Weekend in London Part Three – Afternoon Tea at the Orangery, Kensington Palace

Nothing to do with textiles, but such fun! I had never had proper afternoon tea in London, and visiting Ruth seemed like a great excuse to try one – I have heard that the Ritz is overpriced but disappointing, so I had done some research online, and the Orangery at Kensington Palace seemed to please a lot of people.

We got there about 2.45 on Sunday and had a queue of 20 minutes or so. Later on (towards 4pm) the queues were far longer, although our waiter said that weekdays are much quieter. Once seated by our charming waiter (even on a busy Sunday there were plenty of helpful staff), we decided that if it was worth doing, it was worth doing properly, so we went for the Royal Champagne Tea, which consisted of a flute of champagne, a pot of tea of your choice (Darjeeling for me, Earl Grey for Ruth), a selection of finger sandwiches (nice bread, including a delicious seeded brown, and fillings of cucumber and cream cheese, ham and mustard, cheese and pickle, and smoked salmon – very good), orange-infused scones (possibly the best scones I have ever eaten) with strawberry jam which looked home-made, and Cornish clotted cream, and then a selection of little cakes including a divine tart which I think was orange and passionfruit.

The Orangery is amazing – lofty, cream and pale green interior which creates a very classy ambience, huge windows (obviously) with a view across the terrace to Kensington Palace’s gardens. Each table has a real miniature orange tree in a pot! The whole experience is opulent and classy, but very friendly – none of the snootiness that can sometimes mar posh venues in London. The only slight criticism is the toilets, which are around the back of the building and in a prefab – perfectly adequate, but not quite the marble-and-gilt opulence one might expect!

The experience did not disappoint – for a little over £20 each, we had a sumptuous and decadent champagne tea in a beautiful setting, were thoroughly pampered, and came away congratulating ourselves on a real treat – and determined to do it again when we next have something to celebrate! Highly recommended – see www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/Foodanddrink/Orangery for details and also opening times and closed dates.