Christmas Afternoon Tea in London 2026: 21 Festive Options

Planning a Christmas afternoon tea in London? 21 festive teas for the 2026 season, from the Ritz to a Christmas lights bus, with dates, prices, children’s prices and our picks.

If you are in London in December, a Christmas afternoon tea is the easiest festive meal to fit around the sightseeing. It is in the afternoon, takes two hours, and hotels put more effort into the decorations than at any other time of year.

The problem is choosing, and then getting a table. Every hotel in the centre runs a festive version; the price is £10 to £30 above the year-round tea, and the December weekend sittings at the big names are booked up quickly.

We have been doing afternoon tea in London for decades, and we have watched the Christmas versions grow from a mince pie on the stand to choirs, gingerbread rocking horses and buses that drive you past the Regent Street lights while you eat.

This guide covers 21 Christmas afternoon teas for the 2026 season, grouped by type: grand hotel, themed, with a view, on a bus or boat, and under £70. Each entry has the dates, adult and children’s prices and the nearest step-free station.

Where a hotel had not published its 2026 dates at the start of October, we give last season’s and say so. It sits alongside our guides to Christmassy restaurants in London and Christmas in London.

Good to know: most festive teas run from mid-November to the first week of January. Christmas Eve to Boxing Day and New Year’s Day cost more, several hotels skip Christmas Day altogether, and December weekend sittings go by the end of October.

TIP: for the lights and the tea together, Brigit’s Bakery runs a Christmas lights afternoon tea bus from mid-November, and the 5 pm and 5.30 pm departures go along Regent Street after dark. It is the one we would book for a first December visit.

Christmas afternoon tea in London at a glance

The grand hotel Christmas teas

Book these if the tea is the treat of the trip. They also sell out first, and they’re the only ones with a dress code worth packing for.

🎄 The Ritz Christmas afternoon tea

• 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR. Nearest step-free station: Green Park
• 14 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, five sittings a day from 11.30 am to 7.30 pm
• £120 per person, £79 for children up to 15; £135 and £90 on Christmas Day
• Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menus on request when booking

The Ritz dresses the Palm Court as an Edwardian winter wonderland, with a pianist through the day and the hotel’s own choir singing carols, and it is the London Christmas tea most people picture before they have seen any other. The stand carries festive finger sandwiches, warm scones, Christmas cakes, and mince pies, and the upgrade includes a glass of the Ritz’s own champagne.

On Christmas Day itself, every adult is welcomed with a glass of champagne and every child gets a Ritz teddy bear, which is why that date costs more and goes first. The jacket-and-tie rule for men still applies, and jeans and trainers are refused for everyone. Book the 11.30 am or 7.30 pm sitting if the mid-afternoon ones have gone; they are the same tea.

🎄 Claridge’s festive afternoon tea

• Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4HR. Nearest step-free station: Bond Street
• 3 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, not served on Christmas Day
• £120 per person on weekdays, £130 at weekends
• Dietary needs: tell the hotel when you book

Claridge’s serves only the festive menu through the season, so there is no cheaper year-round option to fall back on between November and January. The Art Deco foyer, the striped china and the Christmas tree in the lobby, which a different designer dresses each year, make it the one we would choose for a big-birthday December treat without the Ritz’s tie.

The weekend price is £10 higher than the weekday one, and the hotel does not list a separate children’s price for the festive tea, so ask when you book if you are bringing grandchildren.

🎄 The Savoy festive afternoon tea

• The Strand, London WC2R 0EZ. Nearest step-free station: Westminster, 15 minutes on foot (Charing Cross is not step-free)
• December 2026; dates not yet published when we checked
• From £99 per person last season, with champagne
• Dietary needs: tell the hotel when you book

The Savoy serves its festive tea in The Gallery, under the stained-glass dome that older guides call the Thames Foyer, with seasonal pastries, warm scones, and a glass of champagne included. The hotel had not published its 2026 dates or price at the start of October, so the £99 figure is last year’s.

