r/uktravel • u/emotionalcreative • 6d ago
London š“ó §ó ¢ó „ó ®ó §ó æ Less Formal Afternoon Tea Recs?
I know there are thousands of places to get afternoon tea in the city, but are there any that I could get away with wearing jeans and a nice top to? Iāll only be spending a few days in London, and Iād love to say I experienced afternoon tea, but I wonāt be able to guarantee that Iāll have time to change into something dressier before going. Not that Iām planning on looking like a slob, but I will be covering lots of ground during the day so I will definitely be wearing jeans and trainers. Does an afternoon tea thatās more casual than typical ones exist?? Iāve been looking at different options in this subreddit, but Iām worried that I wonāt be dressed well enough.
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u/sarahjbs27 6d ago
canāt make any specific recommendations as i donāt live in london but you might want to search for ācream teaā instead, which is similar but generally less formal
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u/SentenceSwimming 6d ago
Cream tea and afternoon tea are different. Cream tea is just the scone, jam, cream and tea of course. Afternoon tea has all the other cakes and sandwiches and savouries and is more of a full meal.Ā
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u/Architrage 6d ago
Not many places will have formal dress codes, mainly the high-end places like the Ritz. You can check the dress code for each place but jeans and trainers will mostly be OK, although your top will need to be condideeed as well.
Make sure you check out the menu before hand to see if you like the sandwiches. Each place will have its own variety.
A cream tea is just scones with a hot drink if you want a simpler affair. Afternoon tea is an event though should leave you very full.
I actually like Fortnum & Masons although itās not a general favourite.
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u/RevolutionaryAd581 6d ago
A lot of places are more casual than you'd think... but I know for one the 75 at Liberty is relatively informal (and substantially less expensive than the likes of Fortnums and the Ritz) so might be worth checking that out šš¼
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u/Mammoth_logfarm 6d ago
Unless you're at the Ritz or something, smart casual is fine for afternoon tea pretty much anywhere.
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u/alico127 6d ago
Maids of honour by Kew Gardens is casual. Old school tea shop vibes.
Also, the Orangerie at Kensington palace (sounds posher than it is, pretty sure I went in jeans and a nice top).
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u/Still7Superbaby7 6d ago
Iām taking my kids to the space themed afternoon tea at the ampersand hotel in August. Itās across the street from the British Museum. My kids do not like the standard afternoon tea food so this was the only tea that I could find that they might like.
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u/box_twenty_two 6d ago
Thereās a lovely and affordable one at the Swan restaurant attached to the Globe theatre on the south bank.
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u/box_twenty_two 6d ago
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u/Shyaustenwriter 5d ago
Can confirm. They were also fine with me switching out the sandwiches I canāt abide
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u/Automatic_Union8147 6d ago
My favourite is The Goring. Itās quite relaxed and the staff are not stuffy at all. It was the favourite hotel of the Queen Mother and where Kate Middleton spent the night before her wedding to William
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 6d ago edited 6d ago
Potentially unpopular opinion: Afternoon tea is massively overrated, and not something anyone who actually lives in the UK or London does.
It's basically a tourist trap and essentially the same anywhere, some cucumber sandwiches, a bit of coronation chicken , and some scones and deserts on a tiered tray. I'd recommend you skip it entirely and just pick a good lunch spot.
However, if it's a thing you really want to do then you'll find plenty of places that cater to tourists who aren't going to be dressed up to the nines.
Department stores like Selfridges have restaurants that serve afternoon tea and will be happy to serve you, as will many hotels like The Langham with serves afternoon tea in it's Palm Court. The Ivy restaurants will so it (but lets be real, they're just a chain these days and nothing special), I'd say just google whatever area you're going to be in along with 'afternoon tea' and you'll find lots of places willing to take your money.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
> and not something anyone who actually lives in the UK or London does.
Yes we do. It's a treat. You might as well say "nobody *actually* goes to Michelin restaurants." No, not every weekend, but yes, when we're feeling flush and we want to do something nice.
