Afternoon Tea in London | These Places Have Got It In The Bag…
There’s a lot of debate when it comes to afternoon tea.
Is it better to put the jam or cream first? Should you say scone like ‘cone’, or scone like ‘gone’? And where can you find the best afternoon tea in London?
The answers to which, of course, are a) cream, obviously b) it’s pronounced ‘scone’, and c) these places right here, in our fully comprehensive guide to afternoon teas in London (which we’ve also organised by budget, and whether they offer gluten-free and/or vegan afternoon teas).
We’re talking afternoon teas inspired by fashion, contemporary art and musicals; teas where you can ice your own biscuits; and quirky afternoon tea featuring miniature volcanoes and dinosaur fossils. Plus, you know, a couple of really classic afternoon teas served in some of London’s most palatial and glitzy settings.
Behold our 36 favourite Afternoon Tea spots in London….
NOTE: Regarding whether gluten-free or vegan afternoon teas are offered, it’s worth noting that while most places are likely to be able to offer this you should still contact them at least 48 hours in advance to confirm any allergies or dietary requirements.
First, The Most Affordable Afternoon Teas In London (£)
1) The Wolseley | Mayfair
The Wolseley is a lovely place to visit at any time of day. But it particularly comes into its own for afternoon tea, when the waistcoated waiters glide across the marble floors with trays of Champagne and silver cloches. The menu comes with all the usual sweet and savoury trimmings, enormous scones and an array of teas to choose from… including their chocolate and caramel tea.
Details: Served Mon-Fri 3-6.30pm, weekends 3.30-6.30pm | Cream tea £19.50pp, afternoon tea £46.50pp | +£13 for a glass of Champagne | Veggie, vegan, nut-free and gluten-free options available | Book The Wolseley
2) Dean Street Townhouse | Soho
You’ve got friends in town. They are (understandably) confused at the concept of an afternoon ‘snack’ that somehow replaces dinner, and costs £100pp. You need to take them to Dean Street Townhouse. The open-to-all restaurant at the base of Soho House on Dean Street is suitably lavish enough to impress, all tasseled cushions and plump velvet armchairs, and embraces tradition without feeling fusty (your neighbours will probably be swigging picantes, after all). And with three tiers of finely prepped grub for £30 a head, it’s one of the best value afternoon teas in London.
Details: Served Mon-Sat, 2-5pm | £30pp | +£11.50 for a glass of Champagne | Veggie, vegan, nut-free and gluten-free options available | Book Dean Street Townhouse
3) The Zetter Townhouse | Marylebone & Clerkenwell
Packed with Chesterfield sofas, a roaring fire and a clutch of eccentric Victorian trinkets from candlesticks to stuffed animals; the two Zetter Townhouse hotels look like afternoon tea could have been invented there. There’s two menus to pick from; dainty finger sandwiches filled with the likes of Coronation chicken and brie with fig jam, or ‘hearty treats’ of ox cheek croquettes and goats cheese tarts. Then everyone gets to enjoy the scones, sweet treats and array of teas.
Zetter Townhouse Marylebone | Served Wed-Sun, 12-4pm | £45pp | +£10 for Champagne or a cocktail | Book here
Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell | Served weekends 12-4.30pm | £45pp | +£10 for Champagne or a cocktail | Book here
4) The Soho Hotel | Soho
The Soho Hotel serves up an afternoon tea that’s as colourful as the setting. You’ll enjoy fancy takes on the usual sandwiches with cucumber & dill on basil bread, coronation chicken & coriander brioche and Wiltshire ham & cheddar toasties before moving onto scones with clotted cream, and envelope-pushing patisserie like blood orange & treacle tarts and rhubarb & ginger Battenberg.
Details: Served daily, 12-4.45pm | £45 | +£12 for a glass of sparkling wine | Book tea at the Soho Hotel
5) The Ivy Chelsea Garden | Chelsea
There’s a buzz about this place, and it’s not just coming from the beehives in the back garden. The Ivy‘s more relaxed, leafy West London outpost is a beautifully verdant spot for a traditional afternoon tea al fresco, featuring grilled chicken & truffle mayo brioche rolls; freshly baked scones; and lemon & poppy seed cupcakes…
Details: Served daily 3-5pm | £35.75pp | +£10 for a glass of Champagne | Book The Ivy Chelsea Garden
6) Millie’s Lounge | The City
The Ned fills its enormous former banking hall home with a mere six restaurants, a cocktail bar and a central bandstand stage – so statistically speaking, it would be surprising if you couldn’t go for afternoon tea here. You’ll find it served in Millie’s Lounge, a pretty section of the double-height hall with pink banquettes, chintzy crockery and sheer curtains diffusing the light over the room’s imposing green marble pillars. The afternoon tea stand is just as lofty, with traditional treats layered over three tiers, and plenty of tea & coffee choices.
