Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley in City of London, Westminster

Disappointed by the welcome and service overall. Please go somewhere else if you want a classy experience. Very very disappointed! We had reservation for afternoon tea, weeks before, confirmed twice before the arrival day. We arrive 10 min before our slot. I would like to mention that we choose the place based on recommendations that it has “impeccable” service. Well, Let me tell you. At the entrance the person who was at the reception, responsible to greet and welcome the guests, he pretends he doesn’t notice us at all. He sees us then he quickly turns away, pretending he is busy. I thought, ok, someone else is going to assist us. I felt awkward because I knew I shouldn’t be in the line for takeaway but because nobody approached us, I choose to stay on the takeaway side, looking very confused, for sure. The person at the welcome desk decides to say hi at this point and asks us if we want take away. I said no, we have reservation for afternoon tea. At this point I could see he collected himself a bit and started to act like he cares suddenly. Well… he showed us to the afternoon tea welcome desk, asked for my name- totally unnecessary at this point. Ok fine. Awkward, very superficial treatment, felt uncomfortable. At our table the waitress was sweet but then another 2 waiters started serving us, telling us different stories about what is going to be served, palate cleansers etc that just DID NOT arrive to our table, again adding to the confusion and awkwardness. The person who served us the sweets literally told us that after we finished with the savory dishes, palate cleanser follows. Nothing like that, we were waiting awkwardly in between savory and sweet dishes. Next, 2 people arrived to the table next to us as guests… the same person who refused to notice us, makes a big welcome back scene with these guests, so loud that the whole salon could hear it. Ok. From then on, these guests were talking so loud, we had the feeling that we are sitting at the same table. We left quickly, very disappointed. We expected a classy classic experience. What we got was a cheap, ordinary service that left us feeling bitter to be honest. We travelled the world, been to the best restaurants but here we wasted both our time money and nerves. Raise your standards.

I was there for afternoon tea, the cakes are extremely suit, all icing sugar it reminds me the 70s. I never had a pricy afternoon tea so horrible tasteless cakes!!!

I have been to quite a few afternoon teas in London cheaper or at the same cost as this one and never left feeling ripped off but unfortunately did at this one. On arrival the room is pleasant enough but nothing special. I was expecting the room to be serving just afternoon teas and expecting a special wow moment. Instead I was greeted by people around you ordering all types of meals and a table next to us with a child with a loud video game playing and no objections from the staff. Had we been able to cancel our booking with no charge at that point I would have already left. You get a plate of about five sandwiches all together which arrived not blowing me aware, too many flavours but nothing special. There is then a type of croquette with cheese over and a small dish with artichokes in. Following this you get six cakes and one sharing. The cakes all look nice but truthfully taste okay best I can say. I would rather purchase a shop one from somewhere like mark's and Spencer that would not look as nice but would taste far nicer. A service charge is added to your bill at the end which I couldn't fault. The total including a bottle of still water no alcoholic drinks came to £197.00. I honestly felt quite ripped off for the experience and would suggest trying a different afternoon tea or simply popping into one of the many restaurants around at a fraction of the price and a better experience.

Excellent afternoon , I never eat cake and wanted to treat myself to some exquisite tasting cakes ! The service was brilliant the staff were friendly and approachable . We didn’t feel rushed they were brilliant - this is my second time and the service was still top notch . The price may be steep but you only live once ! Thank you again for a wonderful afternoon !!!

We had booked afternoon tea at the Berkeley, we have visited most of the similar 5* hotels and would certainly rate the Berkeley afternoon tea as one of the best. The sandwiches have a good ratio of filling to bread, the cakes were amazing. All the staff we encountered were friendly and efficient. At £100 per head it is reasonable value, 15% service on top is a bit excessive and I could understand that would put some people off.

This afternoon tea was incredible!!! The teas were delightful!! The sandwiches were delicious including the vegetarian selections. The pastries were so creative and sumptuous as well. Would highly recommend this tea as the staff were amazing as well!!!

