London’s best afternoon teas

F&M’s elegant tea salon has been serving the good stuff since 1926. In a pastel-coloured dining room on the fourth floor of the iconic St James’s department store, this spacious spot excels in both sweet and savoury teas. The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon was named in honour of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 2012, and is currently hosting an English Garden Afternoon Tea with cakes and patisserie inspired by native British flora. Think rose éclairs, chocolate and meadowsweet, ganache, rhubarb and vanilla mousse, and lemon and raspberry loaf.

At bit different, this one. The Clink Charity is based at HMP Brixton and sees people in prison taught catering skills. Their restaurant is one of London's most rewarding and this summer is hosting afternoon teas on alternate Fridays. Sandwiches span prosciutto, basil pesto and rocket to smoked trout and chive crème fraiche on rye. Scones and cakes are designed to show what students have learned while studying for their NVQ level 2 in patisserie and confectionary, with raspberry and ruby chocolate éclair as well as a blackcurrant and coconut fruit bavarois. 

As Harrods is to shopping, so The Ritz is to hotels: a London icon and the perfect haven for out-of-towners who’ll revel in its bespoke traditions – right down to the formal dress code. The high-ceilinged Palm Court, where one takes tea, frames feminine pastels with gilt edging and chandeliers, while live entertainment comes from the house pianist, a harpist or string quintet. Come if you’ve got a sweet tooth: showstoppers here are the wonderful pastries, with previous offerings including a delectable rhubarb and custard choux and a nicely sharp lemon posset macaron. It's seasonal too, with strawberries on on the menu in summer and pears in the winter.

Make your way to Walthamstow for a Caribbean take on afternoon tea with mango glazed jerk chicken wings, as well as handmade spiced scones served with a selection of tasty jams and clotted cream. Dainty bubbles aren't how its done here - instead you'll be treated to a potent Wray & Nephew rum punch or slushie. Look out for regular special events too, such as paint-along afternoon teas, clay sculpting along with your scones and black women in business events with special guest speakers.

Visit the Amalfi coast without the fuss by popping into Great Scotland Yard this summer for their latest afternoon tea offering. In collaboration with ye olde British fragrance house Floris, and inspired by their Bergamotto di Positano perfume, this Italian taster includes a frittata di zucchine and stracciatella, smoked salmon and caviar bruschetta. Sweets come in the shape of scones with clotted cream and orange jam, as well as almond and cocoa torta caprese cake from Capri’s iconic cake, and babà with orange blossom. Bellissimo! 

Yopo, the all-day restaurant at Fitzrovia’s Mandrake Hotel, is where you'll find the somewhat woo-woo Seven Chakra Afternoon Tea, complete with Kate Moss's very own Cosmoss brand as part of the experience. Will you leave feeling like a supermodel? Probably not, but that's largely becauase there's plenty of lovely cake to chow down on while your nourish your chakras with seven different soul-enriching tea and snack pairings. With yellowtail tostada, a blue cheese tart, blueberry and lemon confit financier and a spiced blackberry and apple choux bun on offer, even if your spirit doesn't thank you, your belly will. 

Swing by the lounge of this swanky hotel in Marylebone this summer for a coming together of two very fancy brands – Nobu and fragrance house Byredo. The Byredo afternoon tea features a cake shaped like a bottle of their Mojave Ghost perfume (that tastes like magnolia and violet) as well as an apricot and tonka bean macaroon, sencha green tea basil cake and scones with raspberry mint jam, clotted cream and yuzu curd.

Multi-Michelin starred chef Yannick Alléno is bringing Parisian-style afternoon tea to his acclaimed restaurant Pavyllon, which you'll find on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane until September 1, 2024. Expect seriously swanky eats, starting with leftfield finger sandwiches such as an ebi sando with harissa and tomato, or a chicken caesar with bacon butter. Sweets come from head pastry chef Gwenael Girad; strawberry and eucalyptus tart; verbena and vanilla baba; dark fruit pavlova; and Pimm’s style raspberries with chocolate and caramel. Ooh la la. 

As part of Sketch’s luxe Mayfair pleasuredome, the velvet-clad dandy-esque Gallery is a lesson in more-is-more eclecticism, a restaurant and exhibition space. Afternoon tea in this beautiful boudoir is something else – a gorgeous line-up of pretty delights ranging from a truffle croque, finger sandwiches and still-warm scones to Victoria sponge from the trolley and assorted petits’ gateaux. Think: pear and pomegranate cheesecake, quince and vanilla Battenberg as well as red fruit Victoria sponge from the trolley. Don’t miss a trip to the cluster of egg-shaped toilets, where birdsong is piped into each pod.