Details: Served weekdays 2-5pm, Saturday 12-5pm | £50pp | +£10 for a glass of Champagne | Vegetarian & vegan menus available | Book here
7) Charlotte Street Hotel | Fitzrovia
Oscar – the colourful Kit Kemp-designed restaurant at Charlotte Street Hotel – offers an alternative afternoon tea ‘with a twist’. You’ll get three mini cocktails (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) paired with an assortment of sandwiches (cucumber & mint, smoked salmon & cream cheese, ham & mustard), gratifying sweet things like a Black Forest opera cake, and those mandatory homemade scones with clotted cream and preserves.
Details: Served Mon-Thurs 2.45-4.45pm, Fri-Sun 12-4.45pm | £40 | +£15 for cocktails | Book Oscar
8) Biscuiteers | Notting Hill & Belgravia
Biscuiteers are known for their incredibly detailed, hand-iced biscuits – but you’re about to get to know them for their mandarin & chocolate choux buns, ruby chocolate macarons and raisin-studded scones, too. It’s all served alongside their personal house blend of Tregothnan tea, and you can even tack on your own DIY biscuit icing experience…
Details: Served daily, 11am-5.30pm | £48-68pp | +£9.50 for a glass of prosecco | Vegan and gluten-free options available | Book Biscuiteers
9) Number 16 | South Kensington
Number 16 (a jewel box of a hotel in South Kensington) has an unbelievably beautiful orangery and garden. And frankly, it would be a crime if they didn’t offer afternoon tea here. But thankfully they do, and it involves pitch-perfect sandwiches; a choice of elegant patisserie; and the option to go for hot chocolate instead of tea.
Details: Served daily, 1-4pm | £45pp | +£12 for a glass of Champagne | Gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan options available | Book Number 16
10) The Coral Room | Bloomsbury
The Coral Room isn’t exactly a shrinking violet. And this Bloomsbury parlour doesn’t hold back on afternoon tea, either, with a fashionable offering inspired by The Devil Wears Prada musical that’s playing just round the corner. Tuck into Nates’ grilled cheese sandwiches, fluffy scones, and Cru Virunga devil’s cake, with a glass of Champagne thrown in to boot.
Details: Served daily, 12-4pm | £75pp inc. a glass of Champagne | Gluten-free & vegetarian options | Book The Coral Room
And Now, More Expensive Afternoon Teas In London (££)
11) Rosewood London | Holborn
The Mirror Room at Holborn hotel Rosewood London has been repeatedly awarded Best Contemporary Afternoon Tea in the UK – which is fitting, since it’s inspired by contemporary art. Their current menu is a collaboration with artist John Booth, featuring paint-swatched patisserie inspired by an artist’s palette; a tulip-crowned mousse; and a cake of two sides, inspired by Booth and his twin.
Details: Served daily, 12-5.45pm | £75 | +£10 for a glass of Champagne | Book the Mirror Room
12) NoMad | Covent Garden
NoMad boasts some of the most impressively gorgeous interiors in the city. So it was only a matter of time before the hotel put aside its NYC roots aside to adopt this most British of traditions. Seated in the stunning triple-height atrium, surrounded by glass lanterns and cascading greenery, you can now enjoy a (quite reasonably priced) afternoon tea with all the trimmings: elegant twists on the classic finger sandwiches, exquisite miniature tarts and cheesecakes, and rum & raisin scones.
Details: Served Thursday – Sunday, 2-4pm | £65pp | +£18 for a glass of sparkling wine | Book afternoon tea at NoMad
13) Koto Afternoon Tea at The Prince Akatoki | Marble Arch
The Prince Akatoki is an exceptionally beautiful, serene hotel in Marble Arch. So it’s no surprise that they put on an exceptionally beautiful and serene afternoon tea. The menu fuses Eastern and Western influences with a brilliant array of savoury treats like seared tuna & avocado on brioche; chicken katsu sandos and a trio of nigiri sushi. Then comes the sweet stuff, spanning strawberry & cream sandos to yuzu crème brûlée and an insanely moreish sesame & caramelised chocolate tart. And just when you think you’ve hit your limit, along come two freshly baked scones studded with jewel-like cranberries.
