Afternoon tea in London for a special occasion

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Short list is

The Ritz
Sketch
The Goring
Brown’s

Recommendations please?

[quote Peaseblossum22]@TheresOnlyOneWayOfLife definitely the fashionista tea at The Berkeley.[/quote]
This looks amazing thank you for the recommendation

The wolseley.

Took a close friend to Fortnum & Mason for a special birthday. Beautiful room, piano playing, fabulous service, couldn't have been nicer...I was worried it wouldn't be as swanky as some of the famous hotels but she went to Claridges a few weeks later and said that it wasn't as nice.

Sketch is lovely! The place is great but the food is actually very good and different.

Theatre Royal by Lili Vanilli - very nice but scones were odd and only one jam.

F&M - classic tea, we had unlimited scones and Welsh rarebit. Piano player etc.

Hotel Chocolat at their Rabot restaurant - inexpensive and different.

Liberty - cheap for London and good portions.

The Swan at The Globe theatre - bloody amazing! My fave I think.

Filly buster, I was super impressed by fortum.
And browsing the beautiful shop is added bonus

I loved the champagne afternoon tea at The Corinthia, if you tell them it's a special occasion the birthday person gets special crockery in a different colour.

@LifeInAHamsterWheel

We had a brilliant time at Fortnum & Mason, the food & service were excellent. There were 6 of us and we all had afternoon tea. We've decided that next time half of us will have "high tea" and we'll all share, best of both worlds

High tea at Fortnum’s is a very good call.

Cafe Royal.

Corinthia

Just to put something a bit different on the table. I went last year and it was excellent

ampersandhotel.com/eat-drink/the-drawing-rooms/science-afternoon-tea/

Had afternoon tea at the Corinthia. Absolutely brilliant. Wonderful surroundings and a top quality tea. The sandwiches were delicious and we had seconds - freely offered by the lovely waitress along with unlimited refills of tea which was wonderful quality. Great range of top quality teas. Next was perfectly baked warm scones with homemade jam. Then the most delicious cakes I have ever tasted! We were offered the option of having our cakes packed to take home with us which we gratefully accepted as we had filled up so much on the extra sandwiches . We we're presented with a beautifully beribboned cake box containing our extra cakes as we left. Wonderful food, wonderful surroundings and the most friendly, attentive service I've come across. Perfect!

Have been to the Ritz some years ago and it was frankly lacklustre. Tired looking decor, bored staff and indifferent food. And they didn't have lapsang souchong tea - what the hell! Unless it has massively improved in the intervening period I wouldn't go again.

Update - we went to Brown’s, some of the other recommendations were booked up. It was fabulous! We were in the Clarendon Room which isn’t the usual room but it was beautiful and had a pianist playing. The service was impeccable, extra sandwiches and cakes were no problem. They boxed up the leftovers in beautiful packaging too. Couldn’t fault it 😀

I’ve been to The Ritz and it was absolutely lovely!

Glad you liked it!!

(PS: now that you've been, would you consider asking MNHQ to move this thread to the 'London' tooic, where it'll be more easily discoverable by people looking for London based recommendations?)

Nice update: great that you had a good experience OP!

Also that so many different places are recommended by posters, keen to try somewhere!

The Delaunay

Glad you liked it!

For something a bit different, we really enjoyed the Chesterfield. It’s a sweet shop theme and was one of the better ones we’ve been to.

chesterfieldmayfair.com/dining-and-drinks/afternoon-tea

Don't do the Ritz, it's very much a 'tourist' experience, not really for a special occasion.

Claridge's is lovely but you say it's booked. After Claridge's I would go for the Dorchester and they really make you feel special if you tell them it's a birthday, for instance. But they also get very booked up in advance....

I personally didn't like Brown's and wouldn't go there again.

Browns sounds amazing, for me i love love ampersands and great location

ampersandhotel.com/eat-drink/the-drawing-rooms/science-afternoon-tea/

For food = fortnum & mason, great service the most delicious cakes & extra puddings on a side board to choice from with the most extensive tea list

For service, beautiful surroundings & a handbag holder at your side along with space & elegance = Langhams

For a classic afternoon tea Claridges, lots of people watching & you’re close to the next table ( unlike F&M and langhams which are more spacious)

Oh and the Berkeley is fabulous for fashion, fun and a great service, quite low key but in no way casual

My top tip for any afternoon tea,
Leave the scones until last. Move to the delicate cakes after the sandwiches. The scones fill you up & leave little room for cakes 🧁😉

I take afternoon tea very seriously 😂

Of to try the Lygon arms next

Just before Xmas I had afternoon tea (previous teas were at London hotels including Ritz and Savoy) was Fortnums - it was the best with fabulous service, well-spaced apart tables and great tea offering of course!

09/01/2022 21:43 Dairyfairie

LifeInAHamsterWheel
We had a brilliant time at Fortnum & Mason, the food & service were excellent. There were 6 of us and we all had afternoon tea. We've decided that next time half of us will have "high tea" and we'll all share, best of both worlds smile
High tea at Fortnum’s is a very good call.

It’s certainly is, the savour delights are delicious