Just a cup of tea please

[MissJeanBrodiesprime]

I’m meeting a friend in central London at the weekend. Can anyone recommend a nice tea shop, as in somewhere to sit drink tea and have a good old natter? There are loads of coffee shops I can think of but friend likes tea so would like somewhere a bit different, but we don’t want tea with lots of those cakes and sandwiches with no crusts, they don’t agree with me. We just want tea. Anyone know anywhere nice and pleasant?

Wetherspoons? There are some really lovely ones in Central London too.

Cafe inside a department store? John Lewis has a nice one.

There’s lots of bubble tea shops popping up if you want something diffeeent. Otherwise, coffee shops will also do tea - I’d recommend bar Italia on Frith Street.

Or any hotel / department store. The Charlotte Street hotel is v nice.

I don't understand why you can't have tea in a regular cafe/coffee shop? Many offer a good variety of teas as well as coffee.

We went to Selfridges the other day. The tea was lovely and you can get a wee posh cake too.

@skippy67 - London must have a different breed of Wetherspoons than the rest of the UK. Most of them are sticky carpeted shit holes

I'd suggest a store or a hotel, I remember having a cup of tea in Fortnum and Masons and the list of tea options the waiter read out! You can have something to eat or not in places like that or hotels.

The beautiful tea room in Liberty. So lovely.

Whittard have a tea shop in Covent Garden.

But galleries are also lovely places to hang out and drink tea. The national gallery in Trafalgar square has a lovely cafe

Go to the lounge bit in a Hoxton Hotel, that'll see you right. Or Liberty but you may need to remortgage.

Most coffee shops will also do tea. I know Prufrock do.

Fortnum and masons is lovely for tea

Covent Garden hotel - lovely

Don't go to Wetherspoons

I'd second the National Gallery. The V&A also has a lovely tearoom if you're over that way.

You want somewhere that serves it in a teapot, with a second pot of hot water to top it up. Nothing else is acceptable.

But I don't know London well enough to say where serves it like this.

This is exactly how tea should be served yet I don't remember the last place that actually did this

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I like the idea of cafe in art gallery, will look into that! Thanks again.

I too was confused about the Wetherspoons suggestion.

It's probably the last place that would fulfill the OPs brief of somewhere for a nice non boozy catch up with a friend.

Do sandwiches with crusts agree with you more?

Sticky carpeted shitholes. 😂😂😂

Caffe concerto is lovely, several branches in central london. It's quite expensive but you get little china cups and saucers 😀 Nice cakes too.

NT cafes often doo

Tea room in liberty or the cafe in St James's park.

Another vote for Fortnum & Mason!

www.teaandtattle.com/

here is lovely. Just by British Museum.