The Waldorf Hilton, London

June 10, 2024

Few spaces in London can match the splendor of the opulent Palm Court with its glass dome and marble dance floor.

Located just off the hotel’s front lobby and with a picture window view of countless passers-by on busy Aldwych Circle, Dom’s wrap-around tea counter serves as a stage where eager guests learn of tea’s journey from the bush to the cup. Reservations are needed for the 90-minute sessions offered on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday in the morning or afternoon. Up to four guests can enjoy a private tea tutorial as they learn the basics of the world’s favorite drink, including interesting facts about its origins, varieties, manufacturing processes, and its introduction into British society. In addition, an entire wall of bespoke tea from Hope & Glory tea purveyors offers a wide variety of single-garden loose-leaf teas from various growing regions. Dom’s energetic presentations are both entertaining and enlightening.

Tea sommelier Domenico Gradia evaluates the color of freshly steeped tea as part of the new Waldorf Tea Experience in London.

Of course, a true teatime in London would be incomplete without a sweet accompaniment. So, from Wednesday through Sunday, guests may pop in for Tea and Cake, where they choose one of the delicate desserts made daily by the hotel’s pâtisserie. Choices include bitter chocolate and cherry mousse, lemon meringue choux bun, Victoria sponge, and a tea from the Hope & Glory display.

Traditional three-tiered trays laden with savories and sweets await those who partake of the hotel’s historic afternoon teas in the Homage Restaurant or, seasonally, in the grand Palm Court.

Still, if it is a traditional London afternoon tea that you crave, The Waldorf Hilton also has that. Their Homage Restaurant offers daily afternoon-tea service that includes all the expected courses: crustless finger sandwiches such as honey roast ham, plum tomato, and whole-grain mustard on granary bread; smoked salmon, caviar, and pink grapefruit crème fraîche on Viennese bread; and sundried tomato, truffle, and lovage pesto on tomato bread.

The hotel’s talented chefs are masters at crafting all the tea sandwiches you come to expect at a proper afternoon tea.

Scones are served with Devonshire cream and preserves along with cakes that include orange and cranberry financier iced cake, lemon and white chocolate cheesecake macaron, layered raspberry and rose mousse cake, and millionaire’s chocolate tart. An optional plant- based menu is also available.

Children will be glad to experience the restaurant’s themed teas, such as Beauty and the Beast. And during the spring and winter holidays, music again fills the luxurious Palm Court as eager guests take their places for the beloved tea dances. Even if you are not a dancer, tables are available on the balcony levels where you may peer approvingly over the ornate wrought-iron railing covered with fairy lights. However, it is quite likely that, sooner or later, the romantic mood and the rhythmic music will seduce even the most reticent of tea dance voyeurs to join in the merry ritual.

To the delight of children, The Waldorf culinary team invites diners to “Be Our Guest” when they present holiday teas featuring a whimsical theme.

Whether you pair your tea with instruction, cake, or dance, you can be sure that your teatime at The Waldorf Hilton will offer a delicious memory that will linger
for years.

Contributing editor Bruce Richardson is the Master Tea Blender at Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and co-author of The New Tea Companion and A Social History of Tea, available at elmwoodinn.com.

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