It is the best-placed of the grand hotel teas for a theatre day, with most of the West End within ten minutes on foot, and the dress code is elegant rather than jacket-and-tie.

🎄 Fortnum and Mason festive afternoon tea

• 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER. Nearest step-free station: Green Park
• Early November to early January; last season ran from 4 November
• From £85 per person last season
• Gluten-free and vegetarian menus available

Fortnum’s is the Christmas shop of London, and the festive tea in the fourth-floor Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon pairs well with an afternoon of hampers and crackers downstairs. Last season’s stand had Suffolk ham cured in Christmas spices, a sticky figgy pudding loaf and mandarin mousses shaped like baubles, with a spiced Christmas tea blend to drink.

The salon is reached by lift. If the Piccadilly salon is full, Fortnum’s at the Royal Exchange in the City runs a weekday tea at a lower price, though it is not a festive menu.

🎄 The Langham festive afternoon tea

• 1C Portland Place, London W1B 1JA. Nearest step-free station: Bond Street or Tottenham Court Road (Oxford Circus is not step-free)
• Last season ran 10 November to 4 January, 12.30 pm to 5.30 pm
• £95 per person last season, £105 on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve
• Vegan menu and a children’s menu available

The Langham claims to have invented the hotel afternoon tea in 1865, and last year’s Palm Court festive version was a collaboration with Hamleys, with children’s pastries shaped like historic toys, a gingerbread rocking horse, and a Hamleys bear, plus a grown-up version of the same nostalgia.

The hotel had not confirmed the 2026 theme when we checked. If Hamleys returns, it is the best festive tea in a grand hotel for a family with young children, and the toy shop itself is a five-minute walk down Regent Street under the lights.

🎄 Corinthia London festive afternoon tea

• Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD. Nearest step-free station: Westminster, 8 minutes (Embankment is not step-free)
• Last season ran 14 November to 4 January, not on Christmas Day
• £95 per person Monday to Thursday, £105 Friday to Sunday, last season
• Dietary needs: tell the hotel when you book

The Corinthia’s lobby lounge sits under a chandelier of more than a thousand crystal baubles, and at Christmas the hotel adds a tree the height of the room. The festive tea follows the classic format, with seasonal sandwiches, scones, and a run of sweet treats, served from 12.30 pm, with later sittings at the weekend.

It is a five-minute walk from Trafalgar Square and the Embankment, which makes it an easy pairing with the Christmas lights walk through the West End or a Thames cruise.

🎄 Hotel Café Royal festive afternoon tea

• 68 Regent Street, London W1B 4DY. Nearest step-free station: Tottenham Court Road (Piccadilly Circus is not step-free)
• Last season ran 7 November to 2 January, not on Christmas Day; seatings from noon to 5.30 pm
• £85 per person, £95 with Veuve Clicquot, £55 for children up to 12, last season
• All dietary needs must be given 48 hours before

The Café Royal is on Regent Street itself, so you walk out of the tea straight under the angels. It is served in the gilded Grill Room, with the Domino Room opening on December weekends, with a pianist and the same menu in both.

This is the one to pick if you want the lights, a grand room and a children’s price in the same booking. Groups of six or more pay a deposit.

Themed Christmas afternoon teas in London

These are the teas where the theme is the point: a Winter Wonderland with mulled wine, a Regency Christmas, Willy Wonka with a mince pie. Most are the hotel’s year-round themed tea with a festive menu and decorations.

🎄 Winter Wonderland afternoon tea at The Rubens at the Palace

• 39 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0PS. Nearest step-free station: Victoria
• 17 November 2026 to 4 January 2027; noon to 5 pm, to 6 pm on Saturdays
• From £82 per person with a glass of mulled wine; children’s festive tea available; higher price on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve
• Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal menus

The Rubens sits opposite the Royal Mews, and its Winter Wonderland tea is the one we recommend most to readers who want a proper festive production without a grand hotel price. A glass of mulled wine arrives first (champagne on Christmas Day), then seasonal sandwiches, warm scones and winter-flavoured pastries, with a pianist in the lounge.

