I believe if you travel to London, you must experience afternoon tea there. So that is exactly what I did during our family vacation in London in August. The afternoon tea experience wasn’t what I had imagined it would be. Instead of meeting up with some girlfriends for afternoon team, I decided to have the whole family experience afternoon tea in London with me – my whole crew of boys with me – Charlie, Luke, Cruz & Levi! Yes, afternoon tea with boy!
There are so many places to have afternoon tea in London. I got so many recommendations on where to go but we decided to have afternoon tea at the Botanica Tea Room located at 100 Queens Gate Hotel in Kensington.
What to Know about Botanica Tea Room
One of the highlights of our trip to London was having afternoon tea at Botancia Tea Room. We chose Botanica Tea Room for many reasons – it was also located inside our hotel (convenience), the tea room is a stunning atrium of the hotel (very Instagrammable), they have a garden theme, and the staff was very nice to accommodate our family, especially with two toddlers.
Overall, the whole experience from the teas, the cocktails, the food, and the service, was exceptional. We had such a memorable time that I wanted to dedicate a blog post to share our experience.
Botanica Tea Room at 100 Queens Gate serves teas from Whittard of Chelsea. You can also add cocktails to your afternoon tea experience. The current price for one person is 35 pounds, which is very reasonable. Their afternoon tea hours are from noon to 6 pm. I recommend making a reservation.
What Is Afternoon Tea?
According to AfternoonTea.Co.UK, afternoon tea was introduced in Britain in the early 1840s for private social events for women or most likely socialites. It became a big deal with Queen Victoria engaged in the ritual.
Today, it seems like afternoon tea is a fun, social experience. For me, it’s an excuse to meet up with friends in a casual, yet somewhat formal, setting. I always look forward to afternoon tea with my friends!
Afternoon is mainly enjoyed between lunch and dinner. 3 PM is a great time for me!
Afternoon Tea is More Than Just Tea
Afternoon Tea at the Botanica Tea Room was the first time Charlie experienced afternoon tea. He initially thought we would just have hot tea and wondered why the price was so high for just tea. Little did he know that he would also be eating as well.
Afternoon tea is like a mini meal – which includes finger sandwiches (gourmet finger sandwiches, to be exact), scones with clotted cream and jam and lots of pretty and tasty desserts. As a bonus, you can have a bubbly or cocktail with your afternoon tea, which I also do.
Sometimes I don’t want to touch anything because the presentation of all the food is just so pretty! And that’s just what we got at Botantica!
Afternoon Tea Is A Good Break from All the Sightseeing
There were few things that we wanted to schedule in London and afternoon tea was one of them. After walking around London, sitting down and having a small meal was a much needed rest. It helped that we had afternoon tea in our hotel too!
I was worried that the twins would act up during afternoon tea but they were so well behaved during the whole time! Maybe it was the nice ambiance or maybe they knew they needed to be on their best behavior because this was a fun indulgence for their mama! They loved eating from the finger sandwiches.
Afternoon Tea Makes for Good Conversation
For some reason, we all felt so relaxed during our afternoon tea experience. Maybe because we didn’t feel stressed or rushed to finish. The staff at Botanica told us to take our time. So we did. We sat back and talked about our trip and what we saw, what else we want to see and do. We drank and ate at our own pace.
We did not order for Luke and the twins. They nibbled off of our food.
Other Places to Have Afternoon Tea in London
Here are a few recommendations that my friends gave me for afternoon tea in London: Fortum & Mason, Sketch London, and Claridge’s,