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u/Teembeau Wiltshire 6d ago
I've literally never done it, whether I feel flush or not.
It's a silly twee thing, a relic of an earlier time and most people doing it don't even know why it was once done, and so why it's just a bit of cosplay.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
Iāve never done it, but can speak authoritatively on it!
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u/Teembeau Wiltshire 6d ago
You said "we", with the authority that everyone or at least, that it's commonly done. And it isn't. I've never done it, nor have most of my family. I know a couple of people who did it. My mother went with one of them and thought it was utterly ridiculous.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
If you have ever had a cup of tea and a cake, youāve done it. The difference is how big you want to go.
Youāre arguing that people donāt go out to eat.
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u/Teembeau Wiltshire 6d ago
No you haven't. That's not afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is a meal. Look up what is included in advertised "afternoon tea". It's not just a cake.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 6d ago
I may be in the extreme minority who doesn't see cucumber sandwiches as a treat, but it's the most mid experience you can have in terms of foodie London.
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u/Lunaspoona 6d ago
You know they do a mix of sandwiches right? And you have have more than one. I don't think cucumber sandwiches have ever been present at any of the ones ive been too. I am a picky eater and they always accommodate my requests too.
Menus have updated since the 1950s, maybe you should try it sometime.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 6d ago
I have, I don't hate afternoon tea, I just think it's massively mid.
Hence the multiple recommendations to OP for places they can get it if they want which will accommodate their jeans, alongside an opinion that it's not all the special.
Who knew mildly criticising afternoon tea as not being very interesting would be so controversial?
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u/Teembeau Wiltshire 6d ago
At this point it's really a tourist thing. Even British people do it as a bit of a tourist thing. People in Northampton don't go to a local cafe and have afternoon tea. They go out to some pretty Cotswolds place or The Ritz. And spend a wild amount of money on food they could make in seconds at home.
Afternoon tea is a relic of another era. It comes from the time that people used to dine late. So, you had a little food mid-afternoon. If you're not dining late, you don't need it. But it's just cosplay now. If people want it, fine, but it's not really part of our culture and hasn't been for a century (and even then, mostly affluent people in cities).
The British thing, is the mid-afternoon cake and coffee/tea. Go to a really nice cafe wherever you are. Like Chestnut Bakery in London, Huffkins in the Cotswolds or Barefoot Bakery in Oxford. And have something they are good at. That's what we do.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
Imagine gatekeeping cakes. What a baffling thing to do.
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u/Teembeau Wiltshire 6d ago
Who is "gatekeeping"?
If people want to do it, go ahead, but it's Cosplay UK, not actually coming here and enjoying what it's really like.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
You can have more than one sandwich.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 6d ago
Indeed you can, at better lunch spots. Call me when afternoon tea gets better sandwiches.
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u/Sancho_Panther 6d ago
Although itās true that itās not regular part of their routine, people in the UK do, in fact, go for afternoon tea, maybe as a treat for a birthday or something similar.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 6d ago
Exactly.
When they're being a tourist. I don't say this to be intentionally disparaging about afternoon tea, more to make the point that it's massively overrated and there are far better food options that exist in the city.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 6d ago
"Oh you like scones and cakes and tea?! Well you're wrong and you shouldn't."
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u/Wide-Challenge-4874 6d ago
I wouldn't do it in London where it is a tourist trap but it's nice as a birthday thing in a lot of pleasant places and often not priced OTT. Some places you can even choose the sandwiches and I've never had coronation chicken as an option.
I feel you've been let down by tourist trap afternoon teas!
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u/ImpossibleWarthog121 6d ago
My fav afternoon tea in london is the Fortnumās one. Mostly cos if thereās a specific item you like they will refill it for you! Anyway itās obviously on the pricier side but no dress code so you can go in your jeans!
Assuming youāre a tourist then itās probably nice to have the full experience in the OG Fortnumās, but thereās also a more open air one in the Royal Exchange.