Tried & Tested: Best Afternoon Teas In London

Afternoon tea is possibly the most British of all institutions, but not all are made equal. So which ones are worth trying in the capital? The C&TH team has done the tough job of sampling afternoon teas across London to bring you the best of the bunch, from the traditional to the quirky. 

What Is Afternoon Tea?

It all began in 1840 with Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, who would ask for a mid-afternoon snack of tea, bread and butter to be delivered to her room to satisfy hunger cravings between lunch and dinner. The habit caught on – and, indeed, grew to become a fashionable social event. During the 1800s, upper-class women would don their fineries and meet for afternoon tea in the drawing room.

Nowadays, afternoon tea is a celebratory occasion typically enjoyed within elegant hotels around the UK. London is one of the best cities in the world for it: think delicate finger sandwiches, scones with the finest butter and jam, and exquisitely crafted pastries, paired with top-notch teas and glasses of champagne. Often it’s served in the most majestic of settings – glitzy hotel lounges, pretty flower-bedecked dining rooms, rooftop restaurants and more. 

The Best Afternoon Teas In London For 2026

So where to find the very best afternoon teas in London? Read on for the C&TH team’s top picks, both traditional and alternative affairs: from Italian-inspired spreads to whimsical twists and boozy takes complete with cocktails, whether you’re taking mum this Mother’s Day or just treating yourself.

Afternoon Tea At Jean Georges At The Connaught

Cucumber, salmon and egg – the standard afternoon tea fare. While all delicious in their own right, if you’ve tested as many afternoon teas as us, the flavour combinations can soon grow samey. Thankfully, Jean-Georges at The Connaught has put a contemporary twist on its finger sandwiches for an exciting new world of flavour: think miso smoked salmon, cucumber with orange blossom, and a coronation turkey in place of chicken. Set within an elegant dining room, the playful Art Deco stained glass sets the mood for the tea. Here, guests are treated to exquisite service, an endless supply of tea (the Signature Blend makes for a great starter, while the Sweet Ginger Peach went perfectly with dessert), and an optional glass of fizz or sparkling tea. The warm scones are literally melt-in-your-mouth while desserts all look too beautiful to smoosh – but smoosh you must, for they (somehow) taste even better than they look. Isabel Dempsey

Price: From £65pp

Availability: Afternoon tea is served Monday through Sunday, with a harpist performance on weekends.

Address: The Connaught, Carlos Place, Mayfair, London W1K 2AL

BOOK: maybourne.com

‘Her Life In Style’ Afternoon Tea At The Goring

To celebrate the launch of the Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style exhibition at The King’s Gallery, her late Majesty’s favourite hotel has put on an afternoon tea in her honour. Alongside the classic sandwiches and scones, the highlight of this tea is a selection of pastries inspired by the Queen’s most iconic looks. First we tucked into Bridesmaid Dress, a peachy pink affair inspired by the gown Lilibet wore to the wedding of Prince George and Princess Marina in 1934 – complete with Balmoral strawberry parfait and Windsor white peaches. Then it was onto Diplomatic Dressing. Done-up in the colours of the gown she wore on her first state visit to Pakistan in 1961 (which itself was designed in the dark green and white of the flag), this sponge draws on the flavours of the local Shahi Tukra bread pudding. Our favourite delicacy? Evening Gown Attire, a swirling chocolate confection inspired by 1970s glamour.

With an introductory cocktail, an amuse bouche, tea topped up throughout, top-notch service, and the choice to elevate the experience even further with a glass Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut, Bollinger Rosé or Bollinger La Grande Année, this is one right royal affair. ID

Price: From £85pp

Availability: Served in The Dining Room on Saturdays and on the Veranda from Monday to Sunday, between 12pm and 6pm. Available from the 10 April – 4 May, and will return on 25 May until September.

Address: The Goring, 15 Beeston Place, London, SW1W 0JW.

