Celebrated my birthday here and to say that it was a magical experience would be an understatement. The room is elegant and beautiful. We opted for the afternoon tea w/ a glass of champagne and the assortment was absolutely delicious, especially the sandwiches and scones with clotted cream. The staff were so welcoming and beyond lovely. I won't spoil the birthday surprise but my friend legitimately cried and it wasn't even her birthday!! lol. Such a memorable experience. I know the Afternoon tea option is pricey, but it's absolutely worth it. Treat yourself and you won't regret it. read more

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Beautiful restaurant in a beautiful hotel! The place was beautifully decorated and the piano player was a great touch. Arrived for our reservation for afternoon tea early, but they accommodated us. The staff was kind and congratulated my husband & I on celebrating our honeymoon. They even gave us a congratulations dessert and card, so sweet! Our waitress, Naomi, was so kind! She answered questions I had about the tea and explained each dish. She checked up on us a lot and was overall just a fun spirit to talk to. She let me try the sparkling Jasmine pearl tea because I mentioned I loved Jasmine pearl tea. The experience was quite expensive, but can't go wrong with afternoon tea in this wonderful hotel in London! read more

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I cannot say enough wonderful things about afternoon tea at the Thames Foyer at Savoy. From their hostesses to their servers, they have top notch customer service. Moira was my server and she was so thorough and provided tea recommendations. She also did an excellent job explaining the menu. The food was AMAZING! The savory sandwiches and tarts were so flavorful and delicious. I absolutely love the scones with clotted cream and all their decadent sweet dessert. There wasn't anything I didn't like. When I'm back in London I will definitely be back! read more

Thames Foyer - Coffee & Tea Near Me - London, XGL

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100% worth it. Make sure you book in advance. I'm unsure why people think they can walk in and get tea service the day of. This is a very highly-sought experience. Everything tea should be and then some. The staff, decor, food, piano player, table setting... it was all perfect. Our server was friendly, informative, and attentive. She walked us through the menu and explained each course to us it was delivered. All of the courses were delicious. Our favorites were the coronation chicken sandwich, the fish, and the Savoy blend tea. The price is very steep, but since our group was doing this as a part of our vacation and not an every day thing, it was worth it. It was probably our favorite activity we booked in the city. read more

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We made a 1 PM afternoon tea reservation for 2 a few weeks in advance. It comes with unlimited sandwiches, so we had two servings worth. 5 different types of traditional sandwiches: salmon, roast beef, egg salad, coronation chicken, cucumber and mint. Cucumber and mint was my least favorite due to the lack of a protein. Loved all the other sandwiches. Salmon was similar to a lox bagel. Coronation chicken had a curry taste to it. Roast beef had horseradish kick with some mushrooms. Also came with a caramelized goat cheese tart that was odd... 4 different desserts and 2 types of scones. Liked Strawberry tartlet, pistachio pastry, and peach macaroon, dark chocolate cake. Chocolate cake was on the driver side, but not too heavy. Strawberry tartlet had a tough outer shell with a strawberry rhubarb consomme. Pistachio pastry had pistachio nuts sprinkled on top, pistachio flavored sugary outer layer, and a concentrated pistachio reduction. Every dessert was delectable. Scones are surprisingly not dry. It's buttery and also goes great with the butter and jam. We weren't able to finish it, so we packed it togo. Finished at 3pm. 2 hour limit so we were unable to continue trying different teas. My favorite was a blackcurrant tea, but it was best enjoyed with a sugar cube. Fancy decor, live piano music, delicious sandwiches and desserts, yummy tea, it's everything that I could have hoped for from my first high tea experience. I only wish our service had been better. We constantly had to refill our own tea and the pace between sandwich refills, bringing out the desserts, getting the check was painstakingly slow. We were one of the first to sit and the last to leave. read more

Thames Foyer - Sandwiches - Coffee & Tea Near Me - London, XGL

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Beautiful setting in the Savoy especially at Christmas time. However, service was slow and food not worth the price. Overall a pleasant experience however not worth the expense. read more

