I Had Afternoon Tea at The Ritz in London
Updated Jan 13, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The afternoon tea at The Ritz London is iconic and incredibly popular. Here is my review and tips on the tea service at this luxury hotel.
The Ritz London
I first thought The Ritz London was a Ritz-Carlton, but it turns out they’re 2 different luxury hotels owned by different companies. There isn’t a Ritz-Carlton in London though so at least there won’t be any confusion if you’re trying to book an afternoon tea.
Note from Jee
The afternoon tea at The Ritz is iconic and I’ve only heard good things so I was really excited to go. But, getting a reservation was incredibly hard. I checked every day for 2 weeks before my trip but it was completely booked for my dates.
The day before my flight, I checked in the middle of the night and I was able to get a table! If you want to go to The Ritz London for afternoon tea, book as soon as you can.
The Ritz London Reservations
Reservations can be made online. Don’t wait till the last minute to book a table since reservations are tough to get.
Dress Code
Out of all the afternoon teas I went to in London, The Ritz was the fanciest. Jeans, shorts, sneakers, and sportswear aren’t permitted. Men are required to wear a jacket and tie.
Afternoon Tea Hours
Afternoon tea is served every day and they have 5 seating times. You can only make reservations for these times: 11:30AM, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, 5:30PM, and 7:30PM.
How Afternoon Tea Works at The Ritz London
Because they have the 5 seating times, afternoon tea lasts around an hour and a half. There is just one afternoon tea so when you sit down, you just have to select a tea on the menu.
Tea will come out first in silver teapots. Then, the serve will bring out a 3-tiered tray with plates only on the top 2 tiers. Desserts are on the top tier and the middle tier had tea sandwiches. After a bit, they’ll bring out a plate for the 3-tiered tray of scones along with clotted cream and jam. Eat the tea sandwiches first, the scones, then sweets. The food and tea is unlimited.
After all that, they’ll bring around a trolley with 2 cakes you can get slices from.
RELATED: Afternoon Tea Course Order
The Ritz London Afternoon Tea Menu
Traditional Afternoon Tea
£81 (approximately $110) for adults and £59 for children
Unlimited tea, tea sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, sweets, and cake.
The menu and prices may change at any time.
Setting: ★★★★☆
The afternoon tea space is right off the lobby and it’s very Bridgerton but the tables are very close together. The layout of the tables are odd too. I was at a table that had 2 seats next to each other and looked out onto the lobby.
A lovely touch that added to the experience was a live piano player.
Service: ★★★★★
The servers are dressed in tuxedos with tails and they float around carrying trays of food. The service is formal and they’re on top of their game.
Tea & Tea Selection: ★★★★★
There are 20 teas on the menu and they serve loose tea with silver tea strainers. I ordered 2 different teas, starting with The Ritz Blend, their own English breakfast tea, followed by an oolong. The teas were excellent.
Savories: ★★★★★
The 3-tiered tray above is for 2 people. Each person gets 6 savories to start. After we were halfway through the tea sandwiches, they brought out a plate of extra sandwiches (we hadn’t ask for more) and placed it on the bottom tray.
The tea sandwiches were excellent. Each one was better than the next and I especially loved the egg with mayo on the brioche roll. I really got spoiled with how good the bread on the tea sandwiches were in London since they are all freshly made and super soft.
Scones: ★★★★★
After finishing the tea sandwiches on the middle tier, they took that plate away and brought out scones. They give you 2 scones per person. It’s served with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
The portion size of the scone was great as was the clotted cream. The scones and clotted cream were great, but I liked the ones at Fortnums better.
Sweets: ★★★★★
On the top tier were sweets and they were very good. Each person gets 3 pastries. Just when you think they’re done, they rolled over a trolley with 2 cakes. I was way too full and couldn’t eat another bite so I had to skip it.
Overall: ★★★★★
I absolutely loved the afternoon tea at The Ritz and highly recommend it. I would go again in a heartbeat.
LOCATION:
The Ritz London
150 Piccadilly, London
