"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea".
I'm a big fan of this most English of traditions so I thought I'd share with you some of my most recent afternoon tea adventures and reviews. Click on the links below to find out more...
These are in order of preference, although they are all rather different and the price range varies so it may just depend what you like!
1. Mad Hatter's Tea at the Sanderson Hotel
- Fun, quirky tea that will make you smile.
- The cakes not only look great, they taste great too.
- If it's sunny you can sit out in the courtyard.
- Look out for the 'Drink Me' bottle, the flavours change as you go down the bottle.
2. The Connaught Hotel
- A very stylish location.
- Close to Bond Street for a spot of shopping.
- Tasty cakes...but you do have to share one between two.
3. Fortnum and Mason
- This is actually my joint second favourite...different from the first two but it depends what you're looking for.
- Relaxed with very friendly staff.
- I've been twice and each time there was no hurry to move us on.
- Nice cakes and a great selection of teas...I'd recommend the Rose Pouchong.
4. Sketch
- A fun and quirky tea in glam surroundings.
- Decor inspired by different artists
- Close to Regent Street for shopping
- Tasty scones
- No restocking of cakes
5. The Orangery at Kensington Palace
- Rather different from the first three teas so this is not really a fair comparison.
- No need to book but do get there early
- Half the price of the 'hotel' teas.
- Simple cakes and sandwiches but executed well.
- Has the added benefit of being in the centre of Hyde Park, so you can enjoy a walk or perhaps visit Kensington Palace at the same time.
- Glamorous art deco lounge.
- Not my favourite tea...the cakes were over-fussy for my tastes.
- We were rather hurried off the table by the staff.
- However, top notch scones...amongst the best I've had at an afternoon tea.
- Other friends have been and enjoyed it more...so perhaps it's just me ;-)
If you have any suggestions for great afternoon tea locations in and around London I'd love to hear about them...there's no such thing as too much tea and cake!
I recently purchased the book below which outlines many of the best afternoon teas in London. It's my mission to work my way through the book...
