- Verified on the venues’ own websites on 1 September 2026: traditional afternoon tea starts at £95 at The Ritz, £95 at Claridge’s and £90 at The Savoy, making the Savoy the least expensive of London’s three most famous tea rooms.
- Champagne pricing works differently at each hotel: Claridge’s sells set Champagne (£110) and Rose Champagne (£125) menus, while The Ritz adds a glass from £26 to its £95 tea – about £121 all in.
- The Ritz enforces the strictest dress code – jacket and tie for men, no jeans or sportswear – while The Savoy asks only for elegant attire and Claridge’s publishes no dress code on its tea page.
- From 3 November to 3 January, Claridge’s replaces its regular menu entirely with a Festive Afternoon Tea from £120 on weekdays and £130 at weekends, so winter visitors should budget roughly 25 per cent more.
- Children pay £73 at The Ritz, and both Claridge’s and The Savoy serve a separate children’s menu; the Savoy sets no minimum age at all.
Search for afternoon tea prices in London and you will find plenty of lists that were accurate the year they were written. Hotel tea rooms, however, reprice quietly and often – which is why every figure in this guide was taken directly from the official websites of The Ritz, Claridge’s and The Savoy on 1 September 2026, with nothing carried over from older articles. If a number was not published by the hotel itself, it is not in this guide.
The short version: a traditional afternoon tea at one of the big three now costs £90 to £95 per person before drinks, roughly £110 to £125 with Champagne, and more again in the festive season. Below is the full breakdown – what each price includes, how the Champagne math works, who enforces a dress code, and the booking details that decide whether you get a table at all.
London Afternoon Tea Prices at a Glance
All prices are per person, published by each hotel and verified on 1 September 2026. Hotels can reprice at any time, so treat these as the current baseline and confirm when you book.
| Venue | Traditional tea | With Champagne | Children | Where it is served | Sittings / hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ritz London | From £95 | Add a glass from £26 (about £121 total) | From £73 | The hotel’s tea rooms, including the 18th-century William Kent House | Daily at 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm |
| Claridge’s | From £95 | From £110 (Rose Champagne from £125) | Children’s menu available | The Foyer & Reading Room | Daily; festive menu only from 3 Nov to 3 Jan |
| The Savoy | From £90 | Not published as a set menu; see the tea list when booking | Children’s menu, no minimum age | Gallery, beneath the stained glass dome | Daily 12.00pm to 6.45pm; Twilight Tea 6.00pm to 9.30pm |
The Ritz: From £95, Five Sittings and the Strictest Dress Code
The Ritz has served afternoon tea since Cesar Ritz opened the hotel at 150 Piccadilly in 1906, and it remains the most formal of the three experiences. According to the hotel’s official afternoon tea page, Traditional Afternoon Tea is priced from £95 for adults and £73 for children, with five sittings every day of the week: 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm. The hotel says each sitting lasts between an hour and a half and an hour and three quarters – long enough that the finger sandwiches, scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry preserve, and pastries are all replenished on request.
Two details justify the price for tea devotees. First, the leaf list: 20 loose-leaf teas, sourced by Giandomenico Scanu, the only certified Tea Master at any UK hotel, including the Ritz Royal Blend served nowhere else. Second, the finish: two slices of cake served tableside from the gueridon trolley, in rooms of the 18th-century William Kent House. A pianist plays through the day, with a harpist in the Music Room and a piano, cello and violin trio on weekday evenings.
The Champagne option is priced as an add-on rather than a set menu – a glass starts at £26, taking a Champagne tea to roughly £121 per person. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menus are available if requested before your visit, though the hotel notes it cannot make allergy adjustments on the day itself.