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It was an enjoyable experience, but the sandwiches and desserts were average, and the service was pretty bad :( Not worth the expensive price tag. read more

I was visiting from the states for my 27th birthday and knew I wanted to have an afternoon tea experience and they did not disappoint! Everything was AMAZING! The decor is beautiful and the ambiance is very lovely. This was definitely the best experience of my trip. Lewis was so awesome! He made us feel comfortable and explained everything to us in great detail. He gave great recommendations and just was very personable and friendly. We even stopped to tell the manager about the great service we received while there. The pianist/singer was lovely. She was very talented and sang songs that I knew (R&B). It added to the amazing ambiance. I opted for the traditional afternoon tea and chose one of their special Savoy blended teas. I wish I remembered which one it was because it was delicious. The finger sandwiches, scones, variety of desserts, and cakes were yummy! This is a must do while visiting London! read more

Dress attire is "smart casual" and is strictly enforced. Reservation is also recommended at least one week in advance. We had "Afternoon Tea" which came with 4 different sandwiches, tea, and then dessert. The ambiance was classy and the live pianist (Nicole Reynolds) was playing Disney classics along with the classic love songs. We had a great time. From start to finish, it took us 2hrs. PS Thames Foyer is located inside the Savoy Hotel. read more

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After reading reviews, my husband & I made reservations a couple weeks in advance. The staff is very friendly and explained the differences in teas across the 4 pages of choices. The Vanilla Black was the best out of the 6 teas we tried throughout the lunch. Out of the 4 sandwich varieties, the beef was the best: we had a second helping of that! The broccoli & cheese quiche was pretty delicious too. We chose to do the High Tea option that included either the salmon or goat cheese curd: we got one of each. The salmon was cooked to perfection with a crispy salmon skin chip. The goat cheese curd needed bread to spread it on, but it was still tasty. Finally, the dessert display was a beauty. The scones were decent, the poppyseed muffins with lemon cream were moist, & the fruit filled pastries with tea-infused cream were THE BEST! The whole must-do experience was about £150+ for us but it's worth it. One of our servers (Matteo) even packed us a take away bag for our untouched desserts! The environment is very classy with a glass dome atrium view and a talented pianist setting the elegant ambiance. read more

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Awfully posh for us raggedy tourist types! Seriously though, I was surprised they let us in, as I was in cargo pants and a long sleeved T, and all the rest of the folks were in at least collared shirts, and of course the staff in tails. However, in we went and what an experience!! OK, so it is 50 quid for afternoon tea, but it is all you can eat of the most delightful finger sandwiches and scones, followed by pastries to make us fat boys sweat, and lastly a cake selection that floored me. And all the tea you can drink, which as it turns out was quite a lot. The atmosphere is of course very proper and hushed, except for the tinkle of the piano, the low hum over conversation and the clink of spoons on cups. Tea is poured for you as soon as your cup is empty, and by the placement of the pots we felt pouring for ourselves was discouraged, my dear boy. For an extra 12 pounds a glass of bubbles can be had with it, which we declined as we had some more pavement to pound, and I already felt like aI needed a nap after nearly lapsing into a sugar coma after the pastries.... I recommend booking ahead, although we managed to get a table by lingering about. Highly recommended, wins coveted and rare 5 stars from me. read more

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"Posh" is really the only word to describe this place. Utterly, utterly posh. I figured you can tell what this place is all about from the photos and other reviews, so mine will be concise. Highlights: - beautiful decor, classic but not boring - the bird cage in the middle of the room - live piano playing - very attentive servers (so attentive that I feel discouraged to pour my own tea once in a while) I like the sandwiches and scones better at the Dorchester hotel, but the atmosphere here is definitely more exciting. read more

