A Tribute to Nature afternoon tea at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel
Highgrove House & Gardens — country home of King Charles III — is the inspiration for the A Tribute To Nature afternoon tea at Belgravia's Jumeirah Carlton Hotel. As you might expect, focus is on seasonal and sustainable ingredients, in a whistle-stop tour through the classics (think coronation chicken sandwich) and the more unusual (a scone served with honey crumble and thyme sour cream, to represent Highgrove's work with bees).
End with three royal-inspired cakes: a Queen Victoria sponge favoured by Queen Camilla, the King's own favourite fruit cake, and a chocolate biscuit cake inspired by the late Queen Elizabeth II's preferred sweet treat. How fancy.
A Tribute to Nature afternoon tea at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel. £75 per person. Available from 14 June.
Afternoon tea at art'otel Battersea Power Station
JOIA Bar at art'otel Battersea Power Station is now serving the hotel's first afternoon tea, up on the 14th floor, with views over those famous chimneys to enjoy while you dine.
The menu errs on the side of traditional, with sandwiches (smoked salmon, beef and horseradish, egg and dijon mustard mayonnaise) followed by scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, finishing up with a cinnamon custard tart with raspberries, chocolate & banana mousse with white port & lime cream, and a pear & almond choux bun with passion fruit crémeux.
Afternoon tea at art'otel Battersea. From £55 per person, available every Saturday and Sunday.
Pride afternoon tea at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
The Lane at Theatre Royal Drury Lane serves a special Pride edition of its Regency Afternoon Tea, with £1 from every afternoon tea served being donated to Diversity Role Models, a charity whose mission is to end LGBTQ+ bullying.
A photogenic Taittinger installation greets you at the entrance to the Grand Saloon. The menu is by celebrity baker Lily Vanilli, and includes fruit scones, and a fluffy vanilla cake filled with passionfruit and buttercream, covered in pink icing and topped with sprinkles and a rainbow colourful Pride garnish.
A mini sticky toffee pudding, a strawberry ice cream sandwich, a coronation chicken pie, a mini English crumpet topped with Earl Grey-infused cream cheese and smoked salmon, and a savoury madeleine with whipped English feta and pickled carrot are also included.
Pride afternoon tea at The Lane. From £59 adult/£20 child. Available until 30 June.
La Vie en Rose afternoon tea at Pavyllon London
Pavyllon London — within the Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane — has introduced the La Vie en Rose afternoon tea, inspired by the beauty of nature. Although there are finger sandwiches to begin with, the sweet portion of the menu is very much the focus here, with pastries and cakes spread across all three tiers of the traditional afternoon tea stand.
Among the delicacies are: a strawberry and eucalyptus tart; verbena and vanilla baba; dark fruit pavlova; and Pimm's style raspberries with chocolate and caramel, alongside 'So British' scones — which doesn't sound very French at all.
La Vie en Rose afternoon tea. From £75, available now until September 2024.
Amalfi Coast-inspired afternoon tea at Great Scotland Yard Hotel
The Great Scotland Yard Hotel has adopted an Italian theme for the summer, inspired by the Amalfi Coast — and that extends to its afternoon tea menu.
It's inspired by Floris London's Bergamotto di Positano fragrance, and makes the sizeable promise to give guests "the faint sensation of forgotten summer hideaways that enflame hazy memories". (So long as we don't have to relive ALL our hazy holiday memories...)
Stracciatella, smoked salmon and caviar bruschetta are among the savoury dishes, before you move on to the likes of an almond & cocoa Torta Caprese, a cake from the Capri region; and an Amalfi lemon delight.
Bergamotto di Positano afternoon tea. From £59 per person, available now.
Bicentenary afternoon tea at Ochre, National Gallery
In the year of the National Gallery's 200 year anniversary, its in-house restaurant Ochre marks the occasion with a Bicentenary Afternoon Tea. Centre stage is the bicentenary birthday cake, served alongside a lemon choux, a plate of macaroons, and a Valhrona chocolate mousse in the shape of a paintbrush. Savoury tastes are catered for with a selection of finger sandwiches including egg mayo, and smoked salmon,
Bicentenary afternoon tea. From £55 per person, available now until 14 September.
Children's afternoon tea at Dalloway Terrace
With the summer holidays on the horizon, younger diners are catered for with Dalloway Terrace's new afternoon tea for children, which includes crustless sandwiches, sweet scones, and miniature cakes and treats.
