LONDON’S HISTORIC AFTERNOON TEAS
“Wouldn’t it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn’t have tea,” exclaimed quintessentially English writer and actor Noel Coward. The national obsession for afternoon tea can mean sitting down for something as simple as a mug of ‘builder’s’ and a flaky, raisin-filled Eccles cake. Or it might be an elaborate meal of delicate finger sandwiches, warm jam-and-cream scones and artistically sculpted cakes, all accompanied by a pot of fragrant Oolong. Either way, for lovers of London’s rich culture the setting is as important as the food. Here are the places where you’ll be served a slice of history with your afternoon tea.
The Langham
The very first London hotel to offer afternoon tea was The Langham on Regent Street. A ‘grande dame’ hotel designed to put all European rivals in the shade, it opened in 1896 with a splendid lunch attended by the Prince of Wales, who was later crowned Edward VII. The wealthy flocked to enjoy its electric lighting, air con - and fashionable afternoon tea with “musical entertainment” at a cost of one shilling and sixpence per person.
Over the years, The Langham’s evolving guest list included Oscar Wilde, Jean Sibelius, Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales. It was bombed in WWII, bought (and sold) by the BBC and remodelled. But there is one constant: you can still book a table for afternoon tea under the dangling chandeliers of its Palm Court. And it’s a good one, with“fluffy scones, fresh savouries and fine pastries” devised by super chef Michel Roux Jr.
COMBINE WITH Shopping on Regent Street and a walk in Regent’s Park.
DETAILS Afternoon tea from £75pp with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free available, Wed-Sun, langhamhotels.com
Postcard of The Langham Hotel from 1903: public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Newens, Kew
Reviewed by Catherine Sheargold
Even older than The Langham is Newens. A West London institution since 1850, this cosy tea room & bakery is one of the few places in the capital still dedicated solely to teatime treats. Inside, there's a comfortable, old-fashioned feel: pictures and prints on every inch of wall space, knick-knacks on the mantelpiece and circular wooden tables. The speciality is maid-of-honour tarts, which are melt-in-the-mouth creme-patisserie-filled puff pastry rounds. Legend is that King Henry VIII discovered his second wife Anne Boleyn and her own 'maids of honour' eating them. He tasted one and loved it so much that he had the recipe confiscated and kept in a locked box at Richmond Palace - which was his West London palace before Hampton Court Palace was built. Disclosed to the original Newens baker in the 18th century, it has been the tea room's star confection ever since.
AFTERNOON TEA At just £20 a head, the set tea - which comes on a classic tiered stand - is extremely reasonable compared to many other places. You can choose from sweet or savoury. I visited with a friend and we picked one of each and shared. Both of us were starving and the food was good! The sweet version consists of five sandwiches (smoked salmon and cream cheese, cream cheese and cucumber, egg mayo and cheddar) cut into crustless triangles, two (homemade but cold) scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a patisserie or maid of honour. The savoury has two cocktail sausage rolls, quiche or beef pastry - all served hot - five sandwiches and one scone with jam and clotted cream. For special occasions, you can upgrade to a Prosecco set tea from £28 or a Champagne set tea from £40. Tea is included in the price, although with 40 different types (from Assam to Nepalese Himalayan) it has a dedicated menu. Most are loose-leaved and are served in aluminium pots with matching strainers. The china is Wedgwood Willow Pattern - a classic choice for serving afternoon tea since it first became fashionable in the 19th century.
COMBINE WITH A trip to Kew Gardens, which contains the world’s largest collection of botanic plants (the main entrance is a five-minute stroll from the tea room). If you’re tracing your family tree, The National Archives is also within walking distance.
DETAILS Open daily, 288 Kew Road, TW9 3DU, 020 8940 2752; theoriginalmaids of honour.co.uk ; we went on a Sunday afternoon and it was packed, so booking is recommended.
Photos of Newens: Catherine Sheargold
Claridge’s, Mayfair
“Not that I intend to die, but when I do, I don’t want to go to heaven, I want to go to Claridge’s,” said Hollywood actor Spencer Tracy. Although the five-star luxury hotel began its story in the 19th century, it was a spectacular Art Deco refurb in the early 20th century that made it a hit with famous US visitors. (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn were also fans.) Afternoon tea at Claridge’s’ gives an opportunity to soak up some of that glamour along with a pot of Cornish Earl Grey tea. Sandwiches, scones and elegant cakes are served in the mirrored Foyer (and Reading Room) on signature Art Deco-style bone china. And a celebratory atmosphere means it’s usual to add in a glass of Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut.
COMBINE WITH More Claridge’s! Either a session in the subterranean spa or an evening in the intimate Painter’s Room champagne and cocktail bar.