It is also the easiest hotel tea for dietary needs, with halal, vegan and gluten-free versions on the menu rather than on request, plus a Little Prince and Princess tea for children. Victoria Station is five minutes away and step-free.

⭐️ Click to book afternoon tea at The Rubens at the Palace

🎄 Festive Bridgerton afternoon tea at The Lanesborough

• Hyde Park Corner, London SW1X 7TA. Nearest step-free station: Green Park (Hyde Park Corner is not step-free)
• Last season ran from 12 November to 6 January
• £105 per person last season, with a glass of champagne or a Bridgerton cocktail included
• Halal, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan menus with 48 hours’ notice

The Lanesborough’s Bridgerton tea gets a festive menu for the season, with the Regency dining room under its glass dome dressed for Christmas and a pianist at weekends. The price includes the champagne or the Forbidden Love cocktail, which makes the £105 less of a jump from the £92 year-round tea than it looks.

The hotel had not published the 2026 dates when we checked. Sunday has a single 3.30 pm sitting, so it goes first.

🎄 Festive Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea at One Aldwych

• 1 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BZ. Nearest step-free station: Tottenham Court Road, 12 minutes (Covent Garden has lifts but no escalators)
• Last season ran 12 November to 10 January, Wednesday to Sunday
• £95 per person with champagne, £65 for children up to 12 with a mocktail and a book, last season
• Vegan version available; tell the hotel about allergies when booking

One Aldwych’s Roald Dahl tea is the best themed tea in London for children old enough to get the jokes, and the festive version adds a candyfloss mince pie, festive fizzy lifting drinks and the chocolate shake mixed at the waterfall. The children’s price includes a copy of the book to take home.

It runs Wednesday to Sunday only, so plan it for the right day. The 2026 dates weren’t confirmed when we checked.

🎄 Festive Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea at the Sanderson

• 50 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 3NG. Nearest step-free station: Tottenham Court Road
• Last season ran from 25 November to 25 December, noon to 7 pm daily
• £65 per person, £45 for Little Hatters, last season
• Plant-based version available; the hotel runs an open kitchen and cannot guarantee allergen-free

The Sanderson’s Alice in Wonderland tea is the one we would choose for the theatre of it at any time of year, and the festive version renames the sandwiches after the Wild Forest, the Cheshire Cat and the Tweedle Twins and adds a Queen of Hearts and a Tea O’Clock to the sweets. The One Lump or Two teapots and the candyfloss teacup stay.

At £65 it is one of the better-value festive teas in a central hotel, and the late sittings up to 7 pm suit a day that has run long. It is a short walk from the Oxford Street lights.

🎄 Winter Wonderland afternoon tea at The Chesterfield Mayfair

• 35 Charles Street, Mayfair, London W1J 5EB. Nearest step-free station: Green Park
• Last season ran 17 November to 2 January, daily
• £75 per person, £90 with champagne, £45 for children, last season; £15 more per adult on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year
• Vegetarian and gluten-free on request; vegan, halal and children’s menus available

The Chesterfield is the Rubens’ sister hotel in Mayfair, and its Winter Wonderland tea follows the same pattern: a glass of mulled wine to start, a Chesterfield Christmas tea blend, and a stand with a gingerbread choux bun and a cherry-and-pistachio Battenberg. It is served in the conservatory or the Butler’s Restaurant.

It is quieter and £7 cheaper than the Rubens, a few streets from the Bond Street and Mount Street Christmas windows, and the children’s price is one of the lowest in Mayfair.