BOOK: thegoring.com

(c) Michael Barrow

Fortnum & Mason’s Caviar Tea

If you didn’t think a Fortnum & Mason afternoon tea could get any fancier, try silver-spooning a dollop of caviar on top. The much-loved British institution is offering a new Caviar Tea at its Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Presented on two-tiered stands crafted exclusively for the launch, this new offering will give guests the chance to build their own experience with a choice of top-notch caviars, including Beluga and Golden Oscietra. Served on miniature sourdough crumpets from artisan brand Moore’ish, the caviars are complemented by a range of accompaniments: including crème fraîche and chives, stuffed baby potatoes, and quail eggs. Fortnum’s tea is of course on offer (for the ideal pairing the experts suggest Gyokuro Green) or elevate the experience further with a bottle of Fortnum’s Blanc de Blancs Champagne or Sparkling Tea. Available to be enjoyed as a standalone, or as an add-on to the Classic Afternoon Tea experience, this is one indulgence we can definitely get behind. ID

Price: From £165pp

Availability: Monday-Thursday 11-5.30pm, Friday and Saturday 11-6.30pm, Sunday 11.30-5.30pm

Address: 4th Floor, Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER

BOOK: fortnumandmason.com

Elizabeth Scarlett London Afternoon Tea at Dalloway Terrace

This limited edition afternoon tea is guaranteed to put you straight into the good books on Mother’s Day. The legendary terrace in the heart of Bloomsbury has been transformed into an untamed English meadow with a profusion of handpainted Elizabeth Scarlett wildlife motifs and seasonal blooms.

The menu takes you for a walk on the wild side, too. Designed by the accessories brand’s founder Elizabeth Petrides together with head pastry chef Jake Martin, it features such dreamy confections as Earl Grey cake with British cornflowers, rhubarb and hibiscus profiteroles and orange blossom Madeleines. The vanilla and sultana buttermilk scones served with homemade rhubarb and Campari jam definitely warrant seconds, and pair well with a gentle white tea with forest honey, lemon and a hint of ginger.

As a special Mother’s Day treat, every guest booking for 15 March will receive a complimentary Elizabeth Scarlett Honey Bee eye mask, worth £28. What’s more, there’s a £1 donation per tea for wildlife conservation. Juliet Herd

Price: From £55pp; £70pp including a glass of champagne or Pomelle spritz

Availability: Daily, 12-4pm

Address: Dalloway Terrace, Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3NN

BOOK: dallowayterrace.com

Bridgerton Afternoon Tea at The Lanesborough

Dearest reader, a Bridgerton-themed afternoon tea surely cannot go amiss this season. Launched in partnership with Netflix and Shondaland, Knightsbridge’s The Lanesborough is serving a delicious spread that transports guests to Regency London, served in the hotel’s extravagant dining room replete with original sky dome and spectacular chandeliers. You’ll feel as if you’ve stepped out on set.

As with the opulent setting, the afternoon tea certainly doesn’t disappoint. Begin with the ‘Friends to Lovers’ cocktail, a pink margarita inspired by Penelope Featherington topped with a white feather, a nod to her vicious quill. The finger sandwiches eschew tradition, with truffled potato buns, and spicy harissa chicken served alongside your more classic repertoire (smoked salmon and crème fraiche, and cheese and spring onion). Scones are then served warm with fruit jam and clotted Devonshire cream – but the pastries are the real pièce de résistance, each one inspired by a character from the series. For example, ‘The Book of Eloise’, a dainty book-shaped cheesecake paying tribute to Eloise Bridgerton’s love of literature,  and ‘Colin’s Travels’, a sweet dark chocolate sponge encased in a ‘travel trunk’ – for Colin Bridgerton’s fondness for travel. Daniella Laxton

Price: From £92pp

Address: Hyde Park Corner, London SW1X 7TA

BOOK: oetkercollection.com

The Crown Afternoon Tea at Vintry & Mercer

Obsessed with The Crown? This royally-inspired culinary experience at Vintry & Mercer is for you. It unfolds on the Mercer Roof Terrace, a radiant space at the crest of the gorgeous boutique hotel. Enjoy views of St Paul’s Cathedral and The Shard as you tuck into an array of delights, each with charming royal influences.

Standout savouries include the coronation chicken vol-au-von, complete with a perfectly spiced mango chutney, alongside the bitesize and ludicrously tasty Yorkshire pudding laden with roast beef and horseradish.  Meanwhile, the scones are wonderfully fluffy, and the addition of earl grey jelly alongside the classic clotted cream and strawberry jam is a delightful surprise.

