Botanica in Kensington and Chelsea

After hearing mixed reviews about this place i decided to try this afternoon tea. They have Halal and Gluten free options. Overall ambiance and decor of the place is nice and floral. Staff was attentive and kindly offered free a hot chocolate to the child. However it took then 35 mins to bring the food on the table despite the whole place being quite empty. We had one Gluten free and one regular afternoon tea. Afternoon tea itself was very presentable offering variety of teas and we tried three different teas, the nicest one was Masala Chai. Sandwiches were ok in taste albeit rather bland. Scones were fresh, tasty and light. Unfortunately the desserts were very average in taste and were very basic. They do not do refills which is unusual for an afternoon tea.There is definitively room for improvement.

Avevamo letto da TikTok e da un menù trovato su internet che era possibile fare la formula Cream Tea da 8£. Entriamo, ci fanno accomodare, dopodiché una cameriera ci chiede se abbiamo prenotato (no) e se volevamo fare la formula Afternoon Tea. Chiediamo la formula Cream Tea (ora da 9£) e ci dice che dobbiamo andare nel bar giù e non lì, ci spostiamo e giù ci dicono che in realtà il tè viene servito solo sopra. Alla fine al bar sottostante sono stati molto gentili e ci hanno servito il Cream Tea portato da sopra (i dolci particolarmente buoni). 2 stelle soltanto per il servizio della sala da tè.

We got there at 12.45pm. Wasnt served our food till 2pm. Although i have a sesame allergy I specifically look at menus before booking places so I know the food was not difficult to make and its not a hot meal. No one asked if we were okay. No one came to explain the hold up of the food. My mother had to actually get up to find someone to ask whats going on and why we were waiting over an hour for sandwiches and scones. 2 parties who came after us were even served before us one of which even managed to finish their meal and leave whilst we were still sitting there. Complimentary drink was not enough as an apology to be honest. On top of that your card machine was not working stating declined and your staff having to call the merchant as your machine had issues. This was all on the actual day of my birthday. I honestly would not have paid if it was up to me as this was actually the worst afternoon tea I have ever been to and I have been to several for special occasions. Never again.

We had an amazing afternoon tea today at Botanica in Kensington. Nimfa done a great job of looking after our table. She gave excellent customer service and all of the food was delicious. Nimfa looked after us well and took care of all of our requests. The decor was also lovely! I would recommend Botanica to everyone looking for a nice afternoon tea.

I attended a glorious afternoon tea with a girlfriend . The choices of teas was wonderful . The cakes and sandwiches delightful . The service outstandiing Both Geethika and Sanya were professional friendly and could not do enough to make our experience joyful . I highly recommend afternoon tea at Botanica both for the ambience service and fabulous afternoon tea . Sherry B

It’s a beautiful place but they have terrible service. We weren’t shown to our table instead the waiter pointed to the table that was meant for us. The waiter did not explain the menu but rather dumped it on our table and walked away. He never checked on us nor did he bother to make himself available to refill our teas. I highly recommend going elsewhere as they do not know how to deliver good quality service.

We have fantastic drinks made by Daniel, it is a good place to visit - good waiters - always kindly - Nice service. We comeback again!

Disappointed is an understatement. I was looking forward to visiting despite the poor reviews. Beautiful decor and crockery and tasty warm scones but that is about it. The food was mediocre and the egg in the sandwiches was clearly off - smelt rotten and my stomach churned on eating almost immediately. On seating, we were asked if we wanted water (yes). An hour in still hadn’t been served. Had to ask and no apology from the waitress (Geetika). She seemed to be friendly only to certain guests - the table next to us said/felt the same. The desserts were horrible - the chocolate mini was too sharp, the target too tangy and pastry undercooked. The worst part is there’s no refill you have to pay £12 extra if you want more sandwiches or cake. They also add a discretionary service charge which, given there was no attention or service apart from the nice girl who brought the tea out, is a cheek. It’s unlike any afternoon tea ive been to and I know as I have been to many in London as I’m looking to hire an afternoon tea event space for 30+ persons. This isn’t worth the money as the food was substandard so they’ve lost out in a large booking. If you want to really get the full afternoon tea experience I’d recommend Chesterton and One Aldwych.

We had wonderful time with my partner. Thank you Elena for the wonderful service. We received so much pleasure :) I will come back.

As a family we do an afternoon tea every year and this has to be the worst one ever. The quality was poor with one pot of tea and no refills. Our cakes had just been placed on to the stand with no explanation, other tables had decorated cakes ours had nothing, considering we were the first people in the room there was no excuse. We ordered cocktails at the beginning and we offered them when our time was up, had a waitress bothered to acknowledge us at the table then maybe we could have chased them up. We took some cakes home and had to scoop them with our hands into a takeaway box ourselves.

Beautiful venue, and food is delicious too. Was served by Geethika who was kind and attentive to our table and answered to our requests

This place is beautiful and peaceful. We have such a pleasant time with my mother and sister. The tea was one of the best we ever drink ! Added to that, we had much pleasure conversing with the waiter, Alex-Chrisitian. His conversations made us feel very comfortable and made of this afternoon a delightful experience.