It all takes place in the wood-panelled Malt Lounge bar, so the barkeeps are on-hand to rustle up a few cocktails for you if you fancy something stronger than the highly artisanal Japanese tea on offer. And best of all? Once a month, koto player Keiko Kitamura comes in to serenade you with exquisite live music, as well as giving you a brief introduction to Japan’s national instrument.
Details: Served Friday – Sunday, 12-2.30pm. Koto afternoon tea selected Sundays | £23-60pp/£70 with sake & live music | £20+ for a glass of Champagne | Book The Malt Lounge
14) Theatre Royal Drury Lane | Covent Garden
The beautifully restored Theatre Royal on Drury Lane serves up a suitably theatrical afternoon tea in their peach-painted, emerald-green marble pillared Grand Saloon (as well as on the balcony, in the warmer months). It’s all been designed by legendary Hackney baker Lily Vanilli, and features miniature crumpets with Earl Grey cream cheese; tiny little coronation chicken pies; frilly pastel-piped cakes; and ice cream sandwiches stacked with strawberry syrup and marshmallow. We would say it’s the most delicious afternoon tea ever created… but we’d hate to be dramatic.
Details: Served daily, 11am-5.30pm | £59pp/£20 for kids | Add a glass of Champagne for £10pp | Gluten-free & vegan menus available | Book the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
15) The Orchid Lounge at Pan Pacific London | The City
The Orchid Lounge’s setting is as neutral and inconspicuous as you’d expect a lounge in a sleek City hotel to be, but that’s by the by when the plates are loaded with so much colour. In a nod to the hotel’s Singaporean roots, there are two afternoon teas on offer: a traditional version with finger sandwiches and scones, and a kopi tiam version which features baskets of delicious siu mai and freshly steamed buns. And they’re both capped off with some exquisite patisserie.
Details: Served Thurs-Mon, 1-4pm | £58/£29 for kids | +£21 for a glass of Champagne | Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available | Book The Orchid Lounge
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16) Rotunda at Four Seasons Hotel at Ten Trinity Square | Tower Hill
Directly overlooking Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, the Four Seasons hotel’s lounge has an impressive tower of its own – one stacked with elegant afternoon tea treats. Traditional scones & sandwiches are capped off by patisserie inspired by the crown jewels held under lock and key down below, with strawberry confit & yuzu chocolate crowns and a miniature Victoria sponge with Darjeeling mousse (apparently the king’s favourite tea). And it all feels like a bit of an occasion thanks to the soundtrack by live musicians.
Details: Served Friday-Sunday, 2-5pm | £65 | +£10 for a glass of Champagne | Book The Rotunda
18) Ochre | Trafalgar Square
The National Gallery celebrates its 200th birthday this year, which seems as good a reason as any to put on a blow-out afternoon tea. The current Van Gogh-themed menu follows the traditional scones and sandwiches with cakes that are a work of art in themselves: ‘sunflower’ chocolate pots; vibrant yuzu & white chocolate sponges; and cherry & pistachio tarts. There’s even a cocktail with Van Gogh’s sunflowers printed on the top…
Details: Served daily | £55pp/£20 for kids | +£10 for a glass of Champagne/cocktail | Vegan options available | Book afternoon tea at Ochre
19) The Gherkin | The City
The Gherkin takes high tea very literally. Up on the skyscraper’s 41st floor, panoramic views of the London skyline and unlimited Champagne combine with a traditional menu of smoked salmon & caviar sandwiches, Jersey fruit scones, and elegant patisserie.
Details: Served Fri & Sat, 12-4pm | From £55pp, inc. a glass of rosé | Bottomless Champagne for £99pp | Book The Gherkin
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20) The Ampersand Hotel | South Kensington
Amy Murrell
Taking inspiration from the nearby Natural History Museum, afternoon tea at The Ampersand hotel arrives in a swirling fog of dry ice, under which you’ll discover T-rex footprint macarons; dark chocolate & caramel dino egg nests; biscuit fossils to excavate from chocolate soil; and themed teapot-tails to boot…
Details: Served daily 12-7pm | £59.50pp/£39.50 for kids | +£15 for a glass of Champagne/tea pot-tail | Vegetarian and gluten-free menus available | Book The Ampersand
21) The Landmark | Marylebone
Afternoon tea in an 8-storey high atrium – it might sound like a tall order. But The Landmark makes the most of its insanely elegant palm conservatory by filling it with tinkling piano music; a huge spread of teas; and Lapsang Souchong-smoked salmon sandwiches.