Audrey Hepburn started her glittering career just steps from the National Portrait Gallery, as a dancer at Ciro's nightclub on Orange Street. In tribute, the gallery has launched an afternoon tea that pays homage to her most famous film role, in 1961's Breakfast At Tiffany's. Taking place in subterranean on-site cocktail bar Larry's, sweets include a dark chocolate and
passionfruit mousse purse, salted caramel sunglasses and a cheesecake jewellery box. Savouries are just as flash; hot smoked salmon with horseradish cream sandwiches and chicken caesar with macadamia as well as chorizo croquettes with saffron aioli and wagyu party pies. During the summer there's live jazz piano.

Famed cocktail mixer Ryan Chetiyawardana – aka Mr Lyan – hosts Sri Lankan High Tea at his Lyness bar every Saturday and Sunday. It's a celebration of high tea in his parent’s hometown of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, and kicks off with a curry leaf Champagne cocktail and chicken kukul mas and coconut, masala spiced tuna with mayonnaise, and marinated aubergine and brinjal butter finger sandwiches. Then there's mutton croquette with tomato sambal, turmeric devilled eggs and a coconut flower daiquiris, followed by pandan swiss roll and many more majestic flavours. 

Inspired by Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies books of the 1920s and 1930s, this afternoon tea brings a little bit of magic to London's post-lunch pastry scene. Pastry chef Anthony Hurst has done the mystical beings proud, with a selection of sweets that include a brownie in a toadstool throne, lemon cake in a white chocolate shell with blueberry, and a vanilla and hazelnut sponge book. Savouries include brioche buns of smoked chicken and smoked salmon. Served daily in the hotel's Park Room – with views of Hyde Park – the tea runs from May 13 2024 until mid-November. 

Inspired by the treasures on display at the neighbouring Tower of London and served under the eye-catching domed roof of the hotel’s plush, crimson-and-white-hued Rotunda Bar, Ten Trinity’s crown jewels-themed afternoon tea melds two of those most British of concepts – monarchy and finger sandwiches – into a serene, decadent and pleasingly traditional affair that no doubt proves extremely popular with tourists stopping by after checking out the bling next door. Guests can start with an optional glass of champagne or sparkling tea, before choosing from a menu of fifteen teas to enjoy as they listen to a mellow soundtrack of live jazz piano. An immaculately-executed selection of classic finger sandwiches – among them minted cucumber, coronation chicken, and a particularly good truffled egg mayo on brioche – is followed by warm scones served with generous helpings of the usual accoutrements. And then the grand finale; a plate of the most regal pastries you ever laid eyes on, at the centre of which sits a crown crafted from yuzu, Japanese sponge and mouth-puckering Yorkshire rhubarb. An afternoon tea most definitely fit for a king.

It may be one of the newer contenders in London's afternoon tea scene, but 'exquisite' doesn't feel like too strong a word for Pan Pacific Hotel's offering. Its ultra-modern Orchid Lounge is the backdrop for a jewel-bright, intricate collection of delicacies, presented on mirrored plates and framed in a bird cage. There are two options for savouries: choose from a typically English array of intensely flavoured little sandwiches, or pick the Singaporean selection of freshly steamed dumplings for an east Asian take on teatime tradition. Then come the scones, which are engagingly light and crumbly - but if your appetite is already flagging, save your efforts for the tea's centrepiece, the patisserie selection. These miniature cakes are so frivolously stylish you could probably wear them on your head to Ascot, but dig in and you'll be rewarded with intense, delicate bursts of flavour. Wash them down with selections from the ever-changing line-up of loose leaf teas, both arcane and traditional.

