Despite living incredibly close to the UK and with multiple modes of transportation linking Amsterdam to London to boot (flights, ferries, and the “chunnel”), we somehow hadn’t made it over yet in our first two years of living in the Netherlands. So when I found out I’d be headed to London for a last-minute work trip, Dan decided to make the short 45-minute flight over with me so we could turn it into a long weekend and finally get a chance to explore the city together.
We didn’t have much time to plan out our itinerary beforehand, so we decided to keep it simple and mostly unstructured, using our pocket travel guide as our reference for what to do each day. But there was one exception, as I had one quintessentially British must-do on my bucket list that outranked all else: a traditional afternoon tea.
I managed to secure a table at The Dorchester for Saturday afternoon, and that’s when it occurred to me that despite having this listed on my bucket list for a couple of years now, I didn’t really know what we were in store for. I knew there would be tea and little sandwiches, but aside from that, I was pretty much going in blind.
So if you’re curious about how this works (and are searching for an answer to that all-important question, Is it worth it?), read on to hear about our experience!
Our Afternoon Tea Experience at the Dorchester
If you’re in the midst of planning your own trip to London, you may be wondering, Which afternoon tea is best?
There are of course many options for a traditional afternoon or high teas in London, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the one at the Ritz. But the Afternoon Tea at the Dorchester came highly recommended to me from a friend that used to live in London, so we decided to give it a go.
With only a few days to plan before our trip, I was disappointed to find the Dorchester’s website showing the weekend fully booked. I decided to give them a call in case there were any cancellations, and I’m glad I did as they were able to fit us in last minute for Saturday.
After a morning of sightseeing, we arrived to the Dorchester just before our 5:00 reservation. The afternoon tea takes place in the lobby of the ornately-decorated 5-star hotel on the edge of Hyde Park. After checking with the concierge, we were led to our table near the rear of the room.
Once to our table, a server (dressed in a 3-piece suit, of course) came to greet us and hand off a small novella that turned out to be the tea menu. The menu had a wide range of green, black, grey, and specialty teas, each with its own colorful description.
This turned out to be the most difficult decision of the afternoon, but with some careful consideration, we each picked out our tea and placed our order. Luckily, there were few other decisions to make aside from the tea. Everything to come next (the finger foods) are choreographed by the waiter. So once the order was placed we had little else to do but to sit back, relax, and take in the ambiance.
And speaking of the ambiance… we were seated beside a grand piano, and before long a pianist emerged to provide a musical accompaniment to the experience.
The first item to arrive was a carafe with a large flower inside that was slowly unfurling as it steeped — a palette cleanser for the tea tasting, we were told.
Shortly thereafter, our tea arrived. We were each given a full pot of tea, and the waiter helped us to pour the first cup. We then did as the British do, and added a lump of sugar and some milk.
Next came the little tea sandwiches, perfectly trimmed and presented with a garnish of pansies. There were two of each type — egg salad, smoked salmon, chicken, and roast beef.
As soon as we were down to our last couple of sandwiches, the waiter brought us another plate of the same variety. We were actually surprised at the amount of food, and not knowing what to expect next, we didn’t want to completely spoil our appetites. So we ate just a few more before the next course arrived.
Next were the freshly-baked scones. We each got one scone and a side of clotted cream, jam, and marmalade.
After the scone came dessert, a tiered tray with an assortment of perfectly-glazed pastries, two of each type.
Our waiter explained the flavors for each and suggested an order of operations for which should be eaten first. We followed his advice and savored every bite.
So, was it worth it?
You may be thinking to yourself, £70 for some tea and snacks? Is it actually worth it?
Yes, this is a splurge and definitely not for everyone. But for me, this was such a lovely and memorable experience that I would say it’s absolutely worth it. While shelling out over $100 for tea seems outrageous (and well, it is), this was hands down the highlight of our trip to London.
The ambiance was worth the price alone, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of food. The little sandwiches just kept coming, and by the end, we were so stuffed that we decided to cancel our dinner reservation.
If you’re interested in having your own tea experience, there are also many other, more affordable options out there. According to my London guidebook, most teas are in the range of £25 to upwards of £100, so the Dorchester is definitely at the high end.
Things to keep in mind
Here are some practical tips to keep in mind if you’re planning to visit the Dorcester for their afternoon tea.
Reservations
Reservations at least a week beforehand are a good idea. You can make a reservation online, and if you’re booking in advance, there should many time slots available to choose from. If you aren’t able to get a reservation on your desired date/time, give them a call to see if they have any cancellations. You may get lucky like us and still manage to get a spot last minute!
Even though it’s called an “afternoon” tea, they had timeslots throughout the day. The online booking portal showed reservations were possible in 15-minute increments from 11:00am until 6:00pm.
Each reservation allows you 1 hour and 45 minutes to leisurely sip and nibble before your table needs to be turned over to the next patron. I would allocate at least this amount of time to get the most out of the experience.
Price
The price is £70 per person and is all-inclusive. There were some specialty teas and an optional glass of champagne on the menu that would have added an additional surcharge, but otherwise, this is the amount you can expect to pay.
Dresscode
We’d spent the morning exploring the city and were dressed accordingly. Dan and I were both wearing dark jeans; I was in a sweater and he was wearing a button-up. We were definitely a little underdressed, but no one seemed to mind. Just be sure to not show up wearing sneakers, shorts, or leisurewear and you should be fine.