🎄 Frosted Cocoa afternoon tea at the Strand Palace

• 372 Strand, London WC2R 0JJ. Nearest step-free station: Westminster, 15 minutes
• 10 November 2026 to 11 January 2027, served from 12.30 pm in the Palace Tea Parlour
• £50 per person on weekdays, £65 at weekends; children £30 and £40
• Chocolate-themed this year, made with Love Cocoa; ask when booking about vegan and gluten-free versions and about 25 December

The Strand Palace changes its festive tea every year. Last year it was the Snow Palace, served on a snowman stand, and for 2026 it is the Frosted Cocoa Afternoon Tea, made with the British chocolate brand Love Cocoa: seasonal savouries, warm scones, and a stand of chocolate-led Christmas cakes in the Palace Tea Parlour.

At £50 on a weekday, it is the cheapest hotel tea in this guide by some distance, and the hotel is a few minutes’ walk from Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, so it slots in between the lights and a show without a Tube journey.

Christmas afternoon tea with a view or a palace

Three teas, each with a different view: Big Ben through the window, the Shard, and the hotel across the road from Kensington Palace.

🎄 Festive afternoon tea at The Library at County Hall

• Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7PB. Nearest step-free station: Waterloo or Westminster
• Last season ran 14 November to 1 January, noon to 5 pm daily
• £75 per person, £95 with champagne or a cocktail, £120 on 24 to 26 December and 1 January, last season
• Dietary needs: tell the restaurant when you book

The Library is the book-lined room on the riverside of County Hall, with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben filling the window, and it is the festive tea we would book for the view at under £100. The stand offers seasonal sandwiches, scones, and festive pastries, and a 90-minute free-flowing English sparkling wine option for £120.

The Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day sittings cost £120 and include a glass of wine. It is a two-minute walk from the London Eye, which makes it a good stop between the Eye and the South Bank Christmas market.

🎄 Festive afternoon tea at TĪNG at the Shard

• Level 35, Shangri-La The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY. Nearest step-free station: London Bridge
• Last season ran 18 November to 6 January
• £89 per person, £99 with champagne, last season
• Dietary needs: tell the hotel when you book

TĪNG is on level 35 of the Shangri-La in the Shard, and last year’s festive tea was called Season of Wonders, with bauble-shaped choux, cranberry jam with the scones, and the whole of London lit up below. It is the highest hotel afternoon tea in London.

Prices weren’t confirmed for 2026 when we checked. For the best view, book a 3 pm sitting in December so you get daylight, sunset and the lights in the one tea.

🎄 Festive afternoon tea at The Milestone Hotel

• 1 Kensington Court, London W8 5DL. Nearest step-free station: Earl’s Court, 20 minutes, or the 9 or 49 bus (High Street Kensington is not step-free)
• 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, sittings at 1 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm, not on Christmas Day
• From £90 per person; children’s festive tea available; champagne as an upgrade
• Allergen menu published; tell the hotel when you book

The Milestone is the five-star townhouse across the road from Kensington Palace, and it serves its festive tea in the Park Lounge with Christmas-themed pastries, scones and a long tea list. It starts later than most, at the end of November, and runs into the first days of January.

It pairs with the palace, which runs its own Christmas decorations through December, and with the Kensington High Street lights. The hotel needs 72 hours’ notice for dietary changes on its year-round tea, so give the same notice here.

Christmas afternoon tea on a bus or a boat

If you want to see the Christmas lights and have your tea at the same time, these three do both. They run on fixed timetables and the evening departures sell out first.

🎄 Brigit’s Bakery Christmas lights afternoon tea bus

• Departs from Victoria Coach Station (step-free station: Victoria) or 8 Northumberland Avenue by Trafalgar Square (step-free station: Westminster, 10 minutes)
• 11 November 2026 to 5 January 2027; departures at noon, 12.30 pm, 2.30 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm and 5.30 pm
• £60 per person on weekdays, £70 at weekends; themed children’s tours from £55
• Vegetarian and halal menus; vegan and gluten-free £3 extra; cannot cater for nut allergies

Brigit’s runs its vintage Routemaster through December with a festive menu of seasonal savouries, cakes and pastries, and the 5 pm and 5.30 pm departures take a route along Regent Street, so you see the angels from the top deck with a cup of tea in your hand. We recommend this tour most to first-time December visitors, because it covers the lights and sightseeing in 90 minutes.

