The best Christmas afternoon teas in London: 11 festive treats
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Is there a more quintessentially British act than to indulge in one of the fabulous Christmas afternoon teas in London as we hurtle through the festive season? Tables across the city’s brasseries and hotels are covered by crisp tablecloths between lunch and dinner service and the finest bone China emerges, followed by finger sandwiches, savoury bites and generous spreads of sweet treats. From the glitziest hotel lobbies in the city to more affordable café spots in the suburbs, these are the tastiest festive afternoon teas in London for 2025. For more, year-round inspiration, see our guide to the best afternoon teas in London.
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The Peninsula London
Embrace the festive season in one of London’s glitziest hotel lobbies as The Peninsula launches a special edition of its afternoon tea. Enjoy a selection of sweet and savoury festive-inspired treats, including handcrafted sandwiches packed with Norfolk bronze turkey and apricot and cranberry relish. Other treats include ‘Santa belt’ (cranberry crémeux, whipped ganache and spéculoos sablé), a ‘Black Forest pinecone’ (chocolate mousse and cherry confit), plus traditional scones served alongside pots of clotted cream and strawberry and mint jam. Enhance the experience with an ice-cold glass of NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé and watch the comings and goings of one of the capital’s chicest boltholes.
Address: The Peninsula London, 8/F, The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7HJ
Website: peninsula.com
Price: £85 per person
St. Pancras London Hotel
Take a moment for yourself, either side of a festive adventure, and escape the hustle and bustle of the city over afternoon tea at London’s St. Pancras Hotel. Expect smoked salmon and roast sirloin finger sandwiches, slices of gingerbread cake and a tangy redcurrant and fromage blanc mousse. Visit between Friday and Sunday, when live music accompanies the tea.
Address: St. Pancras London Hotel, Euston Road, London NW1 2AR
Website: sevenrooms.com
Price: From £59 per person
Hotel Café Royal
Piccadilly’s fanciest address marks the festive season with a Nutcracker-inspired Christmas afternoon tea for 2025. Proceedings begin with a duck à l’orange amuse-bouche, followed by a smoked salmon, crème fraîche and chive croissant, and a selection of finger sandwiches packed with Norfolk bronze turkey, cucumber, cream cheese, and truffled mayonnaise. Spread clotted cream and various preserves over plain and spiced cranberry scones, dip into a chocolate and cocoa-nib praline mousse, and sample the vanilla-spiced orange jelly with cranberries and Madagascan vanilla. For a fizzy take, pair the afternoon tea with a glass of Blackdown Ridge Classic Cuvee 2018, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, Dom Pérignon 2013 or a Champagne cocktail.
Address: Hotel Café Royal, 10 Air Street, London W1B 5AB
Website: hotelcaferoyal.com
Price: From £85 per person
JOIA
Join Londoners for afternoon tea with a difference at JOIA between 12pm and 4pm this winter, as Battersea’s sleekest restaurant celebrates the season with Portuguese-inspired delicacies. Start with a refined selection of sandwiches and savouries from a lobster brioche roll to Iberico ham and cream cheese on sourdough toast, before smothering clotted cream and strawberry jam onto freshly baked scones. Satiate your sweet tooth before wrapping up the Christmas shopping in Battersea Power Station – treats include a ginger and clementine tart and a Baileys and salted caramel present.
Address: JOIA, 15th Floor, 1 Electric Blvd, Nine Elms, London SW11 8BJ
Website: joiabattersea.co.uk
Price: From £45 per person
London Marriott Hotel County Hall
Indulge in one of the chicest Christmas afternoon teas in London while admiring the flow of the winding River Thames at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall this winter. Roasted Norfolk turkey breast is paired with redcurrant butter on classic white bread, while pigs in blankets are packed into butter brioche buns with a dollop of sage crème fraiche. Other lip-smacking highlights include a butternut squash and ‘Rosary’ goats cheese tartlet, a Christmas pudding cheesecake and a warming nutmeg and mandarin tart.