Many London hotels offer kids’ variants on afternoon tea, but the Ampersand in South Kensington actively specialises in it, with its two restaurants each having a different tea theme: Science upstairs in The Drawing Room, Jurassic downstairs in Apero. It is, to be clear, not hard to sell an afternoon tea to a child – you had them at the word ‘cake’. But the Ampersand offers a relentlessly fun experience that should hold even the most raddled of attention spans: the Jurassic tea starts with a customisable hot chocolate, moves on to the waiter theatrically filling your artificial volcano with dry ice and ends with a little box of biscuit crumbs from which you can ’excavate’ chocolate dinosaurs. They are cute, thoughtful and fun, and obviously the real secret of the Amperand’s appeal is that it’s less than five minutes’ walk from the Natural History Museum and Science Museum.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is the grande dame of London theatres, with a site that has been in constant use as a playhouse since the 1600s. Enter the Grand Saloon and you'll find a tea fit for royalty, whipped up by celebrity baker Lily Vanilli aka the queen of east London's cake scene. Sit under spectacular chandeliers and scoff mini crumpets topped with Earl Grey-infused cream cheese and a savoury madeleine with whipped feta and pickled carrot. Fruit scones, vanilla cake filled with passionfruit and buttercream, topped by a handmade chocolate cupid, mini sticky toffee pudding and a strawberry ice cream sandwich provide the sweeter side of tea. Bliss. 

Looking for a more wallet-friendly afternoon tea? Then The Tea House at Bishop's Park in Fulham offers one of London's best value options. At just £19 a head for a minimum of two people, you'll get a three tier tea, with finger sarnies, fresh baked scones and mini cakes a-plenty, as well as a selection of tea and coffee. Sandwiches include cheddar and rhubarb jam, egg mayo and pea shoots and smoked salmon and dill cream cheese. There's also the added bonus of the setting; a super cute and historic cafe in one of the city's cutest parks. They also shot scenes from The Omen here, but maybe don't tell the kids that. 

A restaurant in a gallery is, of course, going to offer you a masterpiece of a meal. The tea at Ochre is inspired by the National Gallery's 200th anniversary year, and is something of a culinary work of art itself. Head pastry chef Rebecca Morrison's afternoon offering includes a plate of macaroons; blueberry, coffee, pistachio and raspberry, as well as a bicentenary birthday cake and lemon choux. Finger sandwiches are egg mayonnaise, ham and tomato with mustard mayo, smoked salmon with dill crème fraîche and cucumber with cornish butter and sea salt. A masterpiece!

Hosted in TĪNG on the 35th floor of The Shard, Afternoon tea at the Shangri-La comes with a view – a helluva good view – and you’d be forgiven for handing over your £78 for that alone. But that’s not the only reason to book yourself in here. The experience kicks off with a neat set of sandwiches – classic fillings but delightfully light, so you won’t feel guilty for ordering a second helping – followed by a couple of savoury bites and some crumbly scones. Then we’re onto the main event: a platter of cakes so delicate you’ll think twice before laying into them, and a miniature Shard crafted out of chocolate that sits on a swirling bed of dry ice straight out of Eurovision. This was part of the Bees in Bloom menu – Shangri-La’s celebration of spring – but you’ll be in for a treat whatever time of year you visit. Just ask for a window seat and keep your fingers crossed for clear skies.

Boasting a lush atrium, where plants pile towards a soaring glass ceiling, the NoMad is the perfect setting for a bit of afternoon whimsy. Waiting staff seem formal but friendly, befitting the environment – the NoMad is classy, but still distinctly cool without the stuffiness of some other afternoon tea establishments. In fact, we are encouraged to order Negroni after Negroni (made with Honeybush tea, part of their delightful tea-inspired cocktail menu) which is the kind of enabling we like to see. The afternoon tea itself plays homage to the NoMad’s New York roots – mini lox bagels and pastrami sandwiches, as well as classics like egg mayonnaise, elevated with the always-welcome addition of truffle. A decent selection of teas were offered, all from the Rare Tea Company – but we preferred the ones steeped in booze.

Under a lofty glass dome, the sumptuously traditional Thames Foyer plays host to sedate celebrating couples and excited groups having a grand day out in an unstuffy but top-drawer setting. A piano tinkles in the background as punters scarf down a classic selection of delicate finger and open sandwiches, homemade scones with clotted cream, jam, and lemon curd, and a fine selection of pastries that looks like a tempting work of art.

Or to give its full title 'Art Afternoon Tea: The John Booth Collection'. This whimsical tea is based on the work of multidisciplinary artist Booth, and reflects his playful, colourful approach. Executive pastry chef Mark Perkins has teamed up with Booth to create wacky, but not too wacky sandwiches, scones and teas. Cakes are inspired by Booth's experience as a twin and upbringing in Cumbria. Weird? A little. Delicious? Certainly.

This hotel stands on the site of what was 145 Piccadilly, the former childhood residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Pay tribute to the late Her Maj with the Elizabethan Royal Tea, which features cuppas from the classy East India Company in the fancy Wellington Lounge, as well as salmon & caviar, and coronation chicken sandwiches, before a syllabub pastry inspired by the first Queen Elizabeth. Find it every day, between 1–5pm. 