The same buses also offer themed versions for children: Paddington, with the marmalade sandwich and a screen at every table; Peppa Pig; PAW Patrol; and a Grinch tour with entertainment on board.

The buses have stairs to the top deck, so ask for the lower deck if anyone in your party finds them difficult. Read our review of the Brigit’s Bakery bus.

⭐️ Click to book Brigit’s Bakery Christmas lights afternoon tea bus

🎄 The Snowman afternoon tea bus tour

• Departs from the London Eye or Aldwych. Nearest step-free station: Waterloo or Westminster
• 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; departures from noon, with the 4.45 pm and 5 pm tours for the lights
• £39 per person, £34 for children, last season
• Dietary needs: tell the operator when you book

The official Snowman tea bus is run by Golden Tours and is the cheapest of the Christmas lights teas, with finger sandwiches, sultana scones, festive cupcakes, mince pies and snowball truffles, plus hot chocolate for the children, served on a loop past Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus to music from the film.

The evening departures see the lights of Oxford Street and Regent Street. It is the one to book with grandchildren who are too young for the hotel teas, and the one to book if £120 at the Ritz was never the plan.

🎄 City Cruises festive afternoon tea cruise

• Departs from Tower Pier, Lower Thames Street, London EC3N 4DT. Nearest step-free station: Tower Hill
• Last season ran 28 November to 5 January, Wednesday to Sunday, boarding at 3.15 pm for a 3.30 pm sailing
• From £52 per person last season; VIP upgrade £20
• Vegan option; City Cruises lists the tea boat as not wheelchair accessible, and asks for disabilities to be declared at booking

City Cruises swaps its year-round afternoon tea for a festive menu from the end of November: sandwiches and scones as usual, then a Christmas fig and almond tart, a mulled wine pebble and a Christmas macaron, with unlimited tea and coffee and a bar on board. The 90-minute cruise passes the Tower, the Shard, Parliament and the London Eye, and in late December the lights are coming on by the time you turn back.

The 2026 dates had not been published when we checked. If you are choosing between river trips, our guide to Christmas cruises on the Thames compares this with the dinner and carol cruises.

⭐️ Click to book the City Cruises afternoon tea cruise

Festive afternoon teas in London under £70

Two more that keep the Christmas theme without the hotel price, for a family outing or a second tea in the same trip, plus the cheaper ones from the sections above.

🎄 Biscuiteers festive afternoon tea, Notting Hill

• 194 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2ES. Nearest step-free station: Paddington, then the 23 or 27 bus (Notting Hill Gate is not step-free)
• 1 November to 31 December, 11 am to 5 pm daily
• £48 per person, £55.50 with prosecco, £71 with a biscuit-icing session; same price for children
• Dietary needs: ask when you book

Biscuiteers is the hand-iced biscuit shop, and its festive tea in the Notting Hill boutique comes with a turkey and cranberry sandwich, a white chocolate and cranberry macaron and a plate of the Christmas biscuits the shop is known for.

The £71 version adds a session at the icing table with three biscuits, five colours and a gift box to take them home in.

It is a sweet-leaning tea rather than a full meal, and the best on the list for a grandparent-and-grandchild afternoon. Portobello Road is at the end of the street.

🎄 Festive afternoon tea at Pan Pacific London

• 80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB. Nearest step-free station: Liverpool Street
• 9 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, sittings at 1 pm and 3 pm
• £68 per person, £29 for children
• Dietary needs: tell the hotel when you book

Pan Pacific is the Singapore hotel group’s London outpost by Liverpool Street, and its festive tea mixes British tradition with an Asian turn. Last year’s stand had a plum and chestnut bauble, a Christmas pudding macaron and a cupcake the children decorated themselves at the table. At £29, it has one of the lowest children’s prices on this list.

It sits between the Tower of London and Spitalfields, so it works as the tea on a City sightseeing day when the West End hotels are full.

