Yesterday me and mum went to Madame Tussauds to visit the Royal Tea afternoon Tea experience. Not sure how long it has been around but completely new to us!
And why is it Royal Tea? because you get to have tea and take snaps with Maj herself in the setting of the Royal Gardens like a Garden party.
The last time i went to Madame Tussauds was in 2011 and for Mum not since i was a child. Of course this does mean you have to pay for a Ticket for Madame Tussauds as well as the Tea as it is located halfway through the tour. I was lucky enough to have a 2 for one from the Kellogg’s cereal box promotion so used that. So cost £35.00 for 2 of us.
Now you have to go to Door 1 to buy tickets, which strangely you have to go through a room and a security detector. You use the machines and input the codes etc and pick a timeslot available for us was 11.30. Then exit and go back round to Door 2 and wait for your slot to join the enormous queue. Seemed like we was in line for ages then we was suddenly inside. Allow enough time to get your tickets and queue if you have booked an early Timeslot for Tea.
At £16.95 each for a basic Afternoon Tea it is reasonable you can of course have Cakes and other savoury items in the Royal Tea Area. I had made a booking in advance but was an hour early, they seated me as if i did not have a booking so waste of time that was. It did fill up while we was there so maybe just in case make a booking.
They suggest booking for 1 1/2 hours into your time at Tussauds, i found this not to be true, depending on how many waxworks you want photos with and if you have photos with the Royals. I was an hour early but they will probably seat you early anyway if they are slack.
The setting as i mentioned is a Garden type party with Her Majesty sitting next to a window which you can go and take photos with to your hearts content ( and we did)
There are special effects on the walls with the Corgi Dogs running about among the greenery via projection screens and the flying arrows in Red, White and Blue on the wall/ceiling. It does have the feeling of being in a Garden type conservatory.
The lights seemed to dim also time to time, you also have the Fountain behind the Queen going off.
I did specify no Nuts or Shellfish for Mum and as i was early for the reservation had to explain that to the server, she was very attentive and brought the Allergen folder over.
She did explain the things with Nuts and the Tea came out to us and then the Stand with MACARONS! ( MADE OF NUTS)as she was going through the items i pointed out that they contained Nuts, i think she tried to cover it up and said they didn’t but she took the tray away and brought a new one with more of the other items.
I decided to wear my Waistcoat and brought along my Union Jack Bowtie to wear for the experience, mum brought her clip in Tiara these were just for photos for the Tea.
We took our photos with Maj and some tourists on the table next to us asked if they could take a photo of us. They seemed like they was signalling for me to take a photo of them, so was surprised when they wanted one of us! we looked cool they said
So me and my Mum are somewhere out there as posh British people lol
The waitress also commented mum should keep hers on and i looked good in my Bowtie.
TEATIME!
So what do you get?
So for the Royal Tea you have a selection of Sandwiches approx 3 each
- Cucumber & Cream Cheese
- Ham & Mustard
- Egg Mayonnaise
- Smoked Salmon (didn’t get this as specified no shellfish) even though it isn’t shellfish )
- Lemon Drizzle cubes
- Rich Chocolate Brownie Triangle
- Blackcurrant Cheesecake pot
- Fruit/ plain Scone Jam clotted Cream
- Pot of Tea approx 3 cups worth from the pot
Whats the verdict?
All of the food was nice, i do agree maybe their could be something else added. The cheesecake pot was my least favourite bit ready made tasting. I think they are a bit mean with the Jam/Clotted Cream i would have expected one pot each not one pot of each to share. The Scones were still sightly warm time we got to them and was nice and light and not hard or browned like some we have had.
We both enjoyed the experience and the ambience of the setting, and of course being able to take photos with her Majesty at Tea to our hearts content. I did think their would be someone who took photos for you to buy or to take photos of you with your own camera. But it was a free for all, lucky our table was almost right on top of her so we could go back and fourth whilst we waited for our food to arrive.
The service was a bit slow the waitress we had was very nice, although it was not clear if it was a table service or self service order, same at end when paying. It is worth noting it is CARD ONLY. It was clean and tidy and the Crockery was nice.
I would recommend it as an experience although i wish it could be standalone without having to visit Madame Tussaud main attraction to get in. I would easily pay more to just have the Tea experience with queeny. We spent probably around an hour at the Tea and approx 2 hours or so in the whole attraction taking a few photos on the way but not many.
TIME TO POSE
Adampastryguy 