I was given a voucher for Pret-a-Portea tea as a birthday gift. I went with my husband last Thursday afternoon. The greeting at reception by 2 charming young ladies was most welcoming. However the rest of the afternoon was a big disappointment. We were greeted at the table by a waiter who presented us with menus and explained the menu in detail. He asked which of the teas we had booked. We explained that we had been given a voucher so he offered to ascertain what we had been given. Some 10 minutes later he returned and without explanation removed our champagne glasses. When I asked him why he was removing them he replied that we were only given the basic tea which did not include champagne. He could have asked if we wanted to add it but he didn’t. We were a little taken aback as we thought that our gift included champagne so my husband went to check and in fact it was included. When my husband challenged this the waiter merely shrugged his shoulders. We were then served by a different waiter who apologised profusely. No apology was forthcoming from the original waiter or indeed from either of the Managers/Maitre d. This really put a damper on the whole afternoon. I would not recommend this hotel for special afternoon tea. There are many more friendly places in London and for far better value for money

I went with friends for afternoon tea, which was amazing, the talented chefs made the most gorgeous cakes. The staff were so friendly and very knowledgeable about all the food especially the cakes as they were so intricate. It was such an amazing experience, will Definitely be going back and would throughly recommend it. I’d like to thank Mario for looking after us so well. Thank you for making our day special.😃😃

The afternoon tea here was realistic nice and the cake’s really stylish, the down side was the tables are quite close together

The excellent service really made our experience here. We appreciated being able to make small substitutions on the menu. Hot cocoa was ordered in place of one of the teas, and it was beautifully presented. Even though there were no scones, additional savories were offered, and they were delicious. The best part of the tea was the sweets, which all relate to fashion. We loved how each sweet was tied to a different designer! The custom takeaway boxes were adorable, too.

We have been many times for the prey afternoon tea over the years. We will not go again. This visit was very disappointing. When asked a simple question about the champagne it took 3 people to work it out. The afternoon tea was less than it usually is in every way including taste. The sandwiches were uninspiring and a bit meh. The cakes seemed to all taste very similar. Usually we are ooo and Aahh at everything but not this time. The restaurant is starting to look a tiny bit worn. The one good thing was our waiter who was delightful and attentive.

The ambiance was phenomenal. My daughter and I enjoyed taking pictures of all the creative and beautiful sweets. However my husband and son came out hungry. The sandwiches looked good but not as delicious as we anticipated.

Perfetto tea time cameriera super disponibile che parla anche italiano, di tea ne potete bere quanto ne volete anche di tipi diversi biscotti sia da vedere che da mangiare ovviamente, anche i tramezzini ottimo.

Just been for Afternoon Tea with my daughter. We were hugely disappointed after having been very excited anticipating our visit for the Pret-A-Portea Tea. Theme was visually beautiful and well presented however we found the service terrible. We felt as though we were totally invisible! It was supposed to be a special treat! After the initial introduction to the product we had to keep asking for everything whilst being ignored. Firstly , one of us received their drink whilst we waited and waited for the other to receive theirs…… I eventually asked where the other drink was …… from then onwards I seemed to be having to ask for everything despite there being numerous staff coming and going. We had booked three months in advance so we were rather surprised when we were told that they had run out of certain items - I, at this point, questioned their lack of organisation. Having worked in the Service Industry myself I was so surprised staff seemed to be oblivious to the individual needs of the customer just felt as though we were an inconvenience - the experience should be the whole package not just the food especially considering the price! Such a shame……. seemed like the message was ……. ‘just another day at the office’.

A very nice afternoon tea. Nice to have something different from the run of the mill set up. Cakes are brilliantly crafted with a good selection of tea.

Lovely place for afternoon tea. Service was good only after I started up a conversation with the waiter, but until then - nothing! Food was fresh and tea's were nice too. We had the champagne and this was of a good quality too. We were not rushed out which was great. We would come back again but would recommend that the service / interactions are polished up a bit more. Else it was great!

We are just back from celebrating an afternoon tea, for mine and a dear friends 40th birthdays, and what an amazing time we had! From start to finish. The environment, the decor, but most importantly, the SERVICE was impeccable. We had the wonderful and beautiful Adrianna, who was a stellar hostess. She was timely, asked questions regarding our foods that made us feel important and special (I didn't have to remind her that I was GF at all, and loved that she asked if there was anything in particular we wanted to avoid in the sandwiches), we didn't feel rushed, and she was just so all round sweet and wonderful! We floated out of there, and gushed all the way home that it just made a special occasion and catch up all the more special. As someone who is GF, you are used to compromising often with dodgy GF options- not at the Berkeley!! I had the same cakes as my friend, and the bread for the GF sandwiches was also amazing!! Adrianna, thank you so much, we hope to see you again on our return! Clare and Matthew xx