London's looking bloomin' gorgeous right now. The leaves are back on the trees, the flowers are in fine fettle and the Chelsea Flower Show is right around the corner. Celebrate the season with these floral-inspired afternoon teas in the capital this spring — including one with magnificent river views, and another served at a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fancies & Foliage Afternoon Tea at The Athenaeum
Mayfair hotel The Atheneum is know for its exterior living wall, and now it's bringing the greenery inside too, with a Fancies & Foliage Afternoon Tea in its restaurant, 116 at The Atheneum.
Smoked salmon, and coronation chicken are among the finger sandwiches on offer, followed by plain and fruit scones, served with jam and clotted cream. The centrepiece is the selection of cakes designed by resident pastry chef Sergei and inspired by delicate fondant fancies — one of our all-time favourite cakes — in flavours including honey cake, lemon with raspberry, citrus, sticky toffee with miso caramel, and chocolate.
Fancies & Foliage Afternoon Tea, £60 per person. Available now.
Spring In Bloom Afternoon Tea at The Library
The Chelsea Flower Show is the inspiration for the new Spring In Bloom menu being served at The Library, the Marriott County Hall restaurant offering magnificent river views towards the Houses of Parliament.
The Elizabeth Tower — aka Big Ben — takes centre stage, both out of the window, and in the form of a rose and white chocolate-flavoured centrepiece to the afternoon tea. Other British flavours, including rhubarb and custard, and lemon elderflower cheesecake, run throughout the sweet section of the menu, each given a photogenic floral design, and served alongside finger sandwiches and warm scones.
The Library itself is dressed in seasonal florals inspired by an English rose garden, a theme that's paired with a glass of Louis Pommery Rosé, and the hotel’s exclusive County Hall English Blend Rose tea, served alongside the food.
Spring in Bloom Afternoon Tea, £85 per person. Available until 31 May 2026.
Hidden Garden Afternoon Tea at Templeton Garden
An English strawberry and chocolate choux bun, and a foraged elderflower and lemon macaron are among the sweet treats at the Hidden Garden Afternoon Tea at Earl's Court hotel Templeton Garden, where much of the menu is created using ingredients from the on-site garden. A raspberry and pistachio dome, carrot cake and a fig roll complete the dessert line-up.
Choose to dine in either Pippin's restaurant, its (hopefully) sun-drenched terrace, or in the hotel's Lobby Space — and tuck into freshly baked scones with berry jam and Cornish clotted cream, and a selection of classic finger sandwiches including glazed gammon with English mustard, and Devon smoked salmon and lemon on beetroot bread.
Hidden Garden Afternoon Tea, from £55 per adult/£25 per child. Available from 15 May 2026.
Abbey In Bloom Afternoon Tea at Westminster Abbey
Fancy taking afternoon tea in a UNESCO World Heritage Site? The Cellarium Cafe & Terrace — located where Benedictine monks stored victuals within Westminster Abbey — serves the Abbey In Bloom afternoon tea menu throughout the summer, making use of seasonal flavours and British ingredients.
The tempting savoury selection includes a cucumber, feta and tomato tapenade; a hot-smoked trout, creamed horseradish and baby watercress puff pastry vol-au-vent; and a pea and red onion tart with lemon ricotta and pea shoots. Leave room for scones with clotted cream and Tiptree jam, as well as treats including a passion fruit and chocolate tart, and a lemon drizzle cake with lemon curd and lemon balm.
Abbey In Bloom Afternoon Tea, from £38 per person. Available throughout the summer.
Chelsea Flower Show Afternoon Tea at 100 Queen's Gate Hotel
The aptly-named Botanica restaurant within Kensington's 100 Queen's Gate Hotel is the setting for a limited-time Chelsea Flower Show menu, inspired by Olivia Laing's bestselling memoir, The Garden Against Time, about a Suffolk walled garden which she and her husband restored.
Both the savoury and sweet sections of the menu have botanical inspiration, including the Rose of the World: an elegant rose-shaped tart with salmon, crème fraîche and dill; the All Blossoms, a lavender-infused cheesecake with a delicate floral aroma; and the Dark Eden: a chocolate creation reflecting the richness of the earth.
Chelsea Flower Show Afternoon Tea, from £45 per person. Available 18-24 May 2026.
Chelsea Flower Show Afternoon Tea with Jo Malone at The Stafford London
Another Chelsea Flower Show special, available for just two days, is The Stafford's afternoon tea menu in collaboration with fragrance company Jo Malone London.
While a fragrance-inspired food menu has the potential to be... confusing for the senses, we're quite tempted by some of the offerings, which include a strawberry and orange blossom petit gâteau; an apricot and lavender mousse cake; and a rose, raspberry and pistachio choux. Of course, the fact the menu was concocted by the Michelin-starred expertise of the Michael Caines team helps.
The experience includes a complimentary Jo Malone London gift, as well as a hand and arm massage.
Chelsea Flower Show Afternoon Tea, £78 per person. Available 21-22 May 2026.
The Enchanted Treehouse Tea at Richmond Hill Hotel
There's no ladder required to step into the magical world of the Richmond Hill Hotel's Enchanted Treehouse Tea — just a willingness to munch your way through bites including egg mayo and smoked salmon sandwiches; fluffy scones; and patisserie such as a nutty fig frangipane with mascarpone cream, a rosemary and rhubarb crème brûlée, and a zingy lemon meringue tart.
The beauty here is in the design: it's presented like an edible garden, with elements designed to resemble butterflies, flowers, toadstools and honeycomb — all overlooked by that all-important treehouse.
The Enchanted Treehouse Afternoon Tea, £46 per person. Available now.
The Tales of Beatrix Potter Afternoon Tea at JW Marriott Grosvenor House London
Renowned botanical artist/creator of beloved garden creatures Beatrix Potter is celebrated in a new afternoon tea in the Park Room restaurant in Mayfair, marking 160 years since her birth.
The charming menu takes inspiration from her characters, and the English countryside as a whole, and includes Tom Kitten's Tangle (a white chocolate ball of yarn with elderflower mousse and wild strawberry compote); Squirrel Nutkin's Harvest (a parsnip‑spiced cake with mascarpone cream and lemon curd, finished with a chocolate stalk); and Mr. McGregor's Garden (an Earl Grey chocolate mousse with raspberry preserve, hidden beneath chocolate soil).
The Tales of Beatrix Potter Afternoon Tea, from £75 per adult/£38 per child. Available from 1 May 2026.