Address: London Marriott Hotel County Hall, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7PB
Website: thelibraryatcountyhall.com
Price: From £75pp
Conrad London St James
Settle into Conrad London St James’ glass-roofed Orchard Room and watch as a fantastical array of festive treats is served on Wedgwood’s Wild Strawberry fine bone china. Wash coronation turkey, christmas ham and brie and cranberry finger sandwiches down with free-flowing Bollinger Champagne, snap Santa’s hat crafted from white chocolate and a tonka bean mousse, and savour the pavlova Christmas tree with pistachio financier and cherry compote.
Address: Conrad London St. James, 22-28 Broadway, London SW1H 0BH
Website: afternoontea.co.uk
Price: From £60 per person
Sketch
Beyond the grand facade, diners at Sketch are indulging in a fantastical, fizzy afternoon tea until the beginning of January. Tuck into all the classics before sampling a selection of delicate, whimsical patisserie created by the talented chefs, settling into the Gallery, Glade or Parlour and admiring the restaurant’s fabulous wintery makeover.
Address: Sketch, 9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG
Website: sketch.london
Price: From £115 per person, including a glass of Champagne
Dalloway Terrace
There are few places as pretty as Dalloway Terrace for a festive afternoon tea in London. As the capital shivers, things take a cosy turn on the terrace with sparkling lights and blankets. The limited-time offering features delicate savouries, freshly baked scones, and exquisite patisserie. Savour roast turkey, cranberry, sage and onion mayonnaise on onion bread, nibble on a pistachio Christmas wreath and devour gingerbread madeleines so morish you’ll be asking for seconds. Vegetarian and vegan options are available, along with a festive afternoon tea specially tailored for children.
Address: Dalloway Terrace, 16-22 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NN
Website: dallowayterrace.com
Price: £75 per person, including a glass of Champagne
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Rosewood London
Raise a toast to one of England’s greatest wordsmiths as Rosewood London honours the life and work of Charles Dickens this Christmas. Executive pastry chef Mark Perkins has crafted a 19th-century mince pie and a collection of three cakes sure to convert any Scrooge, each named after some of Dickens’ most iconic characters and novels. Oliver Twist is a playful nod to the beloved character, featuring a lemon sponge infused with lemon thyme cream, raspberry jelly, and a lemon mousse presented in a swirling design. Meanwhile, The Old Curiosity Shop showcases a pear and vanilla jelly, a salted caramel mousse, and a gingerbread sponge layered atop each other.
Address: Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN
Website: rosewoodhotels.com
Price: From £90 per person
Cafe Linea
Cafe Linea’s terrace on Duke of York Square is the perfect place in the heart of Chelsea to sample lip-smacking treats with a side of people-watching. The recently opened restaurant’s terrace has been reimagined as a chic silver retreat adorned with twinkling fairy lights, winter greenery, soft blankets and a grand Christmas tree. Sample savoury bites including egg mayo sandwiches, caviar and stilton profiteroles and cream cheese and salmon bagels, before the likes of mince pie biscuit sandwiches and a Christmas tree cake with caramelised apple, olive oil sponge and a cream cheese frosting.
Address: Cafe Linea, 90, Duke of York Square, London SW3 4LY
Website: linealondon.com
Price: £45 per person
InterContinental London Park Lane
Celebrate 50 years of InterContinental London Park Lane over sweet treats and delightfully sippable teas courtesy of the Golden Christmas Afternoon Tea. Settle into the Wellington Lounge and gaze out towards the Royal Parks while the team serve a lip-smacking array of savoury bites that bring together the hallmarks of a classic Christmas dinner in bite-sized form. Savour the smoked salmon, Cox’s apple and horseradish blini and tuck into turkey and cranberry sausage rolls before a selection of plain and golden currant scones and a slice of Twelfth Night cake. Continue the festivities at Theo’s on the Terrace, which has transformed into an Alpine escape serving dishes from the Italian mountains in the heart of Mayfair. Cosy up under plush fur blankets under the twinkling fairy lights and get in the festive spirit while raising a sparkling toast.
Address: InterContinental London Park Lane by IHG, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London W1J 7QY
Website: parklane.intercontinental.com
Price: From £85 per person