London is one of the most famous cities in the world, packed with iconic sights like; red double decker buses, black cabs, Big Ben and the most iconic store in the world, Harrods. Harrods is eponymous with luxury and fabulous service and serves the most fabulous Harrods Afternoon Tea.

The Harrods Tea Rooms (formerly the Georgian restaurant) is an incredibly grand setting for afternoon tea, so as soon as I set foot in the restaurant I knew I was in for a special treat. The dining room is huge and stretches back as far as the eye can see. The cream coloured ceilings are high compared to the rest of Harrods, giving more space and grandeur and in some areas the ceiling is panelled with frosted glass, which lets in a glowing natural light. There is a variety of seating available, with large tables for up to 10 people, cosy booths for smaller groups. The best seating of all was where we were seated, which was on impressively large and very comfortable red velvet throne-like chairs with a table in between us, fit for a king! 

The magnificent central display in the Harrods Afternoon tea rooms
The magnificent central display in the Harrods Afternoon tea rooms

As you would expect from Harrods, the service is excellent, the staff are very friendly and eager to help and the service is very personalised and discreet. You definitely won’t find any hovering waiters here!

A full food menu, including hot dishes is available, but we ordered the classic Harrods Afternoon Tea for £65pp, which included a glass of Harrods Premier Cru NV Champagne. The Harrods Afternoon Tea without champagne is £55pp. The Harrods Afternoon Tea starts with a round of savoury sandwiches and a small hot savoury (in our case we had delicious petite arancini, but this changes seasonally). The standard sandwiches are: 

  • Burford Brown egg and cress sandwich with black truffle butter and chives (it’s worth noting these are the best eggs in Britain),
  • Harrods smoked salmon sandwich with lemon and salmon mousse,
  • Roast beef and horseradish sandwich with pickles and watercress; and 
  • English cucumber sandwich with,cream cheese, dill and cracked red peppercorns.
A display of the beautiful sandwiches, smoked salmon, cucumber, egg and cress and roast beef.
From the back left, clockwise: smoked salmon, cucumber, egg and cress and roast beef. In the front, the mini arancini!

If you have dietary requirements or allergies then inform the staff and they will make adjustments for you. It’s also worth noting that refills of the sandwiches and cakes are available and included in the overall price! Incredible. The egg, cress and truffle sandwiches are especially delicious, as are the smoked salmon sandwiches. The roast beef sandwiches are also beautifully flavoursome, but the real surprise for me was the cucumber sandwich. I’m normally not a fan of cucumber sandwiches but these were so crisp and refreshing and not soggy at all. Harrods also use different breads to compliment the flavours of each sandwich and are as well thought out as a full meal, with an extraordinary level of detail given to the overall flavour and balance. We went for two rounds of sandwiches, which was so filling but they’re so tasty we couldn’t say no to a second serving.

From the front: spiced apple cake, Mont Blanc, mango and passion fruit and salted caramel tart.
From the front: spiced apple cake, Mont Blanc, mango and passion fruit and salted caramel tart.

After the sandwiches, we moved on to the petit cakes. We had the spiced apple cake, the salted caramel tart, the Mont Blanc (chestnut) and the mango and passion fruit cake. It’s genuinely hard to pick which one was the most delicious, but I am a sucker for a Mont Blanc and this was excellent. A very close runner up was the mango and passion fruit cake, purely because it’s so light and refreshing. 

Scones, jam and cream at Harrods Afternoon Tea
The best scones I have ever eaten in my life! On the left, the fruit scones and one the right, the heavenly plain scones. Jam and clotted cream in the front.

The second layer of the cake stand houses the scones and you cannot miss these! Even if you are full, you have to have some. The scones at Harrods are the best I’ve ever eaten, hands down. The scones are lightly glazed on top for a slight crunch and textural note and they are served warm and fresh from the oven. When you break them open, they’re warm and fluffy inside, begging for jam and cream. I’m also not normally a fan of fruit scones but I made an exception for the Harrods ones as they are truly so delicious.

It’s worth noting that at the Harrods Afternoon Tea comes with a complete tea menu, listing everything from green teas, to white and black teas from all over the world. You can tell they take their tea as seriously as a sommelier matches wine to food! We were overwhelmed by the choice, so we took the waiters recommendation of the Georgian restaurant black tea, which was very smooth and a great accompaniment to both the sandwiches and cakes.  

Harrods Afternoon Tea and Me
Me, peeping through the delicious sandwiches!

An additional benefit of the Harrods Afternoon Tea is the incredible people watching that you can indulge in. People watching is possibly my favourite hobby and Harrods did not let me down. I saw some beauty influencers, some very rich European socialites and a multi-generational family out for a celebration. Truly everyone comes to Harrods, from tourists from across the globe, to Londoners, families with children and groups of friends. 

Top tips:

  • Make sure you book well in advance, I saw a lot of people who tried to get a walk up booking on the day and the wait looked quite long.
  • Do not eat on the day before you go. I would never normally recommend this, because I love food, but the Harrods Afternoon Tea is incredibly filling and you won’t want to say no to a morsel, trust me. 
  • Take your time! You will have the table for a minimum of two hours. Don’t rush those pretty cakes, enjoy them!

I hope you enjoyed my review of Harrods Afternoon Tea! If you did, then you will also like my review of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, check it out!

Leave me a comment down below to let me know your thoughts and share this post with friends through the social buttons. 

Cheers,

Tiffany from G&J xx