Christmas afternoon tea in London costs from £62 to £125 a head on most days in 2026, from the Royal Lancaster’s weekday price to The Ritz, and most festive teas run from early or mid November into the first days of January. Here are 10 venues with their 2026 prices, dates and what is on the stand, all taken from each venue’s own website.
Prices and dates were checked on 12 November 2026. Several venues publish sample menus, so individual cakes and sandwiches may change.
How much is Christmas afternoon tea in London in 2026?
Half of the venues here charge between £82 and £95 per person, with Claridge’s and The Ritz at the top end. Champagne usually adds £10 to £20 a head.
| Venue | Area | Price pp | 2026 dates | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Lancaster London | Lancaster Gate | £62 weekdays, £69 weekends | 21 November to 3 January | Families on a budget |
| Pan Pacific London | Liverpool Street | £68 | 9 November to 4 January | A City treat |
| L’oscar London | Holborn | £69 | 9 November to 30 December | A lower-priced hotel tea |
| The Rubens at the Palace | Victoria | From £82 | 16 November to 3 January | Pairing with royal sightseeing |
| Hotel Café Royal | Piccadilly | £85 | Now until 4 January | Playful pastries |
| The Stafford London | St James’s | £88 | 15 November to 30 December | A Michael Caines tea |
| The Langham, London | Regent Street | £95 | 9 November to 3 January | A showpiece sharing cake |
| One Aldwych | Covent Garden | £95 including a drink | 11 November to 2 January | Children |
| Claridge’s | Mayfair | £120 weekdays, £130 weekends | 3 November to 3 January | Classic Christmas flavours |
| The Ritz London | Piccadilly | £125 | 14 November to 6 January | The full tradition |
All runs start in 2026 and, where they cross the new year, end in January 2027.
Which London venues are serving Christmas afternoon tea this year?
The Ritz London, Piccadilly
Price: £125 per adult, £83 per child up to 15; £140 and £92 on Christmas Day. Dates: Saturday 14 November 2026 to Wednesday 6 January 2027.
Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Ritz is served at 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm. The sandwiches include breast of chicken with chestnut and sage stuffing on malt bread, Scottish smoked salmon with lemon butter on sourdough and ham with grain mustard mayonnaise on brioche.
Then come plain and fruit scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry preserve, and an assortment of festive pastries and cakes. There is a Ritz Christmas tea blend too: black tea from China infused with orange peel, apple and cinnamon.
Claridge’s, Mayfair
Price: £120 on weekdays, £130 at weekends, including a glass of Billecart-Salmon Le Réserve or alcohol-free Wild Idol. Dates: 3 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, not 25 December.
Claridge’s Festive Afternoon Tea is served in the Foyer and Reading Room. Its 2026 sample menu lists roasted Norfolk turkey with stuffing and cranberry, honey glazed Dorrington ham with clementine and mustard mayonnaise, and Cacklebean egg mayonnaise with black truffle.
The menu also includes Claridge’s Christmas pudding with brandy anglaise, plus raisin and plain scones. The pastries, made under executive pastry chef Thibault Hauchard, include a gingerbread and clementine tart, a chestnut and yuzu Mont Blanc and an almond and coconut Christmas tree.
The Langham, London, Regent Street
Price: £95, or £110 with Champagne and £115 with rosé Champagne. Dates: 9 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.
At The Langham, the Palm Court becomes “The Blooming Winter Garden” for its Winter Garden Afternoon Tea. Savouries include roast bronze turkey with stuffing, pickled cranberries and chestnut, aged beef sirloin with horseradish cream, and a potato farl with crème fraîche and Oscietra caviar.
The pastries pair pineapple and basil, plum and ginger, and chestnut and blackcurrant, and the centrepiece is a sharing cake modelled on a Victorian glasshouse: an Earl Grey infused layered sponge with bergamot jelly. A children’s afternoon tea runs on the same dates.
One Aldwych, Covent Garden
Price: £95 per adult including a glass of Champagne, a cocktail or a mocktail; £65 per child aged 12 and under. Dates: 11 November 2026 to 2 January 2027, closed 25 and 26 December.
The Festive Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea is the most child-friendly tea on this list. It promises an entire Christmas dinner in a sandwich, Mr Wonka’s smoked salmon quiche and a “cabbage soup”, followed by Violet Beauregarde’s marshmallow marvel, a chestnutty crunch surprise and a warm chocolate dip.
Final orders are between 12pm and 3pm Wednesday to Friday and until 4.30pm at weekends, and vegetarian and vegan menus are available.