To mark the one-year anniversary since its opening, ridiculously stylish Mayfair restaurant Socca has launched a delicate afternoon tea. ‘L’amour Du Thé’ takes the classic English ritual and infuses it with elements of the Côte d’Azur, so you can snack on some airy bites dripping in French flavours. The three-tiered stand starts with four excellent savouries – the standout was the lamb croquette – followed by a pile of chocolate chouquette and an elegant selection of flavoursome pastries (the lemon meringue pie was our fave). All topped off with some nougat on the side, this tea is filled with restaurateur Samyukta Nair and chef Claude Bosi’s adoration for the French Riviera.

The Grill Room is a sensational space, Grade II listed and gilded to the hilt. A favourite of Oscar Wilde and it's easy to see why. The afternoon tea is just as lavish, with live piano, champers and a high-end menu that kicks off with an amuse bouche of truffle gougère, truffle mousse, parmesan choux before rolling through roast beef and smoked salmon sarnies before a palate cleanser of blood orange sorbet with cocoa nibs crumble, then fresh scones and sweets such as buttermilk mousse with rhubarb confit and pistachio praline with cocoa sablé. There's a veggie and vegan option, too. 

Flattering lighting, the scent of fresh roses, classical musicians in the corner: The Foyer at Claridge’s is a class act. This elegant art deco space is where chic A-listers and people with damn fine taste come to take tea. The pastries are decent, the just-baked scones even better (look out for the sensational Marco Polo ‘tea jelly’), but at Claridge’s, it’s the savouries that are the stars. Not only are the finger sandwiches moist, full-flavoured and unlimited, but there’s an ever-changing ‘special’ – perhaps peppered goat’s cheese with pumpkin and sage jalousie. Gracious, discreet service is a bonus.

When you walk into Bread Ahead Bakery on Pavilion Road, you’re met with the kind of chaotic buzz expected from a popular weekend bakery. But in the corner of this lively spot, behind the velvet rope and up the staircase, is a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of Chelsea: The Tea House from Bread Ahead. Fortum & Mason teas are served alongside mini versions of Bread Ahead’s classic bridge roll sandwiches, and a silver tower of scones with clotted cream, jam and lemon curd, all made in-house. Finish off with some expertly baked pastries, including an Eton mess swiss roll, chocolate sponge and apricot, almond & lemon thyme tart.

It’s only fitting that this superbly elegant South Ken hotel would serve an equally elegant afternoon tea. The dining room – which embodies the stylish boutiquey-ness of the rest of the building – makes for a peaceful spot for sipping on tea (or champagne) and sampling lighter-than-air but flavourful sandwiches and delicious earl grey scones. Once you’ve taken a seat, you’ll be given a wooden menu containing samples of all the Newby teas on offer, so you can see (and smell) whatever you’d like to drink. We went with Silver Needle to go with our savouries and Jasmine with our sweets. It’s certainly a place to come for a treat – the standard, fizz-less tea offering starts at £55, and with a glass of Lanson it’s £65 – but for that price you get some genuinely lovely food and attentive, thoughtful service.

This glorious grande dame of the capital’s restaurant scene – it was established way back in 1916 – offers afternoon tea with, of course, oysters. Start your sophisticated sesh with a glass of champers and then knock back Jersey rocks with a sweet Vietnamese dressing. Sandwiches are similarly fishy; smoked salmon and horseradish, pickled cucumber and seaweed cream, crab and mayo. There are the requisite scones and a hearty array of patisseries and desserts, including a scrumptious craquelin choux bun with tart raspberry compote and lemon curd. 

Given it has views over Battersea Power Station you'd be forgiven for thinking Joia, the Portuguese restaurant found inside Art'otel, wouldn't need to work so hard to bring in the punters for its afternoon tea. But the fluffy scones, deserts such as pear and almond choux bun with passion fruit crémeux and refill friendly sandwiches (from smoked salmon, cucumber and dill to cream to salted beef and horseradish) go toe-to-toe with those famous chimneys. Staff are attentive, the tea selection extensive and there's even a multi-port charging station at the host desk so there's no risk of missing your champagne-flute-in-front-of-a-Grade-II-listed-building money shot.