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I came downstairs for afternoon tea the day I was to leave The Savoy and I can't even begin to explain how much of a lovely time I had. My friend and I sat by the entrance/right behind the pianist and it was such a relaxing experience to have tea, champagne, and sandwiches. The staff was well informed of the menu, and was very conscientious of my food allergies. I really appreciated that about their professionalism. They made sure to ask multiple times beforehand about my allergy so as not to serve me anything that would cause me harm or discomfort. On my next trip, I think I'll try high tea as opposed to afternoon tea to experience the difference. read more

We were fortunate to snag last minute reservations for afternoon tea at the Savoy via OpenTable, after deciding we needed another proper tea before leaving London! We were promptly seated upon arrival and had a wonderful couch seat with a view of the pianist and center of the foyer, who started playing shortly after we were seated. We both enjoyed champagne and appreciated the option to have our champagne with our sandwiches before our tea being brought to our table. We loved the selection of traditional "closed" finger sandwiches, and the 2 more modern "open" sandwiches, especially the fig one! Upon finishing our sandwiches, we were promptly brought tea, sweets and scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam and lemon curd (a personal favorite that isn't always included at tea)--all were delicious! We were looked after by two wonderful and attentive servers, who regularly refreshed our teas and took care to clean our table. read more

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I was in London for a few days and I just had to have that legendary afternoon tea in London, my choice was either Savoy or St.Ermins. I chose Savoy because how beautiful the place is with a palace feeling because of that white and gold ambiance. I suggest to reserve in advance, even if you're the hotel guest, it's booked pretty quickly. I booked weekend in advance and still had to wait for a bit. They have two menus; afternoon tea or High tea, the only difference is the savory food in between the sandwiches and scones /cakes. I voted for the afternoon tea, the price difference was only £5 per person. Tea was excellent, plenty of choices. Their sandwiches were really good, service was impeccable (that's why you'll be paying 12.5% extra for service in the end). Scones and cakes were good. Pianist were playing good songs and she was talented. The whole experience were good, a bit expensive for what we were getting but you're paying for the whole experience. Overall I would recommend this place for afternoon tea, just for the sake of experience. read more

Thames Foyer - The scones and cakes - Coffee & Tea Near Me - London, XGL

What an amazing place for a special occasion, we went the traditional afternoon tea. Wow so much amazing food and we ate so much we had to almost roll home. Our server was amazing and very attentive, one of the best experiences you can have in London. Don't forget to book ahead of time read more

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Well we all have highly different ideas for what is special in life. Something that has been suggested to me multiple times, is to have High Tea at the Savoy. This is a truly unique experience. It is simply one thing to have High Tea. The scones, finger sandwiches, pastries, and the tea. It is altogether an entirely different thing to have High Tea at the Savoy in London while passing an afternoon in luxurious environs. Pro Tip: Make sure you dress classy. Yes that means suit and tie for the gents and nice dresses for the ladies. My experience here is simply put elegant and classy. If you have the time and the money for it. It is a truly unique wonderful experience. I hope you do go and enjoy the experience. read more

Afternoon Tea was definitely a London highlight for me, my husband and our 13 year old daughter. I made reservations about 3 months ahead of time at 5:15pm. There's no cost to make reservations, and you'll receive an email confirmation. Afternoon tea ends at 5:45pm, but we were able to stay as long as we wanted, so this was a perfect time slot! Earlier time slots, you are limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes. There's a cloak room for your jackets and bags. The ladies bathrooms are beautiful. The Thames Foyer is a beautiful tea room! Our server was Alice and she was very nice in answering our questions. We had a 3 hours 4 course Afternoon Tea and it was a definite London highlight for me, my husband, and our 13 year old daughter to experience together. We had a relaxing time, and ordered as much as we wanted. We had a choice of over 31 teas, and we each tried 2 to 3 different teas. The first course is tea. Second course is sandwiches. Third course is pastries. Fourth course is specialty cakes. We enjoyed the sandwiches and found them filling. My husband's favorte sandwiches were Coronation chicken on olive bread and the Wiltshire bone ham with whole grain mustard, apple chutney on carrot & coriander bread . I loved the freshly baked raisin scones served with Cornish clotted cream, homemade lemon curd and strawberry preserve The pastries were beautiful! My favorite was the Savoy Rose - wild strawberry jelly rose scented chantilly, almond macaroon. By 7:45pm, we were full.If you have afternoon tea at 5:15pm like we did, you certainly don't need to eat dinner. Afternoon tea is £50 per person. Champagne, soda, coffee costs extra. There's a 12.5% service charge that is automatically added. Total for the 3 of us was £168.75 read more

