Afternoon tea

[PerkyOchrePeer]

Ive been invited to an afternoon tea for someone's birthday. The cost is £22.59. All the food gets brought to the table which is sandwiches. Cake, fruit and a drink. Im ot sure it's worth it because you take from the main plate so if you only eat w sandwiches and some cake a d sone fruit, that would not come to £22.50 I think it's a rip off. I would have to consume an awful lot of sandwiches and cakes to get my monies worth. Never been to an afternoon tea before and think it's too expensive

I'm not a big fan of afternoon tea, because the timing doesn't suit me. I prefer to eat cakes with coffee around 11. And sandwiches are something I eat for lunch. I reckon hotels invented afternoon tea as a money spinner (let's squeeze another group of people in between lunch and dinner). I'd rather spend the money on a good lunch.

However, that's just me, and I agree that you're paying for the experience. You dress up and they're usually in a posh hotel with piano music and you eat off dainty china etc. If a friend wanted to do it for a birthday treat, I'd go along with it. It's a nice, relaxing way to spend a few hours. £22.50 is reasonable, as these things go. The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin charges €79 for afternoon tea and €102 for a champagne afternoon tea 59274-January-afternoon-tea-Digital-FA.pdf

Eating out is expensive, but people forget that you're not just paying for the raw ingredients. The restaurant manager also has to pay for costs like electricity, insurance, wages, the cost of purchasing and maintaining appliances (ovens, hobs, dishwashers etc.) and miscellaneous costs like purchasing pots and pans, china, cutlery, tablecloths etc.

Let your friend choose what she wants to do for her birthday, and you choose what you want to do for yours.

I knew it was you before I even read the username
Don't go then!

I think the most unbelievable thing about this post is that anyone would ask you to go anywhere, especially if they were hoping to celebrate...

I went for afternoon tea (at lunchtime actually) on Saturday and it was £46 per head; more if you wanted champagne or Pimms too.

I’d say the service was way beyond the average lunch, and the decor was beautiful.

Food is rarely the biggest cost in a restaurant - it’s usually the property and staff costs, which will be even higher now, thanks to the increases in NI and NMW!

We have an afternoon tea thread on MN at least every couple of months and I can never resist posting, it's always divisive and I'm a bit in two minds myself. You won't ever be able to change the logical part of my mind that says they're very rarely good value for money (I'm not comparing here with making sandwiches and cake at home because obviously the restaurant/hotel has overheads and mark-up, I'm comparing with ordering a comparable amount of food/drink from the lunch menu of the same establishment, you definitely pay a premium for the daintiness of having a selection of finger sandwiches and a tiered cake stand and so on. But the very daintiness IMO means the overall quantity of food is low and sometimes the quality doesn't match the price tag either). But on the other hand it does feel like a treat and an occasion in a way that just going to a restaurant for a normal lunch doesn't, the pretty china, the white table cloths etc, it's great for parties because of the sharing/fixed price element, multi-generation friendly, accommodates teetotallers and dietary needs etc etc...

Either way even if you are very much on the afternoon tea naysayer bandwagon, the usual rules of someone's birthday apply, they get to choose the venue and food etc, you either attend with a good grace or politely decline, you don't criticise their choices or try and substitute your own preference... TBH even if you hate the food and only end up having a cup of tea and a nibble of sandwich I'd just stump up the £25 and view it as a gift to the birthday person, it's hardly as though she's asked you to parachute into a war zone, you can eat lunch beforehand and just enjoy the company and ambiance even if you aren't getting your strict moneys worth from the food?

Sounds like a bargain. I recently paid £10 for a toastie and a coffee in a local cafe which is pretty standard these days. You are getting sandwiches (they will be small though), cake, fruit a scone and probably quite a few refills of tea. Plus you wll be with friends in a nice location and enjoying a happy occasion.

To be honest, it sounds very cheap for afternoon tea...... you're paying for the service, linen, fine china etc. I'd be suspicious of the quality at that price!
But if you don't want to go, OP, then it's simple - just send your apologies, and don't go.

i think afternoon tea is very expensive and not worth it. You can get a 3 course meal for nearly the same price.

You can't get an afternoon around here for less than £45 and it's extra if you want a glass of fizz with it. I always enjoy them as they feel like a special occasion.

it's obvious how many sandwiches etc. have been served per person so people only take their fair share.

I am always too full for the cakes once I've eaten the sandwiches and a scone so take them home for the kids to eat.

The cost of them has rocketed over the years. One place local to me used to do them for £15 per head around 15 years ago and you could bring your own fizz if you wanted to. They charge £45 ow and have a license so you can't take your own.

Claridges used to charge £30 20 years ago and DH and I used to go regularly. It's now well over £100!

Go and enjoy! This is so cheap! This was the price at the Waldorf (Aldwych) in 1995!

dont be miserable go and celebrate the persons birthday
cheaper than lots I have seen
I would love to go to one what I have seen with yummy sandwiches delicious cakes scones with cream and cups of tea heaven

again?
why am I not surprised

It’s often not as good value as a lunch.

But, if you like cake it’s quite enjoyable!

Well I did get invited and this Sunday I am going for Sunday lunch with a friend.

OP are you Shithole?

I've never been to an afternoon tea I've been able to finish. You take the rest home in a 'doggie bag' (cake box).
I can't imagine anyone leaving hungry, unless they were a very picky eater.

However, if you don't want to go, then don't. It is an invitation and invitations can be accepted or turned down.

But, like all meals out, you aren't just paying for the ingredients, you are paying for the service - the work someone has put in, the place you are sitting, and the chance to have a lovely meet up with friends.

Was there gold leaf on the cakes?

Personally I much prefer the little savoury sandwiches (never enough!) so anyone else can always have my share of the sticky little cakes, scones, jam and cream, if I can have their sandwiches. 🙂

Suspiciously cheap.

Ah, I didn’t notice the poster. It makes more sense now.

Ha! Not quite but nearly. The food, service and setting was 5*. It did include a glass of champagne with it which bumped up the price.

I am booking one for a friend's birthday next week. £85 each.

Are you paying? If so it’s likely to be more than a tenner so be prepared.

£22 isn't too expensive but I've only ever gone to afternoon tea when there's been an offer on. Don't think I've ever paid more than. £15 pp. The best ones are when you can try lots of different teas & they'll bring them to you in a proper tea pot & give you a box for leftovers. I always tend to go at lunchtime too as I wouldn't fancy sandwiches mid afternoon

That’s quite cheap for afternoon tea.