Claridge’s: Set Champagne Menus and a Winter Price Switch
Claridge’s, on Brook Street in Mayfair since 1812, publishes the clearest three-tier pricing of any London tea room. Its official afternoon tea page lists Traditional Afternoon Tea from £95, Champagne Afternoon Tea from £110, and Rose Champagne Afternoon Tea from £125 per person. Tea is taken in The Foyer & Reading Room amid the hotel’s signature jade-and-white striped china, with a menu built around British ingredients – smoked Scottish salmon among the sandwiches – and pastries that change with the season’s fruit. The tea list runs from a rich Oolong to the house Claridge’s Blend.
The detail most guides miss is the winter changeover. From 3 November to 3 January (excluding 25 December), Claridge’s serves its Festive Afternoon Tea exclusively – there is no traditional option in that window – priced from £120 per person on weekdays and £130 at weekends. If you are planning a December visit expecting the £95 menu, budget roughly a quarter more. A children’s afternoon tea menu is available year-round, and the hotel publishes its current menus as downloadable PDFs on the tea page, so you can read exactly what is served in the month you visit.
The Savoy: The £90 Option and Tea Until 9.30pm
The Savoy has poured afternoon tea since it opened on the Strand in 1889, and at £90 per person – the starting price stated in the hotel’s own FAQ – it is currently the least expensive of the three, a £5 saving on its Mayfair rivals. Full experience details sit on the Savoy’s official afternoon tea page. The setting is Gallery, where tea arrives beneath a stained glass dome to a soundtrack of more than 30 teas on the list, warm scones and a procession of finger sandwiches, savoury bites and signature cakes. Afternoon tea is served daily from 12.00pm to 6.45pm, the widest continuous window of the three hotels, and the location is the most theatre-friendly: Charing Cross station is a four-minute walk, and the West End is on the doorstep.
The Savoy also runs two variations the others do not. High Tea adds a hot seasonal savoury course – the hotel gives hand-dived Orkney scallop and pearl barley risotto as examples – for those who want tea to double as an early dinner. And Twilight Tea, served daily from 6.00pm to 9.30pm, turns the ritual into an evening event with a Berry Royale cocktail under the dome; no other grand hotel serves a tea experience that late. Families are well covered too: there is no minimum age, and a children’s menu is available. Guests with afternoon tea gift vouchers can use them against a booking – just tell the team on arrival.
The Champagne Math
Because the three hotels structure Champagne differently, the cheapest route to a glass of fizz with your scones is not obvious. At Claridge’s the upgrade from traditional to Champagne tea is a fixed £15 jump (£95 to £110), the best-value published route to a Champagne tea among the three. At The Ritz, adding the entry-level glass at £26 to the £95 tea brings you to about £121 – more than Claridge’s standard Champagne menu, though the Ritz pour comes with the option of upgrading further up the Champagne list. The Savoy does not publish a set Champagne-tea price on its website, so ask for the current pairing prices when you book; its £90 base means the total will hinge entirely on which bottle is open. Rose drinkers have exactly one published option: Claridge’s £125 Rose Champagne tea.
Dress Codes Compared
The dress code question fills search results because the answer differs sharply by hotel. The Ritz is the strict one: gentlemen must wear a jacket and tie for afternoon tea, and jeans and sportswear are barred for everyone. The rule is applied to adults only – the hotel exempts children under 16 – but it is enforced, so a smart jacket is not optional. The Savoy takes the opposite approach: no formal dress code at all, just a request that guests dress elegantly for the occasion, with offensive attire, disruptive clothing and sports jerseys prohibited. Claridge’s publishes no dress code on its afternoon tea page; if in doubt, dress as you would for the Ritz and you will be comfortable anywhere in Mayfair. Across all three, the safest uniform is simple: tailored trousers or a dress, proper shoes, and a jacket for men.
Booking: Channels, Children and Vouchers
All three hotels take reservations online. The Ritz books through its website or by phone on +44 (0)20 7300 2345; with only five sittings a day and tables of finite size, the popular mid-afternoon slots go first, so the 11.30am and 7.30pm sittings are the pragmatic choice for shorter-notice bookings. The Savoy’s advice on lead time is blunt – book as early as possible – and its tea line is +44 (0)20 7420 2111. Claridge’s reserves through its website, with general enquiries on +44 (0)20 7629 8860.