Beautiful room for a lovely breakfast, under the atrium. Fancy tea and coffee service. Splendid Eggs Benedict, with multi dimensional texture, perfectly proportionate eggs/ham/English muffins. Probably on the top five best Benedict ever eaten of my life. It was that good! read more

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Thames Foyer is the official site of High Tea at the Savoy hotel. You simply cannot, in my opinion, visit London and NOT participate in at least one true afternoon tea. It's sacrilege! On my first visit to London all by myself in 2003, my very first order of business was High Tea at the Savoy. It was a 5-star PLUS experience. Everything I imagined and more. You can imagine how excited I was to introduce my 11-year-old daughter to this experience when we visited this November. Sometimes I think nothing is ever as good as the first time. So sadly, for 2011, I only give the Savoy's high tea 4 stars. The experience overall was still sublime as my daughter and I enjoyed a leisurely tea, conversation, and the live piano music at the grand piano in the central gazebo. The food, however, is what brings them down a star. It just wasn't great. First course was a 3-tiered tray with 4 scones on top, finger sandwiches in the middle, and a bottom plate with clotted cream, lemon curd, and strawberry jam. The sandwiches included ham, egg salad, salmon, turkey, and cucumber. All very bland, but decent. Next came the dessert tray with chocolate cakes, strawberry tarts, etc. (about 5 choices). OK, but sweets aren't my thing and even my daughter didn't eat much. Lastly, they brought a trolley by with English fruit cake, banana cake, and carrot cake. All bad. My daughter normally loves carrot cake, but she only took a bite and then quit. Summary: A lovely experience. It's not all about the food. The tea, service, and setting were spectacular. Improve the food, and you'll go back to 5 stars plus. read more

Let me just start out by saying that I can't wait to come back here! The venue was just gorgeous and super old world opulent. High tea at the Savoy, how can you go wrong?! The scones with clotted cream were heavenly, they were definitely my favorite part. Super airy and light, definitely cannot find anything close in the states. Everything else was delicious to; bf and I couldn't finish even half of the items on the platter and left completely stuffed. Our waiter was the absolute best, very personable and just an awesome guy overall. read more

Came here with a friend on a groupon deal (choice of cocktail and a dessert). Staff was very attentive, came up to the table several times to see if we were ready to order as we were busy talking and hadnt even looked at the menu lol. The atmosphere was good too as we get there at 9pm so it was nice a quiet. Lovely interior of the hotel too.. gorgeous chandeliers and pictures surrounded the foyer where we were. read more