The menu spans soft white finger sandwiches filled with mild cheddar, honey roast ham, and cucumber, followed by vanilla and sultana buttermilk scones with honey and homemade strawberry jam. Atop the final tier, treats include a buttery beehive shortbread, milk chocolate bumble bee lollipop, and a 'blooming' good vanilla cupcake.
You may have picked up on a theme there — bumblebees and sustainability. All children given an activity book and a packet of UK wildflower seeds specifically chosen to help bee populations thrive in the UK.
Children's afternoon tea. £25 per child. Available from 13 June, on weekends and school holidays. An adults' afternoon tea is available for accompanying grown ups.
Wimbledon afternoon tea at Ham Yard Hotel
Alongside the Wimbledon screenings in its 'Centre Court-Yard', Soho's Ham Yard Hotel offers a Wimbledon afternoon tea for the two weeks of the tennis tournament. It's served in a picnic hamper, and features a finger sandwich selection, a sausage roll, scones with clotted cream and preserves, and sweet treats inspired by Centre Court classics, including a Pimm's Swiss roll and a strawberry tart.
Wimbledon afternoon tea. From £53 per person, available 1-14 July.
Knightsbridge afternoon tea
The Knightsbridge Hotel has launched a new afternoon tea designed to match the colour, craft and pattern of the hotel's exterior. For example, the brownie cheesecake is finished with a marzipan mannequin — a nod to the signature feature mannequin in every bedroom. Lemon tart, blueberry macaron and Swiss roll are among other menu items, along with the prerequisite sandwiches and scones.
Knightsbridge afternoon tea. From £45 per person. Available now.
American-inspired afternoon tea at Oblix at The Shard
Oblix at The Shard marks American Independence Day with an American-inspired afternoon tea, available for one week only. The restaurant's classic afternoon tea menu has a few twists including cranberry scones; a chocolate and peanut praline rocher; an apple, pecan and maple tart; a coconut and blackberry cheesecake; a blueberry lemon thyme donut; and a red velvet cake with chocolate sauce.
American-Inspired afternoon tea. From £61 per person, available 1-7 July.
125th Anniversary afternoon tea at The Landmark London
Marylebone's Landmark London Hotel marks its 125th anniversary with several events, including a special afternoon tea menu, served for 125 days from 1 July. Served in the Winter Garden restaurant, among palm trees, the menu includes sandwiches, lemon and blueberry scones, and pastries featuring a special 125th anniversary logo: think strawberry and custard tartlet; Valrhona chocolate and peanut opera; and peach and lemon pavlova with raspberry ganache and almond cream.
125 Days of Afternoon Tea. From £75 per person. Available from 1 July for 125 days (which, by our calculations, takes us through until 3 November).
Sabine's Garden Party afternoon tea
Sabine — the rooftop bar overlooking St Paul's Cathedral — offers afternoon tea with a view, and the option to add on 90 minutes of bottomless drinks to wash it down. Mini lobster rolls, poached tarragon chicken sandwiches, scones with cream and strawberry preserve, pina colada panna cotta and a fresh fruit tart are among the edible treats on the Garden Party Afternoon Tea menu. Sparkling wine, gin iced tea and non-alcoholic alternatives are among the bottomless drinks options.
Garden Party afternoon tea. From £45, available every Friday-Sunday.
La Merenda afternoon tea at Petersham Nurseries, Covent Garden
The Petersham at Petersham Nurseries in Covent Garden launches La Merenda, an afternoon tea inspired by the café culture of Turin, combining British afternoon tea with Italian flavours and produce.
The menu begins with tramezzini — small sandwiches created in Turin in the 1920s as an alternative to English tea sandwiches. Grilled zucchini and creamy stracciatella, and tuna with avocado, basil and pine nuts are among the fillings.
The next course is a puff pastry pizzette, topped with asparagus, smoky scamorza cheese, wild garlic and lemon or tomato, anchovies, capers and briny olives. Desserts include crostatina alla frutta — pastry tarts topped with fruit — and bigne al cioccolato (profiterole-like chocolate cream puffs).
La Merenda afternoon tea. From £55 per person, available Thursday-Sunday.
Laduree Covent Garden's new tea room
Though not afternoon tea specifically, fans of cakey goodness may be interested to know that French pâtisserie brand Ladurée has opened a brand new dining room in its Covent Garden branch, inspired by Versailles' Hall of Mirrors, and overlooking the Piazza. You can order afternoon tea here, or the macarons that the brand is famous for — or wait for evening, when it transforms into a fancy British-French restaurant.
If that's not enough afternoon tea for you (seriously?!), take a look back at our May 2024 afternoon tea recommendations — some of those menus are still available throughout the summer.
