City Guide

Everyone should indulge in a formal afternoon tea at least once while in London. It's a relaxing, drawn-out, civilized affair that usually consists of three courses, all elegantly served on delicate china: first, dainty finger sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, of course), then fresh-baked scones served with jam and deliciously decadent clotted cream (Devonshire cream), and then an array of bite-size sweets. All the while, an indulgent server keeps the pot of tea of your choice fresh at hand. Sometimes ports and aperitifs are on offer to accompany your final course. High tea, popular with the before-theater crowd, includes an extra serving or two, including a sandwich, making it, in essence, a light supper. Having tea is a quintessentially British experience, and we've listed our favorite tea venues below. Note that for the most popular hotels (especially The Ritz), you should make reservations as far in advance as possible. If you go to a place that doesn't take reservations, show up at least half an hour early, especially between April and October. Jacket and tie are often required for gentlemen, and jeans and sneakers are usually frowned upon.

The British Empire no longer comes to a grinding halt at 4pm with all of England rushing for their cuppa. The English still like a cup of tea in the afternoon, but in workaday London that tea is often consumed at desks piled high with papers. A proper sit-down tea is reserved mainly for those ladies-who-lunch who like to follow lunch with fattening but delectable pastries in the late afternoon. Visitors also are fond of participating in this ritual.

London is awash in coffee-bar chains, and many have abandoned the time-honored custom of afternoon tea altogether, but not all of them have. Some Londoners are returning to this quaint custom and the city is experiencing a revival of tea drinking.

There are variations in tea drinking, as today's London is a rainbow-hued city. Take Mô, at 22-25 Heddon St. (tel. 020/7434-4040). At this offshoot of a North African restaurant, you'll think you're in Morocco as you're served mint tea in gold-encrusted glasses against a backdrop of hanging lanterns and embroidered cushions. Quite different from the traditional afternoon tea that Queen Victoria enjoyed!

If drinking tea with your pinky extended just isn't your style, we've also included a handful of less formal (and less expensive) alternatives. A full high tea costs more than £21 ($40) at the finest hotels.

Be careful when you make reservations that you are reserving at the right "Palm Court," as there are several of them.

The Brew House--Unknown to most visitors, there's a charming little place in North London for breakfast, afternoon tea, and lunches at one of Hampstead Heath's most alluring attractions. It's The Brew House, in Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, NW3 (tel. 020/838-5384), open in summer daily from 9am to 6pm. Off-season hours are daily 9am to 4pm. In between gazing upon that Vermeer or Rembrandt, you can enjoy one of the most idyllic breakfasts in North London or else come back for lunch. There is always a freshly made soup of the day and at least one vegetarian dish. Main courses are likely to include free-range sausages or else fresh Scottish salmon, and even free-range chicken. You can partake of the breakfast buffet for £6.50 ($12); at lunch main courses cost £4.50 to £10.50 ($8.55-$20). American Express and Visa are accepted. Tube: Northern line to Golders Green, then bus. no. 210.

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