To be shocked at the price for an Afternoon Tea?

[Writerwannabe83]

It is my friend's birthday on Saturday and a group of us (about 15) casually agreed a while ago that we'd go out for Afternoon Tea at a local restaurant. I had never been to one before, wasn't too sure what it was all about so I just agreed to it.

Today I received the Menu of this Afternoon Tea we are having and for some finger sandwiches, a cake and a cup of tea it's £20 per person

Maybe I live in a little bubble but that sounds crazy? This restaurant is going to get £300 out of us for supplying some sandwiches and some cakes?

The menu comes across as very pretentious and is written in such a way that by the designer throwing in some posh words and an over exaggerated description of a bit of lettuce it makes people happily hand over £20 for such 'luxury'....

The tea is "loose leaf" apparently - what does that even mean? Am I going to get a cup of tea with foliage floating on the top it?

I can have a ham and mustard sandwich, a cake and a cup of tea at home for a lot less than £20

But anyway - I just needed to vent.

I'm obviously still going to go as it's a good friend's birthday but I think it will be the last time I commit to an Afternoon Tea

It's my own fault really for agreeing to it without actually fully knowing what it was

Maybe I'm just not posh enough for such things

Can people tell me about any Afternoon Teas they have experienced and how U I'm being because actually I'm in for a treat that is well worthy of £20

I love an afternoon tea (with champagne) but agree they are not good value for money. Like other posters I wait for Groupon offers.

Depends where you go!!

I've been two places for afternoon tea for two, one place was £12 and the other was £25. It was definitely you get what you pay for... The £25 one was absolutely wonderful :)

Come to the midlands, £4.50 a pop

www.groupon.co.uk/deals/ethels-vintage-teapot

OP I've done afternoon tea at Coombe Abbey it was lovely and I thought really good value. You get so much food. They do a second round of sandwiches if you could fit them in. Loads of different cakes and desserts and unlimited tea. Plus you get to sit in the lovely conservatory and admire the grounds - which you could walk around when your finished. It's a lovely afternoon out.

Depends what you want, it's not the tea that costs a lot, it's what you perceive to be the value of the experience.

If you value that experience (tea with friends) at 5 pounds per person, then anything above wont work.

I think at some hotels in London it can cost 40 or more pounds. Again, it's not the price of the tea and the biscuits and the cream. It's how much you value the experience of walking into a post hotel with your friends and have a chat in that environment.

If you don't value that and think you can have as much fun at a tea hose or bakery around the corner for 3 pounds then you should go there.

Price is relative, it's emotional. It doesn't stem from an absolute formula.

Claridges is my favourite for afternoon tea. I've spent many a prechildren Christmas Eve there getting absolutely wrecked on Champagne, wiches and cake.

I'm clearly very posh.

we always order one between us and an extra coffee. It does the job and both of us are well fed. One each is far too much food and price wise.

It's such a tourist/'event' thing they charge silly prices for it.

I had a very lovely cream tea for two (pot of tea, scones and cake) in central London for £8 total yesterday. Bills Covent Garden!

When I read the title I thought "£15 would be cheap, so what's the OP going to say?" .
£20 is fine and you have an age-appropriate experience.

BTW chocolate salami is broken biscuits in a sticky chocolate (and rum?) sauce, sort of like tiffin.

I had a very lovely cream tea for two (pot of tea, scones and cake) in central London for £8 total yesterday

That's a loss leader to get people through the door - there's absolutely no way you can put a cream tea for 2 on a table in London for £4 a head. The overheads alone would cost that much!

Champagnewiches Chippednailvarnishing is that the posh hamwich?

I would say £20 was on the reasonable side to be honest.

What Time said, that's a loss leader.

In the ME that includes champagne until you drop

Something like that Not.

I did a behind the scenes tour at the Dorchester once, the hours that are involved in preparing the cakes and sandwiches were really impressive.
The cleverest thing was that they sliced their bread length ways so they could make loads of crustless sandwiches. I'm easily impressed

According to the Bill's menu, that's the price for one serving.

However, two scones and cake is more than enough for two, so YANBU for sharing it between two but there was a riot on here and in general when two people wanted to share a cream tea somewhere a couple of years ago.

They wanted the cream tea and an extra cup, so they could share and a cafe refused. If cafes persist in serving way more food than a lot of people can eat, you can't blame people wanting to share, rather than pay over the odds for loads more food than they actually want.

Whiny do you mean the ME on the Strand? That sounds a bargain.

BTW chocolate salami is broken biscuits in a sticky chocolate (and rum?) sauce, sort of like tiffin.

See, that sounds nice. The sandwiches not so much....

I get that's it's a civilised place with civilised finger sandwiches but I don't feel like it's going to be relaxing? I'd worry about making too much noise or laughing too loud, or that we'd have to "watch what we say" because it's posh

Betty's in York. Worth every penny.

There's a place in manchester that also marketed a "men's afternoon tea" (involves things like mini pulled pork sliders, gin/bourbon cocktail etc). I'd love to have that but sexism gives me terrible indigestion.

Having said that, I think a proper afternoon tea is lovely. I get to eat about 4 or 5 different types of cake, I hate crusts and the whole setup does make it feel special... Thinking back on ones I've paid for, £20 is a decent price (even without bubbly included).

I'd be disappointed with Betty's, I can knock that up easily! I want a bit of 'fancy'

I went to Claridges with my friend once it was about £45 a head including fizz(from what I can remember) she was pregnant so no soft cheeses or salmon for her,they where very good and it was beautiful being there.

A "gentlemans afternoon tea" has definitely been a thing for a few years; mini pork pies, doorstep bread, mini sausages, spiced breadsticks etc. Less cake'y stuff, really and a bit more chunky. Nothing to stop ladies ordering it too, though.

A variation that some places do is to offer a 'savoury' and a 'sweet' afternoon tea - couples/groups often order one of each.

Complete derailment but can pregnant people not eat salmon then? One of my friends who is going is about 30 weeks pregnant and she's saying she's looking forward to having either the ham or the salmon sandwiches...

Smoked salmon isn't on the NHS naughty list anymore