The picture-perfect sweets and pastries are the centrepiece of this opulent menu, and they taste as lovely as they look: nibble on a chocolate sceptre, or sample a sovereign’s orb crafted from genoise sponge filled with raspberry and orange blossom mousse. Top off your afternoon with a glass of champagne, or try the exceptional teapot cocktails – the ‘King’s Blend’ is particularly divine, featuring apple eau de vie, St Germain liqueur, lavender syrup and lemon juice. MD

Price: From £49.50pp

Availability: Every Saturday and Sunday from 12pm – 5pm

Address: 19-20 Garlick Hill, London EC4V 2AU

BOOK: vintryandmercer.com

Afternoon Tea in an Old Courtroom at Browns Brasserie & Bar, Covent Garden

When it comes to casual (and not so casual) special occasions, Browns Brasserie is one of the city’s go-to dining spots. Especially when it comes to afternoon tea. The dining destination’s Covent Garden outpost has its own afternoon tea lounge in a former courtroom, which still features some of the room’s original furnishings and details (including the judge’s bench).

The setting’s grandeur is matched heartily by the food and drink on offer. You’ll find the classics – dainty finger sandwiches, fresh-baked scones and a selection of British cakes – as well as some fun twists (the lobster rolls are a must). And guests can wash it all down with a crisp glass of Moët and Chandon champagne, or a heart cup of tea from Good Earth Tea.

Gluten-free diners can also get a slice of the action, as Browns also offers a bespoke afternoon tea menu accredited by Coeliac UK. Charlie Colville

Price: From £30pp

Availability: Served from 1-4pm daily in the Judge’s Court (Covent Garden branch)

Address: 82-84 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AG

BOOK: browns-restaurants.co.uk

Afternoon Tea at NoMad London

Easily one of London’s swankiest hotels, NoMad London is renowned for its fantastic location, contemporary interiors, and biophilic restaurant housed in a three-storied glass-roofed atrium. Here, it serves up a suitably chic menu for afternoon pecking. 

The afternoon tea meticulously blends the best of British tradition with NoMad’s flavour of stateside contemporary cool. Drinks comprise a selection of teas, from the Rare Tea Company, as well as tea-inspired cocktails, from bartending duo Leo Robitschek and Liana Oster (you must try the Earl of Jalisco, a tequila meets earl grey concoction). 

The hotel group hails from New York, and it’s the savouries that give nod to this. Think elevated deli with smoked salmon bagels, truffled egg sandwiches, cucumber and cream cheese sliders and pastrami, daikon and mustard sandwiches. And, of course, New Yorkers love a sweet treat. Created by pastry chef Martha Hernandez, the patisseries present an intriguing landscape of flavours – most of the deserts fall fruity, with a tropical cheesecake, an aptly tart cassis and shiso tart and choux buns filled with lemon, vanilla and olive oil, but the hotel does offer a small bite of indulgence with its sacher-torte (an ideal addition for cleansing the palette). 

Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be afternoon tea without proper scones. Arriving in two waves – savoury and sweet – the first is a blue cheese and sage creation, and the lattermost small, triangle-shaped rum currant and orange zest bakes, topped with ample sugar. Both incredibly moreish – especially when eaten with a steaming cup of tea. Or a boozy Earl grey. CC

Price: From £75pp 

Availability: Thursday – Saturday, 2pm – 4pm 

Address: 28 Bow Street, London WC2E 7AW

BOOK: thenomadhotel.com

Afternoon Tea with a Twist at Charlotte Street Hotel

For an alternative to bottomless brunch, why not go for a delightfully boozy afternoon tea? Head to Oscar at Charlotte Street Hotel and sample the Indulge menu for your chance to tuck into three miniature cocktails with your meal. The menu features all the classic bites, including smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches plus the all-important scones – and you can enjoy sweet treats like vanilla cupcakes or strawberry and prosecco mousse cake alongside your specially-selected drinks. What’s not to love? Ellie Smith

Price: From £40pp

Availability: Wednesday and Thursday, from 2.45pm – 4.45pm and Friday – Sunday, from 12 – 4.45pm

Address: 15-17 Charlotte St., London W1T 1RJ

BOOK: firmdalehotels.com

Champagne Afternoon Tea at L’oscar London

Bloomsbury’s L’oscar cultivates such a sexy ambience in its dining room – lit only by low lamps and birds set in luminous amber – that snacking on finger sandwiches almost feels suggestive. Indeed, wafts of steamy tea and exchanges of black truffle snacks certainly set a mood, should you bring a date. And the most seductive part of it all? This is one of London’s best hidden gems for an afternoon tea that won’t completely break the bank, at £59pp.

