Video:Popular Places for Afternoon Tea in London

Transcript:Popular Places for Afternoon Tea in London

Hello! I am Simon Rodway, I am a London Blue Badge guide. I am here for About.com and I want to tell you about 5 top places to have afternoon tea in London.

Best Places for Afternoon Tea in London

In this country we tend to eat a little later than our cousins on the continent, so that is the reason why really afternoon tea came about.

And here we are in the Garden Room of the Athenaeum Hotel in London's Piccadilly and the Atheneum in fact recently won an award from the UK Tea Council for top afternoon tea. Fantastic, look at this! I love the silverware.

Check out the Lanesborough Hotel. The nearest tube to that is Hyde Park Corner. It is a beautiful place to have tea, the dining room is gorgeous. Tea, of course, in the past was quite a high society social networking occasion. Today it is a much more, less formal occasions.

Or, just down the road you have the Caramel Rooms in the Berkeley Hotel, famous for quirky teas.

A little more economical is Bea's of Bloomsbury. The nearest tube to that is St Paul's Cathedral.

Afternoon Tea in London

The idea, of course, is that afternoon tea is not a meal as such. It is a pick-me-up. It is a soothing pick-me-up towards the end of the afternoon just to keep you ready for the evening.

I am Simon Roadway, I am a London Blue Badge guide and I am here for About.com. Thank you for watching!