DETAILS Afternoon tea from £85, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free available, claridges.co.uk
Photographs of Claridge’s: The Dawson Collective
Brown’s, Mayfair
Browns Genteel Inn was the name Sarah and James Brown chose for their Dover Street business when it opened in 1837. Having worked as valet and maid to Lord and Lady Byron (busts of the ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’ poet are scattered around), the couple knew how to pamper England’s elite. Their plan - and it was a novel one at the time - was to offer accommodation during The Season, London’s social spring/summer period of dinner parties and balls. The hotel quickly caught up with the craze for afternoon tea, attracting the ultimate guest, Queen Victoria, to its wood-panelled drawing room.
Over time, Browns spread into connecting Georgian townhouses and has become a super-civilised, contemporary five-star hotel. An elaborate set afternoon tea is still served in the drawing room, now jazzed up with Paul Smith lights and show tunes played on a baby grand piano. Pay particular attention to the Kipling cake. This sponge concoction topped with pineapple, mango and passionfruit is a tribute to author Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Book in one of Browns’ bedrooms.
COMBINE WITH A whirl around the tailors, grocers and luxury leather stores of Jermyn Street, a shopping enclave authorised’ by Charles II, and the designer boutiques of Old and New Bond Streets.
DETAILS Traditional afternoon tea or plant-based afternoon tea from £75pp, roccofortehotels.com.
Photo: Anthony O'Neil, via Wikimedia Commons
Fortnum & Mason
In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, and Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, teamed up to opened Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Quite the glittering turn out!
But the world-famous grocery store on Piccadilly has always had rock solid royal connections. William Fortnum, who, together with his landlord Hugh Mason, launched it in 1707, had worked as a footman in the court of Queen Anne, and various Royal Warrants have been granted over the centuries.
As you’d expect from a company that has been importing and blending tea for 300 years, there is an extensive selection on offer, including the honey-noted Royal Blend, which was created for Edward VII. Food ingredients, from Kames Bay trout to F&M’s own strawberry preserve, are impeccably sourced and mostly available to buy in store.
COMBINE WITH An exhibition at the nearby Royal Academy of Arts.
DETAILS Choose from classic afternoon tea, savoury afternoon tea, high tea, vegetarian tea and gluten-free tea, from £78pp, daily, fortnumandmason.com
Photo of F&M afternoon tea: Nabih El Boustani, Unsplash
Burgh House, Hampstead
Rudyard Kipling’s daughter Elsie Bambridge once owned this grand red-brick Queen Anne house, and served tea to the world-famous author in its drawing room on his final day out in 1936. Now, Burgh House is a local museum, and hosts weekend weddings and art exhibitions. Its snug basement cafe is dotted with period photos of Hampstead village and heath, and flows out to a narrow, sheltered garden that was designed by Gertrude Jekyll, one of the world’s most influential gardeners. When the sun shines, locals flock in for lunch but you can usually find a table.
Burgh House doesn’t offer a set afternoon tea, Instead, you choose items individually. A cream tea (tea with scones, jam and cream) is on the menu. And crammed onto the counter will usually be plates of savoury cheese scones, carrot cake and lemon drizzle. Tea is from a wide selection and served, as it should be, in a pot. But expect hearty baguettes such as salmon with horseradish cream rather than sandwiches. A lovely spot with a leisurely atmosphere.
COMBINE WITH A walk around historic Hampstead village and Hampstead Heath.
DETAILS From around £10pp, Wed-Sun; no bookings, burghhouse.org.uk.
The Savoy
Muffins, ice-cream, waffles and boxes of chocolates have all appeared on the afternoon tea menu at The Savoy. While food fashions change, surveying a plate of delicate pastries over the rim of a cup of Darjeeling at this famous Art Deco-influenced hotel remains a glam experience.
The Savoy was opened in 1898 by theatre impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte, paid for by the profits of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado. And afternoon tea was served in the river-view Thames Foyer from day one. A major talking point was the pianist, who played from within an ornate gazebo (pictured), which is still in use today.
At first, piano music was accompanied only by the genteel clatter of teaspoons being set down on bone-china saucers. But by the 1920s, tea dances were all the rage and a lively house band encouraged guests to take to the floor for tangos and foxtrots.
The hotel’s theatrical origins means that a sprinkling of stardust has always come along with the icing sugar. Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and The Beatles have all sauntered through the Savoy’s plush spaces.
COMBINE WITH The Savoy is an event in itself - come for tea, stay for cocktails!
DETAILS Choose from traditional afternoon tea, high tea, vegan and vegetarian afternoon teas, from £80pp, thesavoylondon.com
Photo of the Thames Foyer: Anthony O’Neill via Wikimedia Commons
The History of Afternoon Tea
A tale of suffragettes, tangos and macaroons
Illustration: Wikimedia Commons