For families, the price gap is worth noting: The Ritz charges £73 per child, while Claridge’s and The Savoy price their children’s menus separately from the adult rate – check the current children’s price when you book. All three sell afternoon tea gift vouchers, and The Savoy explicitly confirms vouchers can settle a tea booking. Dietary needs are handled at all three, but The Ritz asks for notice before the day, and that is sound practice everywhere: state allergies and preferences at booking, not at the table.
Seasonal Pricing: When the Numbers Change
Afternoon tea pricing is not static across the year, and winter is when it moves most. Claridge’s is explicit: from 3 November to 3 January its Festive Afternoon Tea replaces the standard menu entirely, at £120 to £130 depending on the day of the week. The Ritz priced last season’s Christmas Afternoon Tea at £125 per adult and £83 per child, so expect a seasonal menu at a premium again this winter even though the hotel has not yet published this year’s figure. If you want the standard £90-£95 experience at the standard price, book for the months outside the festive window – and if you want the Christmas theatrics, budget £120 to £130 per person and reserve well ahead.
Which One Should You Book?
On published price alone: The Savoy for the lowest entry point (£90), Claridge’s for the best-value Champagne structure (£110), The Ritz for the most formal, most traditional staging of the ritual. For an evening tea, The Savoy’s 9.30pm Twilight window stands alone; for a strict-dress-code occasion with live musicians, it is The Ritz; for a December visit, Claridge’s festive menu is the one priced and published in advance. This guide deliberately sticks to prices, dress codes and booking mechanics – for the fuller experience-by-experience comparison, including venues beyond the big three, see our guide to the best afternoon tea experiences in London, and for how tea fits into a wider London itinerary, our tour of the world’s best tea cities puts the capital in context.
Related Guides
- How to Host the Perfect Afternoon Tea Party at Home – the same ritual at a fraction of the price
- Tea and Food Pairing: The Ultimate Guide – why smoked salmon and Assam work
- A Guide to Black Tea – the leaves behind most afternoon tea menus
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is afternoon tea at The Ritz London?
Traditional Afternoon Tea at The Ritz costs from £95 per adult and £73 per child, verified on the hotel’s website on 1 September 2026. A glass of Champagne adds £26 or more. Tea is served daily at five sittings – 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm – and lasts up to an hour and 45 minutes.
How much is afternoon tea at Claridge’s in 2026?
Claridge’s charges from £95 for Traditional Afternoon Tea, £110 with Champagne and £125 with Rose Champagne, per its official 2026 pricing. From 3 November to 3 January only a Festive Afternoon Tea is served, from £120 on weekdays and £130 at weekends. Tea is served daily in The Foyer & Reading Room.
How much does afternoon tea at The Savoy cost?
The Savoy’s afternoon tea starts from £90 per person, the lowest published price of London’s three most famous hotel teas. It is served daily in Gallery from 12.00pm to 6.45pm, with a Twilight Tea running 6.00pm to 9.30pm. High Tea adds a hot savoury course; ask for current pricing when booking.
What is the dress code for afternoon tea in London?
It varies by hotel. The Ritz requires a jacket and tie for men and bans jeans and sportswear for all adults, though under-16s are exempt. The Savoy has no formal code but asks guests to dress elegantly and prohibits sports jerseys. Claridge’s publishes no dress code for tea, so smart attire is the safe choice.
What is the difference between afternoon tea and high tea?
Afternoon tea is the classic mid-afternoon service of sandwiches, scones and pastries with tea. High tea adds a hot savoury course to that spread – at The Savoy, for example, a hand-dived Orkney scallop or pearl barley risotto – making it closer to an early supper. Despite the name, high tea is the heartier, not the fancier, of the two.