Details: Served weekdays 3-5pm, weekends 1-5pm | £70pp | +£13 for a glass of Champagne | Book The Landmark
22) Nobu | Marylebone
Nobu’s east-meets-west afternoon tea seamlessly blends Japanese and English traditions, with stacks of yuzu curd scones and elegant patisserie accompanied by beef tataki shokupan; sashimi; and chicken karaage. And that extends to the tea itself, with UK-blended Earl Grey and English Breakfast sitting alongside Kabuse Sencha from Kyoto and smoked sakura wood from Shizuoka.
Details: Served daily 12.45-5.30pm | £70pp/£63 for vegan | +£14 for a glass of Champagne | Vegan menu available | Book afternoon tea at Nobu
23) Great Scotland Yard | Westminster
The former HQ of London’s police force is now home to a glamorous hotel – and instead of serving time, they’re serving afternoon tea. The menu’s inspired by the building’s own eventful history, so among the savouries (which arrive on an old evidence case swirling with ‘London fog’) you’ll find some exceptionally delicious truffled egg rolls stamped with 1869, the year it was built; followed by patisserie like the moustache-shaped hazelnut cake inspired by the Victorian inspector Charles Frederick Field, and a quill pot Battenberg nodding to the writers connected with Scotland Yard (turns out Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll was once suspected to be Jack the Ripper). Aside from the quirky theming, it’s genuinely one of the best-executed afternoon teas we’ve had in London – and they’ll happily send you home with any leftovers to inspect at home later.
Details: Served daily 2-7pm | £65 | +£14 for a glass of Champagne (complimentary welcome glass until end of January) | Book Great Scotland Yard
24) The Stafford Hotel | St James’s
Duck down a passageway off Green Park to emerge onto a quiet, genteel cul-de-sac where you’ll find The Stafford, hotel of choice for WWII spies, Hollywood stars… and those in pursuit of an exceptional afternoon tea. The hotel’s Game Bird restaurant is a lavish setting that befits its elegant menu, where freshly cut red roses accompany triple-tiered silver stands. Those stands come bearing gifts like truffled egg brioche buns; smoked salmon sandwiches and a trio of scones (plain, raisin, and cheddar – to be enjoyed with cream cheese, rather than cream). And just as you start to think you’ve reached the peak of high society living, in comes a bespoke cake trolley loaded with coffee choux buns, vivid green macarons, and slices of their earl grey and honey layer cake. Your only task? To narrow them down to five…
Details: Served daily from 12-5.30pm | £70 | +£17 for a glass of Champagne (complimentary welcome glass until end of January) | Book The Stafford
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25) Aqua Shard | London Bridge
Aqua Shard serves afternoon tea on the 31st floor of one of the most iconic skyscrapers in London. And frankly, they could have let the view do the talking. But instead they’ve created a Peter Pan-themed extravaganza that includes “an enormous mushroom chimney”, an absinthe cocktail shimmering with golden fairy dust, and Peter’s hat crafted from choux pastry, all of which is delivered to your table via this smoking pirate ship.
Details: Served daily, 12-3.15pm | £70pp/£55 for kids | +£25 for a glass of Champagne | Vegetarian, pescatarian and vegan menus available | Book Aqua Shard
And Finally The Fanciest Afternoon Teas In London (£££)
26) The Berkeley’s Goûtea | Knightsbridge
While The Berkeley’s couture-inspired afternoon tea will be returning (fashionably) later this year, it’s the turn of pastry superstar Cédric Grolet to step under the limelight. You can pop into his scleral-white patisserie fronting Hyde Park for a trompe l’oeuil pastry to take away, but if money’s no object (at least till next month’s credit card bill rolls in), book in for his take on afternoon tea: Goûtea. Sitting in the beautifully designed café space, all modern art deco with walnut wood and sleekly curving banquettes, you’ll be presented with wagyu croissants, truffle arancini, pistachio ‘flowers’, and more…
Details: Served daily 12-4.30pm | £85pp | +£12 for a glass of Champagne | No dietary alternatives available | Book Goûtea at The Berkeley
27) Seabird | Southwark
You might think that afternoon tea, with its scones and cakes, might look a bit out of place at a seafood restaurant… and you’d be right. So instead Seabird serves Afternoon Sea, featuring up to three tiers of shellfish platters starting with ten oysters hand-picked by the chef, and scaling up to banquets of razor clams, fresh langoustines and an entire half lobster.
Details: Served daily, subject to 48h pre-order | £80-220 | Bubbles from £11 | Book Seabird
28) Fortnum & Mason | Piccadilly
The Fortnum’s store is a gourmand’s paradise of loose leaf teas, fancy biscuits and preserves. But the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon upstairs has been serving it all on a plate since 2012, when it was opened by (who else but) the late Queen herself. It’s a quintessential London afternoon tea, executed to perfection: tuck into sugar-dusted scones with strawberry & Champagne jam, cucumber & minted cream sandwiches and a quintet of tiny little cakes to finish… until the cake trolley loaded with Battenberg rolls around, that is.