Cucumber sandwiches aren’t for everyone, we’ll give you that. In the lovely, leafy confines of Sushisamba’s Covent Garden restaurant, you can eschew the traditional fare and tuck into wagyu katsu sliders, crispy lobster taquitos and gunkan sushi. Start at the bottom of the tower for savoury, and make your way up to the sweet stuff (the light, fluffy chocolate puffs are a highlight). As you’d expect, it’s all a suitably lavish affair, finished off with a massive selection of teas and warm, crumbly scones for the purists.

One of the most impressive dining rooms in central London, Balthazar is the perfect Manhattan interpretation of a French brasserie; all extremely high ceilings, burnished mirrors and terrific tiling. Their afternoon tea is similarly Parisian with a New York twist. Alongside dainty dressed crab and tarragon chicken sandwiches with truffle mayo you'll find a mini hamburger. The five mini desserts are exceptional; a Paris Brest, gateau opera, crème brûlée, apple tart and macaron. There's also a zingy French 75 cocktail and Champagne in the mix.

Glistening with mirrors, gilt and peacock-blue velvet, Flemings is a little gem of an afternoon tea spot. This Mayfair boutique hotel's intimate drawing room offers a quiet place to swap gossip over a menu that places almost as much emphasis on the tea as the dainty treats that accompany it. The theme changes each season: on our visit, the floral-themed menu offered soothing lavender white tea and marmalade-esque orange blossom oolong alongside feather-light scones, finger sandwiches, and appropriately delicate patisserie.

Get the best of both sides of the pond at this British-American transatlantic mash-up American tea. Featuring a delectable array of homemade finger sandwiches (Reuben salt beef, oak smoked lox and devilled egg) and sweet trates like salt water taffy, vanilla pudding and yuzu cream pie, as well as freshly baked scones. The best bit? Live piano performance while you eat.

Go green with afternoon tea at The Clermont, which leans into its close proximity to the long-running musical Wicked by creating an afternoon tea in homage to the Wizard of Oz spin-off. Start with fancies such as a chocolate & pistachio bombe and a lime cheesecake before scones and classic cucumber and egg mayo sandwiches. If you're on the booze then a Wicked is made with Hendrick’s gin, kiwi puree, cucumber syrup, and sparkling wine, while a Good comes with Chambord as well as raspberry and strawberry liqueurs. 

Afternoon tea at The Dorchester is a dark horse. The Promenade looks every bit the foyer of a Park Lane hotel: sumptuous, with heavy drapes, plush carpets and marble columns. Dig deeper and you’ll see it’s a breath of fresh air: staff wear tailcoats but are charming and approachable; the crowd comprises sartorially slick Londoners; and best of all, the piano player’s tinkle-list covers all bases. Unlimited finger sandwiches are terrific and elevated by interesting breads, such as caraway seed or walnut, as are pitch-perfect pastries: the moist Battenberg, wrapped in homemade marzipan, is not one we will easily forget. 

Served in the gilded lounge of the regal Goring hotel, this is the Grace Kelly of afternoon teas. Smart casual is the official line outfit-wise, but this is a spread you’ll want to get dressed up for. The sandwiches, in particular, are faultless: perfect little crustless soldiers made fresh to order. Scones (plain or fruity) come tucked up in a napkin nest to keep them toasty warm. The best bit? You’ll be offered refills without having to ask for them.

The jaw-dropping splendour of huge hand-crafted cobalt-blue chandeliers gives this former grammar school Great Hall a real impact – so bag a table on the wraparound mezzanine gallery to truly appreciate the vibe. There’s artistry – and fun – in the Indian High Chai too, which is based on the subcontinent’s street food and includes such delicacies as kathi rolls, feather-light samosas with tamarind chutney and bowls of bhel puri studded with pomegranate seeds. Portions are manageable, so you should have room to sample the halwa, barfi and other gorgeous Indian sweets – assuming you haven’t knocked back too much of the milky masala chai. Enthusiastic waiters are only too eager to top up your painted glass.

Chef Michel Roux Jr and Executive Pastry Chef Andrew Gravett have come together to create a menu inspired by the nation's favourite biscuits and baked tarts. The spread is based on the best seasonal produce, so expect a calendar-tuned line-up of speciality sandwiches, home-baked scones, cakes and pastries, all served on Wedgwood china. All paired with a selection of JING teas and English sparkling wine from Gusbourne.

A two-storey French teahouse in the heart of Covent Garden, the Parisian afternoon tea takes place at the lavish Salon de Thé and offers up over 1,000 aromatic varieties of the hot stuff. The food is fittingly French but with a Covent Garden twist. Expect  classic scones and smoked salmon sandwiches infused with Paris Marais tea.