Welcome to the land of finger sandwiches and scones
Scones with clotted cream and jam, crustless finger sandwiches, tea served in bone china… there are few things more quintessentially British than afternoon tea. London is full of places to tuck into tea and cakes, from the traditional teas at the city’s famous hotels to quirkier takes on the occasion. There’s even a whole week in August dedicated to afternoon tea.
If you need to fill the gap between lunch and dinner, you’ve got guests in town and you want to show off, or you’re looking to indulge in something a bit more unusual during Afternoon Tea Week, then these are the best afternoon teas in London to get stuck into.
Four Seasons Hotel at Tower Bridge
The Four Seasons Hotel at Tower Bridge has introduced a new afternoon tea menu in collaboration with Lily Vanilli, a renowned baker celebrated for her vibrant and vintage cake designs. Lily is arguably the pioneer of the ruffle icing revolution, the hottest cake decoration style today. Lily’s menu offers a twist on the traditional afternoon tea, replacing boring mini sarnies with some of London’s trendiest bites. Diners can sample Spanish gildas (best paired with their Saltburn margarita), Parmesan gougères, crispy confit potatoes, and cheesy scones. No afternoon tea is complete without sweets and Lily’s serving up crème brûlée Basque cheesecake, a tiramisu tart, and traditional scones, alongside a miniature version of one of her vintage cakes. Adorable. A selection of herbal teas is available, but the highlight of the menu is the mini cocktail flight, crafted to complement each of sweets and savouries.
10 Trinity Square, London EC3N 4AJ
fourseasons.com
Rosewood London’s Mirror Room
Rosewood London has launched a new edition of its Art Afternoon Tea and this one is a celebration of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. The hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef Mark Perkins has taken inspo from Hokusai’s landscapes and Japanese flavours to create a series of cakes. So as well as finger sarnies (including Japanese BBQ beef brisket & wasabi coleslaw and Japanese egg sandwich) and scones, you can tuck into Cherry Blossom & Warbler, a roll cake with cherry jelly and yuzu chocolate; The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, a lemon chiffon cake with white chocolate, strawberry compote, and lychee vanilla cream; and Thunderstorm Beneath The Summit, a chocolate mousse & miso caramel cake with matcha pistachio feuilletine.
252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN
rosewoodhotels.com
The Lanesborough
Season three of Bridgerton is here and so is the Bridgerton afternoon tea at The Lanesborough. Taking inspiration from this season’s storylines, Head Pastry Chef Pierre Morvan-Benezet has created special sweets for the tea, including The Social Butterfly, a pistachio and mandarin mousse finished with an edible gold butterfly; Colin’s Travels, a dark chocolate sponge with caramel, dark chocolate mousse and dark chocolate ganache; and The Book of Eloise, a cheesecake vanilla mousse, whipped vanilla chantilly and blueberry gel with a blue edible flowers, to go with scones, finger sandwiches and a Friends to Lovers coconut tequila cocktail.
Hyde Park Corner, London SW1X 7TA
oetkercollection.com
Ginza St James
With sushi omakase, teppanyaki and robata counters; a range of tasting menus; and a bar featuring a 70-strong collection of premium sake, Ginza St James has high-end Japanese food down. And this summer, Head Chef Alex Furusawa-Cadoni has added another dining experience to the restaurant’s offering by launching an afternoon tea. Forget the finger sandwiches and scones you’d find on a traditional afternoon tea, here it’s all about Japanese savouries and sweets, like mini okonomiyaki, sirloin tataki with ponzu, black cod croquette with yuzu mayo, wagyu menchi katsu, miso financier cake, strawberry sando, truffle chocolate, and matcha castella cake. A range of Japanese teas are included but you can upgrade your afternoon tea by adding on bubbles, sake and cocktails.
15 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AL
ginza-stjames.com
The Clink
Afternoon tea is back at The Clink, the restaurant inside HMP Brixton, where the food is prepared and served by the students training at the restaurant and at The Clink Bakery. The menu is pretty classic – scones, finger sandwiches and patisserie like blackcurrant & coconut bavarois, raspberry & ruby chocolate eclair and citrus meringue tart – but what sets this tea apart is the fact that by enjoying it, you’re helping someone working to rebuild their life.
Jebb Avenue, London SW2 5XF
theclinkcharity.org
NoMad
New to the luxury hotel in the heart of Covert Garden is this traditional afternoon tea with a NoMad twist. Head to the Grade II-listed building to enjoy the likes of egg salad with black truffle and chive; smoked salmon on an everything bagel; cucumber and herbed cream cheese; and a pastrami, daikon and mustard sandwich. On the sweeter ends of things, expect sacher-torte; scones; tropical cheesecake; lemon, vanilla & olive oil choux; and cassis & shisho tart. For drinks, there’ll of course be a selection of tea but you can also opt for a tea-inspired cocktail if you’re in the mood for something a bit stronger.
28 Bow Street, London WC2E 7AW
thenomadhotel.com
The Ritz
Afternoon tea doesn’t come more traditional than at The Ritz. Served in the opulent Palm Court, the tea features classic finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and pastries, with a trolley featuring larger cakes being wheeled through for you to sample slices of too. Get the Ritz Royal Blend Tea in your cups and your pinkies in the air.
150 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 9BR
theritzlondon.com
Palm Court at The Langham
The Palm Court was the first place to serve afternoon tea way back in 1865 so you can’t get much more classic than this. Chefs Michel Roux Jr and Andrew Gravett have kept things super traditional with smoked salmon, coronation chicken and cucumber & cream cheese finger sarnies, scones with seasonal preserves and pastries inspired by classic British biscuits like Digestives and Custard Creams.
1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London W1B 1JA
palm-court.co.uk
Sketch
Afternoon tea at Sketch is held in the Gallery where the pink decor and David Shrigley art has been replaced by a yellow colour scheme and works by Yinka Shonibare. The menu remains the same though so you can expect the likes of croque monsieur and coronation chicken finger sarnies, scones and sweet treats like apricot & lavender battenbergs, raspberry macarons and chocolate banoffee tarts. Don’t leave without snapping at least one selfie in the famous egg pod loos.
9 Conduit St, London W1S 2XG
sketch.london
Afternoon Tea at Farmacy
100% plant-based, dairy-free and refined sugar-free, the afternoon tea at Farmacy must be one of the healthiest you can get. It’s not all carrot sticks and lettuce leaves though, there’s BBQ jackfruit brioche buns, mushroom truffle pies, raw chocolate tarts and lemon poppy seed cake with cashew cream.
74-76 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH
farmacylondon.com