Stepping out in London: Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel

BY ONEIKA RAYMOND

If you’re looking for the quintessential British experience whilst on a trip to London or somewhere else in the UK,  you MUST do afternoon tea.

One of the top things on my imaginary “Things to do while living in London” list was to go out and do tea, and you can probably understand why.  The concept of tea is probably the most British thing ever, not only a heralded tradition, but an institution in and of itself.

While there are a smorgasbord of places to do tea, you’ll find that most of them are found in the swankiest hotels in London, like The Ritz, Claridges, and The Langham (incidentally the place where I did my first London tea).  You’ll also find that these places are often booked up MONTHS in advance.  Going for tea in London is popular amongst locals as well as tourists, and with a zillion and one “Best places to do Tea in London” articles published each year, you’ll be hard-pressed to get a table without reserving far ahead.  Case in point: In February I booked places for Liebling and I to go have tea at The Dorchester Hotel, but we’re not going until the end of April! We couldn’t get a reservation before then.

For this reason I was thrilled when a new friend of mine organized an afternoon tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel.  I hadn’t been to tea in quite a few months and always look forward to trying out different teas in the city.

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Now, I’ve never heard of this hotel before my friend suggested it, but I liked the looks of it as soon as I entered;  the fancy furnishings were plentiful (the red velvety seats and shimmery chandelier were of particular note), the service staff respectful, reserved, yet friendly (as demonstrated by the waiter who volunteered to take our preening photos).  The Royal Horseguards is only a 3-minute walk from Embankment tube station, and a 10-minute walk from Trafalgar Square.

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The food is typical tea fare (why mess with what works?): tiered trays of mini sandwiches, sweets, and scones with clotted cream were presented to our table of four.  As is custom, we were given a selection of teas to choose from, ranging from jasmine to English breakfast to flowering ginger. My friends also ordered champagne but as I am a teetotaler I opted to stick with the  non-alcoholic: plain old earl grey tea.

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What is most attractive about tea here is the fact that it is relatively inexpensive compared to most teas I have been to or thought about going to.  Because here’s the (sad) thing: indulging in afternoon tea, at least in London, is not cheap. A foray into this long-standing institution will often run you anywhere from 40 to 50 GBP ($60 to $75 USD), quite the uncivilized price in this rough economy! Thus I was happy to discover that standard tea at The Royal Horseguards only cost me 30 GBP ($45 USD), a steal in comparison.  While I worried that the low cost would result in a comprise of quality or smaller portion sizes, my fears were unfounded; waitstaff came around to offer seconds, and the scones were some of the best I’ve had in London.  I left with my stomach happy and my wallet happier — always a great combination. What a pleasant surprise!

Definitely give tea at The Royal Horseguards a try should you find yourself in London with a hankering to indulge in a long-standing British tradition.

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Have you ever been to afternoon tea? If not, do you think it’s something you would like to experience?

The Royal Horseguards Hotel

2 Whitehall Ct  London SW1A 2EJ
0871 376 9033 

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