So this week i went to Afternoon Tea at the Ritz Hotel London.
I had originally wanted to go to the Ritz instead of Harrods a few years back for my anniversary, but at the time it was fully booked. I booked well in advance this time for an evening slot. Formal attire is mandatory so suited and Booted i went. I chose a Light Blue Suit from Primark Trousers and Jacket and a Navy Blue Tie
Coming straight out of Green Park Tube station it is right in front of you, a bit of a walk around to the Hotel entrance with Doormen and staff as if to welcome celebrities and guests. You see the lit up sign for the Ritz and you know you are about to enter a different world.
Going to the front desk i ask where the Palm Court is and someone points it out to me. We walk to the Restaurant and sit down to admire the opulent surroundings of fine furniture light fixtures, chandeliers and decorations.
Going to the Waiter i confirm my booking and we are shown to our Seats in the open plan Palm Court Restaurant. The waiter pulls the chair out and pushes it in for you and lays the napkin across your lap. You are presented with the Tea menu to make your choice
Once you have made your Tea choice in no time a big pot of Tea arrives with Milk and extra hot water. The waiter tells you to leave it to infuse for a few minutes and that your Sandwiches and Pastries will arrive shortly. I chose Lapsang Souchong which i have never had a smoky Tea and my Partner had the Rose Tea which is like Liquid Turkish delight nice but very strong. The waiter then pours your Tea for you, if there is one around. Milk and Sugar are on table for you to add ad tongs.
Giving you time to admire the splendor of the surroundings. You can change Tea if you want another type i had about 6 cups of Tea so the Whole pot, plus a Rose Cup. I liked the Lapsang Souchong tasting like a Smoke infused Tea with Milk and Sugar of course!
On the table is a Tea sieve which i frequently forgot to use, placing over your cup to catch the loose leaf Tea. SO i had to fish the bits out. You can tell how fancy i m not lol. I was halfway through a cup then the waiter comes along and pours me another cup !
Borrows this photo from the Ritz hotel page above
The Afternoon tea has begun when the Sandwiches and Pastries arrive on the elegant stand adorned with Lions on the edge. I did specify in the booking that i had a Nut allergy so avoiding Macarons anything Almond and guess what comes a Macaron!
I ask the waiter if anything else has Nuts, he said do i have an allergy and i said yes, he claims he asked me which he didn’t, besides it is in the booking. He offered to get something else if needed, but was just the Macarons with Nuts. He whizzes through all the Pastries and sandwiches and off he goes around the restaurant
A good selection of Sandwiches, albeit small Ham & Mustard, Smokes Salmon, Cream cheese & Cucumber, Cheese & Tomato relish. Beef & Horseradish and Egg mayonnaise in Brioche ( not for me yuck) We had 4 top ups of Sandwiches which they brought quickly and without question.
The Patisseries A coconut Macaron, A lemon lime Tart with a Jelly on top that was nice.
A Rhubarb & Custard mousse on seems like a sweet Ritz cracker hahaha. This was nice but i`m not sure where the Rhubarb went as i didn’t get any. We had 2 top ups of Pastries.
The waiter come with this Chocolate Dome which was very nice as a nut free extra
Filled with a Banoffee mousse and sponge. Why didn’t he bring me more !
Before you know it the Waiter brings you your Scones, Clotted Cream and Jam
2 plain and 2 Raisin warm and fluffy, these were nice. They were generous with the Jam and Cream, bit of a shame there was no other Jam as Harrods had Rose petal Jam which i loved!
However Traditional Afternoon teas would not have had Rose Petal Jam anyway so no big deal.
So now you would have most of the Tea items done, but they also have a Sweet Cart that comes round, i looked out for it and didn’t see it anywhere in the restaurant. All of a sudden it appears i was expecting to see a an abundance of delicious treats to try, Cakes, Slices etc, but it was just 2 items ( insert sobbing sound)
One of them is a Chocolate mousse cake with nuts and the other some kind of Slice with Choux buns, so i go for the Slice and my Partner gets the Mousse Cake.
It seems to be some kind of Apple slice with Vanilla cream in the middle, topped at each end with 2 Caramel topped Choux buns. It was a bit of a disappointment as the Caramel was bitter and the Apple was not sweet and the cream combo for me did not work.
Meanwhile my partner is eating the Chocolate Mousse which he liked.
The time allocated for Afternoon tea on the website is 1hr30 mins to 1hr45mins
It was coming to that time, we had finished and the bill was presented, we paidand there was no gratuity added which was surprising or service charge. £57 each so £114 for the two of us. We had one more cup of Tea and then we left
There was a live Pianist playing throughout the time there which was nice, just in the foyer and somebody’s Birthday so he played Happy Birthday to them and the whole restaurant clapped. The restaurant itself was busy and almost all full but the service was quick and attentive. The tables are packed closer together more than Harrods which are further spread apart. Saying this though i could easily get up and out. There was a nice atmosphere for the evening and we did not feel rushed at all.
If you needed to use the Bathroom there was an attendant in there, who handed you a towel to dry your hands and put handwash into your hands before you washed them how fancy!
The entrance to the stairs was like a Theater door with red Curtains and velvet look carpet on the stairs with fancy painting on the walls. Powder room and the cloak room below.
The Afternoon tea at the Ritz was a great night out for a special occasion. Remember the menu probably does change, this is based on what i had in June 2018, when my parents went last year the Pastries and cart was different but the sandwiches and teas the same.
I would rate it 9 out of 10
the service was quick and no fuss at all, The nut allergy faux pas was 1/2 point lost as they should have had a note of it on the booking as they confirmed it with me beforehand. This was only 1 item i could not have, they did offer to change it soon enough.
The other 1/2 point is the Sweet cart a massive disappointment to me, not expecting heaps of items but a little more choice say 2 more items to choose from would have been nice. If it was a cake a small slice would have been suffice.
Adampastryguy 