Splash yourself with cold water, though: this afternoon tea is housed in a former Baptist church, and the culinary journey ahead is of biblical proportions. Start with one of the hotels own blends of tea – the entire tea menu spans longer than that for the food, though, should you feel so inclined – or enjoy a light tipple of Michel Reybier Champagne. After this, there’s an onslaught of savouries and sweets. There’s an egg mimosa and black truffle sandwich, that’s a burst of umami, and then little sugar rush cakes in technicolour. Finally, the scones are the perfect denouement to this spirited afternoon tea – fluffy, classic offerings to be lathered with raspberry jam and lemon curd and clotted cream. A wholesome finish to an otherwise ravishing experience. Tessa Dunthorne

Price: From £59pp

Availability: Daily from 2.30pm – 5pm

Address: 2-6 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AA

BOOK: loscarlondon.com

Afternoon Tea at Royal Lancaster London

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Paddington, at the top of Hyde Park, is an intimate afternoon tea that eschews the crowd. Taken in the Royal Lancaster London’s Hyde Café, its quintessentially British snacking is paired with soothing music, sleek marble furnishings, and guided by friendly staff who can cater to any allergy or dietary requirement.

Except your classic (but still outrageously tasty) sandwiches – beef and horseradish, smoked salmon, cucumber and egg mayo – as well as freshly baked scones and sweet treats. ‘Sweet bites’ present a range of flavours, from florals and fruits to honey and chocolate. Pull up your napkin and tuck into the Lancaster Rose (a vibrant pink raspberry and lychee mousse with apple flowers), the Bee Hive (a creamy, honey-laced panna cotta), the Mango and Coconut Opera (a tropically flavoured pandan rice cake) or the Chocolate Ganache Cake (a rich, dark chocolate cake with Earl Grey ganache and jelly) for a tasty afternoon treat. 

Once you’ve had your fill of warm scones and tea, diners can make their way out and over to nearby Hyde Park – where they can stroll away the rest of the afternoon (and walk off any lingering fullness). CC

Price: From £49pp

Availability: Monday – Sunday, 1 – 4pm

Address: Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY

BOOK: royallancaster.com

London Calling Afternoon Tea at Haymarket Hotel

Whether one is a city native or on a sojourn to Britain’s capital city, the London Calling afternoon tea at the Haymarket Hotel imagines its touristic landmarks as little treats. 

Its menu is presented as a sweetly illustrated map that takes you on a walking tour (which you are encouraged to use before or after your meal thanks to a nifty QR code) from the nearby London Eye to Trafalgar Square. These landmarks are then reimagined: the London eye as a cinnamon and cream cheese swirl, the latter as a Victoria sponge topped with a gold lion. Big Ben, too, stars as a dark chocolate and orange biscuit, and no trip is complete without catching the Royal Guard, here imagined as a blackberry macaron (this one won’t smile at you, either). 

You’ve of course got your clotted cream and jam scones, as well as finger sandwiches. There’s a Coronation chicken roll; smoked salmon and crème fraîche on brown; roast beef and horseradish on rosemary; and, finally, cucumber and cream cheese on granary bread. But other snacks beloved by Londoners appear too, including a small steak and London Pride pie, and a chicken scotch egg with HP sauce. A quintessential English affair not to miss. Margaret Hussey 

Price: From £50pp

Availability: Daily, 12-4:45pm

Address: 1 Suffolk Place, London SW1Y 4HX

BOOK: firmdalehotels.com

Reviews by: Charlie Colville, Ellie Smith, Martha Davies, Daniella Laxton, Tessa Dunthorne, Juliet Herd and Margaret Hussey.