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Better late than never - fiiinally got to have a proper look inside The Savoy after its 3-year facelift! In fact I was so overexcited at this prospect that I managed to enter the hotel via some random back entrance by the river and almost crash a wedding (which looked divine btw). Felt a little like I was walking the corridors of an old Hollywood movie set, a feeling that only got stronger when I finally reached The Foyer where I was meeting 3 friends for afternoon tea. Even without thinking about all the VIPs that must have been here in the past, it pretty much oozes class. The foyer is light and airy thanks to a glass domed cupola (yep I learned that word on the day), with white Edwardian pillars and throne-like armchairs to sink into when the sugar coma hits (I'll come back to this part). Clientele are well-dressed and well-heeled, from the lady celebrating her 80th bday at the table next to us with her husband (aw) to whole families with unusually well-behaved kids. I also snuck a peek into the sexy adjoining Beaufort Bar, all gold leaf on black walls (one for another visit!). The service was exactly what you'd expect of such a setting - polite, attentive and I loved how smart the female waitresses looked wearing traditionally masculine tailcoats. Upon hearing we had a birthday they brought out an extra strawberry tartlet with a candle and 'Happy Birthday' piped onto the plate which was a sweet (no pun intended) touch. As for the food, I'll spare you an essay on the consistency of the dark chocolate and salted caramel cube (it really was quite something though), and just warn you that the risk of giving yourself diabetes here is significant. The finger sandwiches are nice enough but don't make the mistake of getting extras just because you want to use the unlimited refills. That's right, UNLIMITED. On everything! Ahem. So yes save yourself for the scones, then the 6 different pastries that come round on a tray (try them all obv, but esp the earl grey and raspberry macaroon) and finally when you're about to burst you'll need to find some room for the cakes that pull up on a trolley (banana pecan is the only good choice here). Having been to a few London teas now, it's the setting and service that make this one special, and we easily whiled away a Sunday afternoon of girly chat along with about 20 cuppas. I've had tastier and more interesting food elsewhere, but they're certainly generous with it (you'll need several dessert stomachs) and your sweet tooth will be satisfied for a week. Couple of extra details that really put a smile on my face were the live pianist (who had me at the Amélie soundtrack), the super posh loos (you'll be putting that yum hand moisturiser all over yourself) and the pretty patterned take-away boxes (would have been rude not to use one!). Special thanks to the waiter who put a load of extra cakes in ours ;-) read more

I need absolutely no encouragement to come to the Savoy, I love it here. We booked afternoon tea for my husband's parents' Christmas present, so have been eagerly waiting for this treat. The Thames Foyer is a beautiful oasis, decadence oozes off the walls. The staff seem to float effortlessly and have some sort of telepathy, tea is immediately poured when your cup is empty and scones and sandwiches magically appear. Between the four of us we had two afternoon teas and two high teas, with the afternoon tea blend and bubbles all round. What's the difference between afternoon tea and high tea you ask? Afternoon tea is sandwiches, scones with a selection of french pastries followed by cake. High tea is sandwiches, scones with a savoury dish followed by cake. Both are lovely. I do recommend having a glass of bubbles as it makes it extra special. My favourite sandwich was the Coronation chicken. The scones are of course served warm with lashings of clotted cream, jam and lemon curd. I love lemon curd and the Savoy's is delightful, so light and creamy. The savoury dish was smoked salmon with a poached egg served on a toasted brioche, I managed to sneak a bite and it was lush! The tray of french pastries made my eyes pop out! I had the pistachio eclair and a chocolate and salted caramel mousse thing which was divine and incredibly rich. I also got to try my Mother-in-laws mango and passion fruit mousse. Feeling very full a beautiful apple and cinnamon cake appeared. This light cake was too much for me and I shamefully only managed two bites, which was very upsetting for me as I hate leaving food. If you have a special occasion or want to show someone a true glimmer of London glamour come here! read more

I wish I could write a review of the Afternoon Tea here but I can't. I had made reservations in January for Afternoon Tea on May 24th, first day in London for our first visit to London. I was thinking "what a grand way of starting our trip here". Well, upon arrival to Thames Foyer, with my OpenTable confirmation (they only use OpenTable for reservations), I was told they had no record of my reservation and they don't even serve Afternoon Tea on a Tuesday. I showed her my email confirmation from OpenTable and she asked if I had received a confirmation from them directly. NOPE because I did not know I needed a direct confirmation from Thames Foyer, only that I had a confirmation from the booking site that THEY USE! They were apologetic and offered us glasses of complimentary champagne and said they could seat us at the bar on another day for Afternoon Tea. NOT what I had in mind, especially since I had made bookings all over town for attractions and other restaurants MONTHS in advance for our entire trip. Plus, a party of 4 sitting at a bar to have Afternoon Tea was NOT what I had signed up for in January!!! No notice of cancellation. After returning from the trip, contacted OpenTable and they said we "should" have gotten a message and that Thames Foyer had cancelled our reservation; but they couldn't go back far enough to check if an email was sent to us notifying us of the cancellation. There was NO email because I had checked ALL my email. Really disappointing to say the least. Not sure where the fault lies but certainly a poor and EMBARRASSING start to our vacation. Imagine showing up to a place like The Savoy with another couple, excited about a luxurious Afternoon Tea to launch our vacation, only to be told with a confused look that they had no record of a reservation made for a day they don't serve tea. We brought attire just for this event. Anyway, given that it was the Platinum Jubilee, no chance of getting a reservation for tea anywhere. Thanks Thames Foyer and OpenTable. read more

