TATLER

The best afternoon teas in London

From truly gluttonous to gluten-free, we've rounded up the finest afternoon teas in London...

10th

October 2016

Afternoon Tea at Oblix

Level 32, The Shard, SE1 9RY

If you're an afternoon-tea connoisseur, we imagine you'll be looking for something of the

HIGHEST splendour. And this, dear friends, is exactly what you'll get (quite literally) at

Oblix. Whizz up to the 32nd floor of the Shard and feast your eyes on the shiniest of silver

trays piled high with various treats inspired by London's boroughs. It's all about local produce

- honeycomb from Harrow bees, chai spice from Brick Lane Market and cured Angus beef

straight from a butcher in Lambeth. Our top picks? The duck-egg and truffle-mayonnaise

sandwiches and Crunchie-chocolate pecan bar. Yep, the food is as good as the views!

Summer Afternoon Tea

Mandarin Oriental, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA

Sadly, summer may nearly be over. But fear not - you can catch the last bit of it perfectly in

London's glitziest tea salon. High ceilings, endless floral bouquets and views overlooking

buzzy Knightsbridge. If the weather holds up, you'll want to order one of the iced teas or a

chilled glass of champagne, before they arrive with platters laden with the most tempting ice-

cream pastries and dainty sandwiches. Yes, please.

Salon Couture High Tea with Suzie Turner

The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU

Cake and couture. Two of life's greatest things. So thank goodness the Savoy have only gone

and given you a taste of both with their Fifties-inspired Salon Couture High Tea. Sit back in

the magnificent Thames Foyer, gorge on cakes, eclairs and champagne till you can no longer

move a limb and then spent the rest of the afternoon gazing at the glitziest, swishiest crystal-

and feather-covered gowns.

The Salon Couture High Tea takes place on the first Wednesday of every month

Swinging Sixties Afternoon Tea

Jumeirah Carlton Tower, 1 Cadogan Place, SW1X 9PY

Giles Christopher

Ah, the swinging Sixties. Wasn't it so much fun? And afternoon tea? A strange combination,

we agree, but those clever people at the Jumeirah Carlton have clearly shown it works. In

collaboration with the V&A's latest exhibition, it will leave you feeling full of peace and

love. Strawberry and buttercream cakes and yuzu curd-topped pastries follow sandwiches and

tea, plus there's the option of a glass of Laurent-Perrier to help it all go down. You might

want to slip on your miniskirt and go-go boots for this one.

The Swinging Sixties tea runs from 10 September to 20 November

Amorino

8 Fulham Broadway, SW6 1AA

If you've got a tooth sweeter than Willy Wonka's, you might want to make a trip to Amorino's

new Fulham Broadway branch and order the GelaTea. Who'd have thought that Italian ice

cream could come in so many ways? Gelato rose beds, gelato-filled macarons, edible flowers

- it's all far too pretty to eat (but you'll find a way). And just when you're feeling full, they

present a sorbetto drink or one of their 10 types of devilishly rich hot chocolates (yes, you

heard that right, 10 types) topped with whipped cream. Expect to roll home…

The Luggage Room

Grosvenor Square W1K 6JP (020 7514 1507)

You'll be transported straight back to the roaring Twenties once you enter this intimate

drinking den, tucked away behind a hidden door on the corner of the Marriott's Grosvenor

Square hotel. Offering London's first 'low tea', this is one for the savoury lovers - expect wild

boar sausage rolls, devilled Balmoral venison and tea-cured salmon and caviar, followed by

salted caramel meringues and scone trifle. All served with lashings of tea (we recommend

white apricot or Japanese sencha). You won't want dinner.

The Dorchester

53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA (020 7629 8888)

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On the roof of the Dorchester, high above Park Lane, they are cultivating tea from the

Dalreoch Estate in Scotland (it's kind of a secret). Meanwhile, in the hotel's gilded

Promenade, you can enjoy this exclusive brew - there are three varieties, White, Garrocher

Grey and Rose Smoked - every afternoon, along with glorious sandwiches, featherlight

scones and scrumptious cakes. And let's not forget the razzmatazz Dorch service - can there

be a better spot in London to while away the tiresome hours between lunch and cocktails?

Sanderson

50 Berners Street, W1T 3NG (020 7300 1400)

Alice (in Wonderland) recently turned 150, so where better to celebrate her birthday than at

Sanderson's Mad Hatter's Tea, served every afternoon in the hotel's white and slightly etheral

conservatory? It's a crazy, eccentric kind of a tea, just as you'd expect - or would you? - with

hidden menus to discover, and red-velvet ladybird cake and exploding lollipops to eat.

Goodness me! Isn't that the White Rabbit's pocket watch posing as a macaroon? Mustn't be

late. Time to get over to the Sanderson, methinks.

The London Edition

10 Berners Street, W1T 3NP (020 7908 7949)

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'Scandal water' was 19th-century slang for a cuppa, infused, as the best often are, with a good

slug of gossip. That's why tea (the drink) takes centre stage at the Scandal Water afternoon

tea service, set up in the hotel's rather louche Punch Room. Five premium varieties are drunk

in a parallel tasting, and taken with muffins and savoury snacks. The teas are also the basis

for five boozy punches, of which the potent Teddy Hook will sort the men from the boys.

Brown's Hotel

Albemarle Street, W1S 4BP (020 7493 6020)

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Mayo-free chicken and guacamole sandwiches, smoked fish with quail's egg and flourless

chocolate cake are among the treats on offer at Tea-Tox at Brown's. If it's not exactly the

Pritikin Diet, it's a nod in the right direction. All the chocolate is sugar-free and the tea itself -

including oolong white and homegrown Cornish with Assam - is well made. If tea-toxing is

not your thing, throw cautionto the wind and have a trad afternoon tea with a glass of

Ruinart.

108 Pantry at the Marylebone Hotel

108 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QE (020 7969 3900)

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If you love buttermilk scones and pastries but they don't love you, check out afternoon tea at

108 Pantry, in the Marylebone Hotel's Edwardian townhouse. It does a gluten-free tea, either

the whole shebang - scones, sandwiches, cakes pastries, and a glass (or two) of small-

bubbled Perrier-Jouët Rosé - or you can choose items individually, which is not always

possible in some of the grander hotels. There's a dairy-free option too, and everything is

served on pretty, Regency-inspired china.

The Parlour at Sketch

9 Conduit Street, W1S 2XG (020 7659 4500)

Open all day, the Parlour comes into its own at teatime, when the heavenliest sandwiches (try

the smoked salmon with Jacob's cream or the quail-egg mayonnaise with caviar) are

precursors to some of London's best scones and pastries, as beautiful to look at as they are to

pop. Although the Parlour doesn't take bookings, you can also have tea in the Gallery, which

does.

Orange Pekoe

3 White Hart Lane, SW13 0PX (020 8876 6070)

This Barnes Village teashop is so vaut le détour. Small it may be in size but it roars like a

lion. And what delights there are here: homemade finger sandwiches, just-baked cakes, the

crumbliest biscuits and hot-buttered crumpets (now an endangered species), all served on the

prettiest china resting on lace tablecloths. And then there's the tea itself - the highest grade,

large-leaf varieties, including the eponymous orange pekoe, which is not orange at all but

probably named for the royal house of Orange, whose family members were said to be a bit

partial.