If I could give it 0 starts I would, me and my friend were so excited to have afternoon tea here and as soon as we entered the person serving us did not shut up about tips, we barely got a hello, the person serving us always mentioned tips and when we mentioned we don't carry cash (we didn't even order yet by the way this is 5 minutes into the place) they mentioned that customers usually PayPal them tips if they don't have cash. I usually always tip but when someone mentions it so much making it obvious, they want tips there's no point even tipping them. when our food arrived at our afternoon tea the teas were wrong, and the server didn’t even listen to what we ordered because they kept talking about tips. I didn't even have 2 minutes to talk to my friend sat opposite me, because the person serving us was stood there watching us eat while still talking about tips? we felt so uncomfortable. A few minutes later the person serving us ended up talking to other customers and ended up somehow making their conversation about us and the customers were then talking to us across the room? couldn’t enjoy our afternoon tea at all, the person serving us would always complain about the workplace and the whole experience at Botanica wasn't good at all I'm so unhappy. When it was time to pay none of the card machines were working and we were then told to walk the bank that's 15 minutes away which we were in heels and why should we go the bank to withdraw money. We came back and the cash machine was not working so we told them and the person who was serving us then told us we can bank transfer the money to their personal account, which was strange as it is since they wouldn't shut up about tips since we entered. Another worker then from the KITCHEN came over and asked if they can take a photo of our bank cards front and back? which also was so strange. We then got told to pay at reception on the hotels side and when we went to pay it still didn’t work, they kept asking us to take cash out which we told them we tried to and it didn’t work, after 45 minutes waiting (we didn’t even get told to take a seat while they fix the machines) we paid in the end on the card machine once it worked on their side, then the lady at reception offered us a coffee on them? COFFEE?! We didn’t even get offered some sort of discount or anything but we got offered coffee which we didn’t take, everyone working there is so rude and needs to be dealt with asap, we didn’t want to pay service charge and they didn’t even give us the chance to remove it, don’t go here it is not worth £120 at all and this place needs to be dealt with or shut down.

We saw the beautiful pictures of Botanica and decided to book afternoon tea on a Saturday afternoon. On arrival we checked in with the waitress, there's no denying the room is beautiful but it is very small and lacked any atmosphere. We ordered afternoon tea and champagne as it was a special occasion. It was a weird vibe and very quiet in the room. Some background music would have helped. There was a magician who came over to the table and did some magic tricks which were the highlight of the afternoon. That's saying something when you pay nearly £70 for afternoon tea... The service was OK, nothing special, as was the food. We found the tea to be very floral and almost sickly. The food was fine but again, nothing special. We didn't get told what was what on the stand either so it was all a bit of a guess. We made the best out of what it was and had a lovely time regardless. However, I checked my bank account and noticed I had been charged a no show fee. When I contacted Botanica they told me it was because we didnt arrive for the booking and I needed to provide information to confirm my attendance. There wasn't an apology or acknowledgement that they made a mistake until I pointed it out. For an establishment that markets themselves as a fine dining experience and prices themselves as such, everything other than the interior lacks. I would not recommend and will not be returning.

I’ve had afternoon tea in a few places in London and this has to be the poorest one. I asked for filtered coffee, for which there was an extra charge, never had that before. It took some time to get hot milk and no strainers were provided for the tea. No explanation was given for the cakes, other than in the menu so make sure you remember them. Unlike most other establishments, you don’t get unlimited refills of the food. Our booking was for 90 mins and despite the place being nearly empty, we were reminded of this and brought the bill.

This was our very first time visiting London and also Botanica at 100 Queen's Gate. Just simply wonderful! I have been to quite some lovely high tea's and afternoon tea's (in Amsterdam where we are from), but none quite as delightful as at Botanica. My partner and I even ordered more of sandwiches and scones, which is a first. As for the service, just impeccable! Our hostess was just lovely and had a good birds eye view of her guests. Her colleagues were just as hospitable! Minor issue with the payment at the end, but that was handled swiftly by the F&B service manager Giacomo.All in all, just a wonderful experience. Will definitely be recommending the Botanica to friends and family and simply cannot wait to visit again! Cheers, Sarafina

took my mum here for her birthday and we had the best time! it wasn’t busy at all so we ended up having the entire tea room to ourselves which made the experience ten times better. our server Nimfa was amazing and so attentive, she instantly made us feel welcome and she was just so lovely and friendly!!!! 🥰 they catered to our dietary restrictions (me being dairy free) and they even surprised my mum twice with birthday cake ahahahah definitely recommend!! 10/10!!

First visit to this stylish boutique hotel afternoon tea was served in the quaint Botanica room. Good value with a generous pour on the champagne. However the frozen scones let it down badly, please just bake fresh ones each day. Service was functional at best, but How could they ‘ run out’ of the House Queensgate tea blend

The tea was delicious, the cakes were even better! Our waitress was very knowledgable on what the cakes were made out of because I have a nut allergy. Great ambiance, better food, best afternoon tea experience yet!