Also under £70, all covered above: the Snowman afternoon tea bus at £39, the Strand Palace Snow Palace tea at £50 on a weekday, the City Cruises festive tea cruise from £52, Brigit’s Christmas lights bus at £60 on a weekday and the Sanderson at £65.

Booking a Christmas afternoon tea in London: what to know

When the festive teas run

Most start between the first and third week of November and finish in the first week of January, so a trip in the second half of November gets you the full Christmas tea without the December crowds. The Sanderson’s stops on Christmas Day and the Milestone’s does not start until 30 November.

When to book

The festive menus go on sale in September and October. December weekend sittings at the Ritz, Claridge’s and the Rubens are usually gone by the end of October, and the bus and boat teas fill their 5 pm departures first. Check midweek and the 11.30 am or 7.30 pm sittings if the 5 pm departures are sold out.

What it costs

Expect to pay £10 to £30 more than the same hotel’s year-round tea. Under £60 buys the Snowman bus at £39, Biscuiteers at £48, the Strand Palace on a weekday at £50 or the City Cruises tea from £52.

Brigit’s, the Sanderson, and Pan Pacific are between £60 and £70 on weekdays. Themed hotel teas run from £65 to £105, and grand hotel teas from £85 to £130.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve or Day carry a premium of £10 to £45 at most venues, and several hotels close the tea on Christmas Day itself.

What to wear

The Ritz is the only one that will turn you away: jacket and tie for men, no jeans or sportswear for anyone. The Savoy asks for elegant dress.

Everywhere else is smart casual, which in December means no trainers or baseball caps, and presentable jeans are fine.

The bus and boat teas have no dress code.

Dietary needs

Every venue here can do vegetarian and most can do vegan, but the notice periods are longer at Christmas. The Café Royal and the Lanesborough want 48 hours, the Milestone 72, and Brigit’s cannot cater for nut allergies on the bus at all.

The Rubens is the easiest for halal and gluten-free, with both on the printed menu, and the Chesterfield has halal and vegan menus.

Step-free access

The hotel lounges are on the ground floor or reached by lift, and TĪNG has lifts to level 35. The nearest step-free Tube station is listed for each entry, because several of the obvious ones, including Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park Corner, Charing Cross and High Street Kensington, are not.

The buses have stairs to the top deck, and the City Cruises tea boat is not wheelchair accessible.

Which Christmas afternoon tea to book

If you are still choosing, this is how we would decide.

• For the full Christmas production: the Ritz, with the choir, the Palm Court and the Christmas Day teddy bears.
• For the lights and the tea in one go: Brigit’s Christmas lights bus at 5 pm, or the Snowman bus for a cheaper version with children.
• With grandchildren: the Langham if the Hamleys tea returns, One Aldwych for the Wonka version, Pan Pacific for a £29 children’s price.
• For the view: The Library at County Hall for Big Ben, TĪNG for the whole city from level 35.
• Best value in a hotel: the Rubens Winter Wonderland at £82 with the mulled wine, or the Strand Palace at £50 on a weekday.
• Something different: the festive Mad Hatter’s at the Sanderson, the festive Bridgerton at the Lanesborough, or a Christmas tea on the river with City Cruises.

Our final word on Christmas afternoon tea in London

We book the tea first and plan the rest of the December day around it, choose the sitting for the light we want (daylight at noon, lights by 5 pm), and give the venue our dietary needs at booking rather than on the day. If your heart is set on a December weekend at the Ritz or Claridge’s, the safe move is to book the day the festive menu goes on sale.

Planning a festive trip? Our Christmas in London guide covers everything from the markets to what is open on Christmas Day, and our guide to the best places for afternoon tea in London has the 26 year-round teas.

Read next

• Christmassy restaurants, pubs and bars in London
• Self-guided Christmas lights walk with map
• Christmas tours in London: lights, cruises and day trips
• Christmas cruises on the Thames
• What is open in London on Christmas Day
• Events in London in December 2026