Never been a tea lover, but the concept of afternoon tea with an exotic spread of sweet and savoury- bubblegum eclairs, scones with clotted cream and jams, blueberry macaroons, carrot cake, sandwiches and more looked just way too tempting and irresistible.

Anna, the 7th Ducchess of Bedford is known for setting the tradition of afternoon tea in England at a time when there were presumably only two main meals in a day. Treating herself with some exotic English tea and a variety of scones, cakes and cookies helped her deal with her hunger pangs. A private affair initially, this ritual became a tradition across England.

Today, most hotels and tea rooms in London offer exotic combinations of tea and snacks and serve afternoon tea between 1pm and 6pm daily. What’s more exciting is the concept of theme based afternoon tea for kids!

Having read quite a bit about the kids’ tea rooms and theme based afternoon tea, I decided to treat my daughter with a surprise Charlie and the chocolate factory theme based tea party at the Chesterfield Mayfair in London.

As we walked in, a perfect English ambience and perfectly set up tables were waiting for us. They have a separate section cordoned off for the kids’ tea party.

We took some time to pick the tea we wanted to order while the kids could choose from a variety of shakes- my daughter picked the chocolate one.And whilst they prepared the tea and began to set up and serve the gorgeous snacks, we took time to enjoy the afternoon- such visits are an experience you always like to cherish!!

Scones with clotted cream, macaroons, bubblegum eclair, lemon tart and cheese cake, sandwiches and flavours of cupcakes. You wouldn’t ask for more!!

The cherry on the cake was a surprise birthday song and cake for my daughter and she was truly delighted!

Such is the ambience that even an adult like me was delighted at the sight the well-laid tables and some delectable and mouth watering sweet and savoury offerings.

Here are some of the best afternoon tea choices for kids in London:

The Mad hatter afternoon tea– a traditional theme based afternoon tea for Alice and the Wonderland fans

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed tea at the Chesterfield Mayfair- the Willie Wonka fans need not look elsewhere but here.

B-bus afternoon tea- Hop aboard and enjoy a ride through the city of London while you relish your tea and snacks.

Here’s a link to some of the best exotic theme based afternoon tea compiled by the Londonist:

https://londonist.com/2016/10/londons-best-afternoon-tea-for-kids

Most of these are priced between £25-£40 pounds for adults and circa £20 pounds for kids.

I’d love to hear about your afternoon experiences if any.

P.S. My personal favourites here were- the Earl grey tea and plain chocolate scones with cream 🙂