Afternoon Tea at The Goring in City of London, Westminster - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

I went for birthday afternoon tea expecting a delicious tea. What did I get A luke warm cup of weak tea. Complained they brought a different blend Still luke warm if that was possible. As to the food very poor 4 finger sandwiches each which in fairness were average. Waited an hour and finally were offered scones. Not warm, cold, with indifferent jam and cream Then 3 cakes , also average and by this time we had to leave as only allocated 2 hours. Altogether a poor experience and not to repeat

We went there for the afternoon tea. Extremely Poor service and the food was subpar. We were so disappointed with our $500 experience. I wish we would have chosen a different place. I still can’t believe we spent that much on that disappointing experience! Boooooo

We had the special "Chelsea Flower Show" afternoon tea on Wednesday. From the very first moment, the service was impeccable. We enjoyed every bit of the food. The initial complementary "mocktail" was delicious, as were the sandwiches and everything else. We had a fabulous vacation and honestly, this was the highlight of the trip!

For my birthday I was given a voucher for cocktails and bar snacks at The Goring. The voucher says “To book your experience please contact The Goring using the details below” and lists both an email address and a phone number. I sent an email requesting a reservation, but after a week no reply had been received, and still has not. So I called The Goring and had a very pleasant person take my call who told me that, despite the instructions on the voucher, it is not possible to make a reservation, but if we just show up the team will definitely be able to accommodate us. So, we turned up as instructed and were “greeted” by a woman at the desk at the entrance to the cocktail bar, who seemed very stressed. When asked if we could be accommodated, she was exceptionally rude and barked “as I already said, we don’t have any space and we don’t take reservations. You could come back in an hour but I doubt it will be better. We give priority to our residents anyway” She had not already said this to us, but it seems to another couple who had just left, to whom she was equally rude and brusque (they commented on it as we left). I have seldom been made to feel less welcome, especially at a 5 star hotel. I can understand that the bar was busy. I can understand that staff get stressed, although this is a part of their job. This could have been managed in a much more friendly, constructive and empathetic way, but she chose to be rude and aggressive. I am now in a sad situation of having been given a voucher for a birthday treat, but I have no desire at all to return to The Goring. If I did, what time would that be for them to have space for a non-resident? Why can I not reserve to use my birthday gift? Do I have to turn up day after day to be rudely turned away each time? Very disappointing.

We had a 1pm reservation for 5, for high tea. We were shown our table, then we were handed menus. We made our selections. We had warned the Goring in advance that there were 3 vegetarians in our group. We ordered 5 high teas. There is a limited but decent selection of teas. After we ordered we waited. And waited. No staff, at any point, came to check on us. There did not appear to be a manager in the bar. At five to two I asked one of the waiters to please check on our order in the kitchen. That seems to have done the trick, because we were finally served ten minutes later, one full hour since we had arrived. The food was okay, but in my opinion not worth the 65£ charged for the standard high tea. Desserts and scones were especially average in my opinion. At the end the staff apologized, but not even a symbolic discount was applied to our 405£ bill. We are not going back to the Goring and the search for the best high tea experience in London continues!

The sandwiches, deserts, champagne, teas, and drinks were absolutely delicious and magnificent. The service was spectacular. We were sightseeing earlier and did not have the time to go back to the hotel and change to the approximate attire for the afternoon tea. We arrived dressed in very casual clothes from the museum and I was worried. The staff treated us amazingly with utmost respect. We loved the food, drinks and the service. It is on the pricey side, but you go there for the experience. This is great for people who have appreciation for the tea, desserts, ambiance, and service. They also have a great selection of wines and champagne.

I had afternoon tea here with a severe dairy allergy. It was so impressive how easy it was for them to accommodate me. A completely safe and delicious dining experience. If you have allergies this is a place you can finally relax. Not to mention my whole family had such a great time.