On my second trip to London, I opted to take my mother to Afternoon Tea at The Savoy. This was by far the highlight of the trip. The service was immaculate and the atmosphere (staff uniforms, live pianist, full experience) was amazing. It was everything that you would imagine it to be and more. It was her birthday - along with several others- so she was given a sweet little chocolate cake. read more

The Savoy sets the standard for afternoon tea in service, décor and quality of food. As soon as one walks through the doors of the Savoy, you are whisked away to a bygone era of beauty, charm and character. There is a beautiful gazebo under a ceiling domed window with stained glass accents that houses a live piano player! Absolutely breathtaking! The dining room is covered in warm, nostalgic colors of beige along with traditional wood stained cabinets and the food is served on fine China over quality linens. The very classy atmosphere is only rivaled by the fantastic service of the staff. Upon arrival, the host immediately greets it's patrons with a smile and the server is only a few seconds behind. Very friendly, very thorough and very efficient. Last but not least is the Tea and sandwiches/pastries. The teas are fantastic and there is quite a few selections made available. The servers come often to pour for you but are not disruptive. The Green Tea is excellent with a light but bold taste. The sandwiches flavorful and fresh with the Chicken Curry and The Roast Beef standing above the rest. All the pastries melt in your mouth and the scones come warm. As unbelievable as this may seem, there is even a third course which include two incredibly tasting cakes! The strawberry was my favorite. Get dressed up and come with an appetite as The Savoy will embrace you into a world of excellence and make you feel like a King! Beautiful setting, great service and delicious food! A staple when visiting London! read more

I recognize that the class system is still alive and well in London, and that tourists are at the bottom of it. I did not actually expect for the tea hostess to laugh at me when I asked if there were any seatings left today. It looks like a beautiful setting, lovelier than the Ritz or the Plaza in New York. Of course the snobs have to actually let you in before you can try anything. read more

Lovely spot and excellent food but very expensive to put up with rude service. As soon as the tiered tray came out our servers became inattentive. Finally brought warm tea and told us that we needed to finish up as we had only paid for an hour and forty-five minute experience. It was really unnecessary since we only had a couple of bites left and there were many empty tables around. After our scolding to hurry up they left us waiting to pay and seemed put off that we wanted to pay by card. This was a very different experience than my visit two years ago but I will not be back. I do not recommend! read more

We were not sure where to go to experience afternoon tea on our visit to London. Based upon friend's recommendations and yelp, we chose The Thames Foyer at The Savoy. We were seated at a sofa, but it did not look comfortable for eating so we changed to a table. Our waiter, Manuelo explained the menu to us. We started out with finger sandwiches: egg salad, chicken, smoked salmon and cucumber. They were all delicious. As we had been on the go, we started out with iced Ceylon tea which hit the spot. Then scones with clotted cream, jam and lemon curd. These were delicious. Manuelo had suggested hot teas for us to try and they were delicious. Then the petit four type pastries, each one better than the last. My favorite was the chocolate and salted caramel. Finally the 4th course was a chocolate cake and what we in The States would call a strawberry short cake. All scrumptious. And, the waiters brought out seconds and more if you wanted. The ambiance was a 10+. We felt totally pampered in this high class Mecca of cuisine. I will definitely return to The Thames Foyer next time I go to London. The price was £56.25 including service fee. Worth the price! read more