburgh in 24 hours so will stay in cheap PI Hub room in Westminster area) so I could meet centrally / South Bank area? My friend is coming into Waterloo. I can spend UP to £50 on brunch for the 2 of us. Friend can spend up to £50 on Tea (substantial Tea best tho as I then take a 5 hour train trip!)

So much to see right by KX! Coal Drops Yard is lovely. Brunch at the Bills there which is not the chain but the Aussie Bill. Or Great Northern hotel as mentioned above. Both would be well under your budget for brunch.

Dishoom is amazing for breakfast, very affordable and staff are super helpful.

Coals drops yard is v swish and v easy to walk/wheel along the canal and new gardens a bit like New York high line. Shops, bars, cafes etc there to explore

Wellcome collection restaurant is closed so quite limited for food right now

afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/

This is a directory of everywhere that does afternoon tea.

This was the last one I went to, and it was amazing.

www.onealdwych.com/food-drink/afternoon-tea