Afternoon Tea: The Orangery at Kensington Palace

After afternoon tea with my mum in Cardiff, it seemed only right to sample the delights of afternoon tea in London last weekend with my sister, whom I was visiting. But where to go? Well, when it comes to who to ask for afternoon tea recommendations in London, there is only one person, Briony of A Girl, A Style. If you want afternoon tea recommendations in northern England, go to Paula of Pink Bow, but for London, Briony is your girl. And Briony recommended well, The Orangery at Kensington Palace:

The sandwiches were kept simple with the usual suspects on offer: salmon and cream cheese, cucumber and cream cheese, cheese and pickle and ham and mustard. However, I confess, I think that Waterloo Gardens teahouse did their sandwiches better *gasp*!

The orange-infused scone was delicious. The orange flavour was subtle, complementing rather than over-powering the accompanying cream and jam.

The tea menu is, as it should be, extensive, from chocolate tea (which despite tempting us all, didn’t tempt any of us enough to actually order it) to Tregothnan tea – the only English tea on the menu. I chose peppermint tea - the smell was fresh and strong from the minute it arrived at the table and the taste too was clean and refreshing.

We decided to go all out and chose the Royal Champagne tea option – the bubbles were the perfect addition to a girly treat.

The mini patisserie were divine. The chocolate cake could have done with being a little more moist but the orange and passion fruit tart was perfect, fruity and sweet and just small enough to make me want more!

The location – sitting on the terrace of The Orangery, overlooking the manicured lawns of Kensington Palace was perfect for the warm summer’s afternoon. If you find yourself there on a colder or wetter afternoon, as is unfortunately probably more likely in England, the inside of The Orangery is just as impressive as the grounds in which it sits.

The Orangery does not take reservations for afternoon tea, unless you are a larger group. This may put some people off but I called in advance to check when the busiest period usually is (3pm, for information) and we avoided that, making our way to the substantially shorter queue at 4.30pm. They seem to make every effort to sit people and serve everyone as quickly as possible.

Afternoon tea is served, daily, between 12noon and 6pm.