An Afternoon Tea in London: The Wolseley

From breakfast to dinner, this café and restaurant combines the best of French and English high-end cuisine, but it is most famous for its Afternoon Tea, which is served daily from 3 PM to 6.30 PM (and from 3.30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays).

The Wolseley is located in what used to be the showroom of Wolseley Motors, a luxury car manufacturer. The original domed ceiling and marble floors from 1921 have been beautifully restored.

The interior of the restaurant is steeped in Art Deco style: black columns, arches, large chandeliers, massive marble bars with gilt adornments, and geometric black-and white floors.

The Wolseley offers three kinds of Afternoon Tea:
• The Cream Tea includes scones, clotted cream and jam, as well as a selection of teas  (ideal for an afternoon snack).
• The Classic Afternoon Tea: your choice of tea from a list of eleven teas, and a three-level cake stand filled with an assortment of finger sandwiches, little pastries, and, at the very top – scones with house-made strawberry preserves and clotted cream.
• The Champagne Tea: the classic Afternoon Tea with an added glass of Champagne.
We go for the classic Afternoon Tea.

The aroma from the tea of our choice, the Earl Grey, is intense and full-bodied, with notes of bergamot.

The finger sandwiches with avocado, smoked salmon and cucumber are fresh, light and flavorful.

The seven little pastries are delicious and varies. Since Stéphanie is allergic to strawberries, the strawberry tart has been replaced by a lovely tart with blackberries (which according to Jérôme, are the best he’s had in a long time), raspberries and blueberries. The flavors of the carrot cake are perfectly balanced. The vanilla cheesecake is rich and creamy.

The scones are fluffy and so fresh that they easily break open without so much as a crumb falling off. They go perfectly with the house-made jam (in our case replaced by raspberry preserves) and clotted cream. In Stéphanie‘s opinion, the scones at the Wolseley are the best she’s ever tasted.

An incredibly elegant detail that we love, is the fact that the cake stand is topped with a silver cloche, or plate cover, to keep the scones warm.

The portions are generous. Our server even offers us a second round of sandwiches (no extra charge!).

The Afternoon Tea at the Wolseley surpasses all the others we’ve tried in the past, both in terms of balance of flavors and the quality of the ingredients, and the friendly and attentive service from the staff.

Reservations are required. The Wolseley encourages guests to wear smart casual attire.

We particularly enjoyed

• The Art Deco-style interior of the restaurant
• The exceptionally attentive, elegant and refined service
• The balance, diversity and subtlety of the dishes
• The high-quality and well-curated ingredients
• The establishment’s respect for and attention to allergies and food intolerances

The Wolseley
📍 160 Piccadilly, London

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