Tea at The Wolseley

Unlike some of the other places to have afternoon tea in London, The Wolseley isn't as heavy-handed on the wallet, you'll be pleased to hear. It gets better, too, because the quality of, well, everything, is perfect. The service is seamless - the waiters almost fade into invisibility, such is their proficiency - the food is heavenly with fluffy scones and the creamiest of butter and other dairy accompaniments, and the place itself with its high ceilings and yawning archways. The Wolseley is the real alternative to our beloved midday tradition, and definitely worth visiting to get a sense of proper authenticity.

As mentioned, you get a considerable bang for much less of your buck at The Wolseley. The Champagne Afternoon Tea which comes with finger sandwiches, fruit scones and cakes also comes with a glass of Pommery Brut Royal - all this for £29.75 is, we think, an absolute steal considering other places offer near enough the same choice with more than £10 extra slapped on for good measure. Elsewhere the typical Afternoon Tea menu comes without the champagne, and is just a few pennies over £20.

The rest of the menu lists extensive quantities of rare and exotic teas for you to enjoy with a friend or a loved one. You'll want to stay as long as you can here - and indeed you're welcome to because, to the waiters, hurrying people out to get more people in is, quite rightly, the height of bad manners. In fact, the service is so polite and so attentive (they'll bring you extra plates if they spy you sharing with your tea buddy), that you'll feel more like royalty than if you were in a palace.

The restaurant also lists a full daytime menu of meals and small snacks in the tradition of the great hotel dining rooms of Europe - anything from a full English to Boeuf Bourguignon. Most Londoners know breakfast here to be a rite of passage.

Tea Times: Monday - Friday: 3pm - 6.30pm, Saturday: 3.30pm - 5.30pm, Sunday: 3.30pm - 6.30pm.

Contact

• Click for Phone Number 020 7499 6996