I live near The Goring Hotel and over the last ten years it has been our first choice for family celebrations, either afternoon tea or dinner. Five of us visited this week to celebrate my sister’s birthday. We arrived around 4.30pm after a theatre matinee. We ordered bar snacks and drinks. Bar snacks were served until 5pm and as the lounge was quite busy we accepted the rather fragmented service. Overall it was a disappointing experience. The non-alcoholic drinks were rather bland. The alcoholic drinks were fine. The bar snacks were not particularly inviting. The fish goujons with tartare sauce were lovely. The rissoles contained chewy, gristly flavourless meat that should have been accompanied by toothpicks. Leather footballs came to mind. We had a second round of drinks but as soon as we finished the food a waiter started to clear the table. A few minutes later he returned to complete his task. We felt that he was indicating that it was time to go so we drank up quickly and left, not before paying £185. There was none of the usual warmth and courtesy. We were made to feel a bit of a nuisance because we had not booked ahead. We had made a late decision as we wanted to extend the afternoon after enjoying the theatre. It was a lacklustre experience and we felt our days as Goring devotees had come to an end.

London is the most incredible city, full of undiscovered treasures, and the Goring Cocktail Bar in Belgravia is one such gem. The interior of the bar and lounge is exquisite with a distinctly art deco feel, and a little quirky with life sized models of cute sheep by the fireplace and at the entrance. What is really distinctive is the incredible other-worldly cocktail menu encased in an exquisite little metallic coloured booklet and featuring exotic sounding alcoholic fusions like “Deep Sea Cosmo” and “King of the Jungle”, other concoctions - the “Churchill Manhattan” and “Fish House Punch” and a nod to our late Queen, “Thank you, your Majesty”. The entire menu is a superb: an immensely creative work of art, and the cocktails themselves lived up to our expectations. My friend and I picked the “Flower Duet”, “Okawari” (meaning seconds in Japanese) and “Whisper Vesper”. I chose the latter to celebrate my favourite Household Cavalry horse, Vesper, and commiserate, very sadly, as I rode her for the last time this morning. My friend and I sat by the open fireplace, catching up and telling stories, staying at least an hour or more longer than we had intended. Best of all was the most wonderful waiter, Karim, who was not only perfect at what he does but was so kind and thoughtful. He made a difference which is rare. This is certainly the best cocktail bar I have been to for a very long time. It will be a pleasure to return - hopefully some time soon.

We booked afternoon tea for six. While not poor, the experience did not live up to the standard I expected from a hotel of this reputation and caliber. In its booking confirmation, the hotel notes its dress code for afternoon tea, inclusive of a sportcoat for men. We complied (and had no issue with the code; wearing nice pants and a sportcoat to an elegant hotel and space seems reasonable). It was very disappointing to see other patrons in sweatpants and a hoodie, an athletic half-zip top, etc. If you are going to have a dress code, enforce it. (Note that this issue was not confined to one table or guest, but several.) Staff asked about allergens as we were seated. We informed them of a nut allergy and then, in the first course, were served items with nuts atop them! Resolving this required contacting two members of staff. Apologies were offered but the mistake was surprising. Service was mediocre at best. Our primary server appeared to be all of about 15 years of age and rather acted like it...while nice, he had no finesse. I was surprised to be refilling my own tea after the initial serving. I also found it annoying that, after staff took notes on which member of our party ordered which tea, when the tea was served, they asked, "and who ordered this one?...and this one?" It was another place where service, while not awful, lacked finesse. The servers seemed visibly stressed--lots of side conversations, busily milling around, etc.--between this and the athleisure apparel of many guests, the atmosphere felt more amateurish than elegant. Other staff seemed disinterested; for example, upon arrival, we waited a few minutes for our table to be ready and were asked to take a seat in the bar. The bartender did not even acknowledge our presence with a "good afternoon," but instead stares straight ahead and continued his bar preparations. I was not expecting him to entertain us, but I was surprised by the absence of a polite greeting or even a gesture like offering a glass of water. Later a server came by, at least. The actual tea service was fine. Sandwiches were classic and tasty. Baked goods were solid, but not remarkable. Selection of tea extensive. Dishware was beautiful. Hot chocolate was offered to a party member who does not drink tea, which was a nice alternative for him. The setting (a glass enclosed room overlooking the garden) was elegant, although on one side of our table seating was on a banquette with an extremely hard back that would have benefitted from a pillow. Overall, not awful; we had a nice time with our friends and enjoyed the setting and conversation. But the hotel, known for its standards, seemed rather lax about them in all regards.