Details: Served daily | £82pp | +£17.95 for a glass of Champagne | Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and nut-free options available | Book the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon
29) The Carlton Tower Jumeirah | Knightsbridge
The Carlton Tower’s afternoon tea is an exceptionally lavish affair. They don’t just do sandwiches, they do neat little savouries including wild mushroom tartlets and basil sorbet palate cleansers. Scones? They serve four different kinds, in what they’ve christened ‘The Scones Experience’. Tea, naturally, comes from the fancy importers Mariage Frères. And for dessert, there’s three elegant kinds of patisserie… plus a socking great slice of cake.
Details: Served daily 12-4pm | £85pp | +£15 for a cocktail or glass of Champagne | Book the Carlton Tower’s afternoon tea
30) The Drawing Room | Mayfair
Lateef Photography
The Drawing Room is secreted away in Brown’s Hotel, a grand establishment taking up no fewer than 11 Georgian townhouses in Mayfair – a not insignificant part of which has been dedicated to the ritual of afternoon tea. In fact, Queen Victoria herself was apparently quite partial to taking it here. And she probably would have been quite partial to their current menu of beef pastrami & beer mustard sandwiches, fresh scones and Piedmont hazelnut tarts…
Details: Served daily, 12-4.30pm (6.30pm Fri-Mon) | £80/£45 for kids | +£12 for a glass of Champagne | Vegan menu available | Book The Drawing Room
31) Claridge’s | Mayfair
Claridge’s is a classic for a reason – and that reason is a century-tested menu with deluxe takes on the classic finger sandwiches, cakes and scones. Expect the likes of honey-glazed ham with tomato relish on onion bread; freshly baked fruit scones; and chocolate & banana tart – all served with Claridge’s own unique blend of tea – in supremely elegant art deco surroundings.
Details: Served daily, 2.45-5.30pm | £95pp | +£15 for a glass of Champagne | Vegan and gluten-free menu available | Book Claridge’s
32) Sketch | Mayfair
The city’s most beautiful restaurant has applied all its trademark style and form to its afternoon tea. Served up in the huge, very yellow Gallery room, you’ll be able to dine on dainty patisserie treats whilst admiring the Yinka Shonibare artwork, the live string trio, and the tart trolley being wheeled towards your table.
Details: Served daily 11.00-4.30pm (5pm Sun) | £80/£55 for kids (inc. a bear) | +£14 for a glass of sparkling wine | Vegan, gluten-free menus available | Book Sketch
33) Hotel Café Royal | Regent Street
HCR’s gilded, ornate dining room has, in its time, been frequented by Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Taylor, The Beatles, Muhammad Ali and David Bowie. And nowadays it’s home to an equally glitzy afternoon tea offering, including truffled egg brioche sandwiches, raisin scones with Earl Grey jam, and pecan & maple syrup cake…
Details: Served Wed-Sun, 12-5.30pm | £85pp | +£10 for a glass of Champagne | Vegetarian & vegan menus available, other dietaries catered for with 48hrs notice | Book Hotel Café Royal
34) The Lanesborough | Hyde Park
Served under a glass dome in a pretty pale blue dining room that looks like a cake in itself, The Lanesborough Hotel has to be one of the most elegant spots for afternoon tea in London, complete with a live pianist on weekends. For their new Bridgerton-inspired menu they’re rolling out dishes like truffled egg sandwiches, fresh scones with clotted cream, and bittersweet patisserie in honour of Lady Whistledown.
Details: Served Mon-Thurs 12.30-4pm; Fri-Sat 12-4pm, Sun 3.30-4.30pm | £85pp/£50 for kids | +£13 for a glass of Champagne | Vegetarian, vegan & gluten-free menus available | Book The Lanesborough
35) The Ritz | Piccadilly
The Ritz’s claim that the ornate ceiling, antique mirrors, chandeliers and golden statues “add a light and stylish flourish to the room” is like saying Liberace was fond of the occasional ruffle. As such, The Ritz’s Palm Court is one of the grandest spots in London to take a traditional afternoon tea, with harpists and pianists to serenade you as you tuck into seasonal pastries, scones and sandwiches, all served with a choice of 20 different teas.
Details: Served daily at sittings from 11.30am-7.30pm | £79pp (£57 for children) | +£23 for a glass of Champagne | Book The Ritz
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