There is nothing more English than afternoon tea. People from around the world make this experience one for the bucket list whilst they are visiting England, and to take afternoon tea at The Ritz is considered the crème de la crème of afternoon tea establishments.
We had been looking forward to this trip since booking it. Just the thought of dressing up and taking time out to enjoy amazing food in a lovely setting was enough to make us feel like Princesses.
The Ritz is extremely easy to get to and upon arrival, every door was opened and numerous waiting staff were on hand to guide us through the golden hallways. We decided to start with a cocktail in the Rivoli lounge. before taking our table at 3.30pm. Whilst the glamour and luxury of The Ritz remains, the majority of the staff now work from an ipad – adding a touch of modern day efficiency to a timeless tradition, which we absolutely adored!
The atmosphere was private even though every cover was filled, and the waiters were extremely attentive, explaining and recommending the best teas for the palette. After the initial glass of champagne, checking for allergies and any special requests, the food and tea began to flow. We had two people with food allergies (fruit, fish and nuts), which were all well catered for, even providing separate plates and cakes. The menu was simple – the sandwiches and cakes were brought out, followed by still-warm scones, cream and jam, followed by two specialty cakes, and then continued replenishment of every course as often as you required. Tea was continuously refilled, new teas were offered and we never had a dirty plate for longer than a minute before it was whisked away and fresh crockery presented.
The piano was just loud enough to enjoy but not too loud that conversation was difficult. The room was warm enough not to need a cardigan or jumper but pleasant enough to keep on a jacket if you so wished. And the food was filling enough not to need any dinner later on that night. It was lovely to have someone to pour your tea and to be attentive to your needs for a whole 90 minutes.
And as the afternoon came to an end, we were not rushed out of our seats and were even given fresh tea right up to the last few minutes. There was no pressure that made you feel likeyou were part of a well oiled machine that runs like clockwork 7 days a week – every guest is made to feel special and valued regardless of the fact that the next sitting was almost due.
Were there any negatives? Well, the only thing we could reallysay anything negative about was that the health and safety around cream and eggs means you cannot take away a luxury ‘doggy box’ unless you have booked the celebration cake, so the cakes that we just couldn’t squeeze in to our very over-filled tummies were only to be tasted just to be sure we had tried everything – to have eaten them all would have just been too much!
So, with 100% honesty we can highly recommend this experience as one of our best so far. At £50 a head for traditional tea, and slightly higher for the champagne or celebration teas, wedefinitely got value for money and will certainly be going back there again. Our party aged from 16 years up and we all agreed that the afternoon had brought out the Princess in each of us.
At O.W. Concierge we always like to try out products and services before recommending or referring our clients, and opportunities for making memories is something we highly recommend. Time is so precious and sharing experiences and spending quality time with our friends, our family and others is very good for our wellbeing.
le and the TV seems to be advertising the great love songs of all time. For some of us the red is more like hell and the very word ‘valentines’ makes us slightly wretch.
O.W. Concierge 