We were welcomed by a charming Host at the door that took our jackets and escorted to our table, once we placed the order they brought us the champagne and soon after the stand arrived. Sandwich were so moist and fresh, scones very tasty and pastries were simply delicious! After we moved in the lounge bar and we were well looked after. Definitely recommend this place, the service is impeccable!

We like to enjoy an indulgent afternoon tea experience on our visits to London and The Goring has been on our list for a while. A table for four was booked around two months in advance. We arrived punctually to be advised that there were no tables currently available and, unfortunately, we would need to wait for ten minutes or so until one was free. We were asked to wait in the lounge but weren't offered any water etc.. When our table was ready it had been prepared in the annexe to the bar area (close to a table where people were playing cards) rather than in the decorative conservatory where everyone else having the afternoon tea was sitting. It was also by the door to the garden which was constantly being opened (and left open) by guests going outside for a smoke or waiters to take out drinks. It was cool and we had to get up numerous times to shut the door, the maitre 'd also came over to shut it on a few occasions. The tea itself was generally excellent with the exception of the cakes where I think to serve only 5 small cakes per couple (i.e. 2.5 per person) appeared miserly. For a top rated hotel the experience was a bit of a disappointment and given the reputation of The Goring I think there are many better Afternoon Tea experiences to be had in London.

Having looked forward to afternoon tea for 6 friends, the experience was so disappointing. We arrived on time and were told our table wasn’t ready. The host pointed to a table in the corner and asked us to wait. 30 minutes later we were still waiting. No explination or hospitality. We were then shown to our table which was fine but once there, another 25 minutes passed and nobody even looked in our direction let alone served us. We did eventually attract some staff attention and asked if we could order. We ordered the bollenger afternoon tea and waited…… and waited. We then had to get the attention of a server again to ask if we could have our champagne. Eventually, our food came, it was very average for the price charged. Once the food had been served, nobody came near us again. We were not asked if everything was ok, or if we would like another drink or more tea, nothing. We were also disappointed that one of our table cloths had a very obvious tea stain on it which is unusual for high end hotels. I don’t think I have ever encountered such poor, uncoordinated service. The staff Were actually very pleasant when they interacted with us but somebody needs take charge of the dining room and offer the staff some training in effective customer care as it is chaotic and unacceptable at the moment.

We had drinks here after having the Goring High tea, and the staff made us feel very welcome. They really know how to mix their cocktails, and the mocktails are nothing short of extraordinary.

Excellent food and excellent staff in perfect surroundings. Very traditional hotel and we’re coming staff which makes the afternoon tea a special experience

I stayed at the goring ,and have done on past occasions ,which was always lovely and top service with great individuals and staff .But that is far from the Goring that is now ,poor service ,no personalities ,over priced .Real shame but that’s the service industry especially in London at the moment and many parts of the world .

A colleague and myself had been meeting once a month for over 10 years, for a light lunch and drink in the bar area of the Goring. We stopped going a couple of years ago, when a number of established bar staff, including the manager, left, which resulted in a collapse in the standards of service. We have been using other local venues since; but given the fine weather, we decided to visit the Goring again, to enjoy the garden. We arrived at midday, and had left just before 1.00, after having had to ask twice for the wine list, then remind our waitress twice we were still waiting for our bottle of wine, which never materialised. Appalling service for what is meant to be one of the best hotels in London - I hope staying guests are treated better.

This is one of my favourite bars anywhere. Ambiance is of a supremely comfortable country house. Squashy, overstuffed chairs are welcoming. The selection of drinks is vast and all perfectly prepared. Live piano music in the evening. A lovely place. Recommended.