Over my time in London I was lucky enough to go to a few high teas at venues all across the city, but the best has to be at The Ritz, in its stunning Palm Court (below).
We had booked the tea for two of my friends’ on-going birthday celebrations. I say ‘on-going’ because we naively booked the tickets in October intending to use them in November, not realising that for a weekend booking there is a six month waiting list and for an evening booking (from 7.30pm) there can be up to six weeks. We ended up celebrating in January! Nobody minded the excuse to celebrate the birthdays twice.
High Tea at the Ritz is quite a formal affair with no denim or sneakers allowed and gents are required to wear jacket and tie. For us girls, it’s the perfect reason to get our best dresses and heels out and posh it up.
On arrival, we were shown to our table and were given our pots of tea in gorgeous silver teapots and a glass of champagne. Once we were settled in we couldn’t stop taking photos because everything was so pretty and kept giggling because we knew we just seemed very out of place in such a gorgeously posh place.
After the drinks were served it was down to the food. We were given three tiered cake stands with sandwiches, scones and cakes. With ‘tea’, it is customary to eat from the bottom up so we got stuck into the sandwiches.
Once we had finished that stack and refused a second helping, we were given hot fresh scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. By the end of the second tier we were getting rather full but on top are all the sweet things like macaroons, slices, tarts and cakes in mini sizes.
If that isn’t enough food you can even chose a cake off the trolley.
By the end of the evening I had more than enough delicious bites and endless amounts of tea in a gorgeous setting while spending time with some really good friends.
High tea, or ‘afternoon tea’ as they prefer to call it at The Ritz, is one of those London bucket-list ‘must dos’ and the Palm Court is the place to do it. It’s also a unique, unforgettable way to celebrate birthdays or a special occasion.
As you may expect, though, it comes at a price:
> Traditional Afternoon Tea: £50 per person
> Champagne Afternoon Tea (includes glass of bubbly): £66 per person
> Celebration Tea (includes celebratory cake): £61 per person
> Celebration Tea with Champagne: £77 per person
What the hey, treat yourself!
Afternoon Tea at The Ritz is served daily at: 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, and 7.30pm.
For full details and bookings, visit TheRitzLondon.com
ADDITIONAL IMAGES: Courtesy TheRitzLondon.com