Hotel Café Royal, Piccadilly
Price: £85, or £95 with a glass of Laurent-Perrier. Dates: running now until 4 January 2027, not on Christmas Day.
The Festive Afternoon Tea at Hotel Café Royal is created by head pastry chef Maxence Blondelle and served in the Café Royal Grill with live piano. The pastries are dressed up as a Festive Teddy Bear, an Elf’s Hat, a Red Nose Reindeer and a Christmas Gift.
Savouries cover roast Norfolk turkey, Scottish smoked salmon, Wiltshire ham, and egg and truffle, with plain and spiced cranberry scones.
The Rubens at the Palace, Victoria
Price: from £82, £102 with Champagne or £127 with bottomless Champagne. Dates: 16 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with Christmas Day priced separately.
The Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea at The Rubens includes a roast turkey sandwich with cranberry mayonnaise and toasted chestnuts, and plain and spiced orange and raisin scones with seasonal preserve, lemon curd and clotted cream.
The pâtisserie runs to a clementine and chestnut tart, a cherry and pecan chocolate log, white chocolate and cranberry choux and a pistachio Christmas tree.
Pan Pacific London, Liverpool Street
Price: £68 per person; children’s festive tea £29 for under 13s. Dates: 9 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, served 1pm to 4pm, with no service on Christmas Day.
Pan Pacific London’s festive afternoon tea opens with a spiced parsnip velouté and a pork and apricot sausage roll. The sandwiches include roast turkey with cranberry and sage and onion butter, and roasted dry-aged beef with horseradish.
Scones come plain or with cranberry and stem ginger, served with clotted cream, blackcurrant jam and orange curd. The sweets include a snowman macaron, a mini yule log and warm mince pies.
Royal Lancaster London, Lancaster Gate
Price: £62 Monday to Friday, £69 at weekends, £95 on Christmas Day including a glass of Champagne; children’s tea £30. Dates: 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, served 1pm to 5.30pm.
The cheapest tea here is A Blooming British Festive Afternoon Tea, made with the Natural History Museum and served in the Hyde Cafe. Sandwiches include British roast turkey with cranberry jam and H. Forman & Son smoked salmon with cucumber and horseradish cream.
After cranberry and plain scones come a yule log, a Christmas tree, a snowman and The Winter Beehive, a honey cake with spiced fig jam and mascarpone mousse. Teas are from Camellia’s Tea House.
L’oscar London, Holborn
Price: £69, £75 with sparkling tea or £79 with Champagne. Dates: 9 November to 30 December 2026.
L’oscar’s Festive Afternoon Tea includes roast turkey with mature cheddar and cranberry mayonnaise, Chalk Farm smoked salmon with horseradish cream and keta caviar, and a black truffle and egg sandwich.
Plain and sultana scones come with homemade fig jam, cranberry curd and clotted cream, and the sweets are a L’oscar Christmas tree, a yule log and a winter apple bauble.
The Stafford London, St James’s
Price: £88, or £105 with a glass of Champagne. Dates: 15 November to 30 December 2026.
The Stafford’s Festive Afternoon Tea is served at Michael Caines at The Stafford. The hotel has not published a full menu, describing it only as seasonal pastries, freshly baked scones and festive favourites, so ask when you book if you have dietary needs.
Which Christmas afternoon teas are best for children?
One Aldwych’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tea is built around children, at £65 for under 13s. For a lower bill, Pan Pacific London charges £29 and the Royal Lancaster £30 for a children’s tea, and The Langham runs a children’s afternoon tea on the same dates as its adult menu.
The Ritz charges £83 for children up to 15, rising to £92 on Christmas Day.
Can you have afternoon tea on Christmas Day in London?
Yes, but not everywhere. The Ritz serves Christmas Afternoon Tea on 25 December at £140 per adult, the Royal Lancaster charges £95 including a glass of Champagne, and The Rubens prices Christmas Day separately.
Claridge’s, Hotel Café Royal and Pan Pacific London do not serve their festive teas on Christmas Day, and One Aldwych closes on 25 and 26 December.
When should you book Christmas afternoon tea?
Weekend sittings in December are the first to go, so book as early as you can if you have a fixed date in mind. Weekday afternoons in late November and early January are usually easier to get, and some teas here, including Claridge’s and the Royal Lancaster, are cheaper on weekdays.
If you are planning a wider day out, you could add a stop at one of London’s free attractions or the festive bars at Sky Garden. For something more low-key afterwards, our guide to hidden restaurants in London has smaller places worth a detour.
Can you recreate a festive afternoon tea at home?
Turkey and cranberry, smoked salmon and egg with truffle turn up on almost every menu above, so they are an easy starting point. Our list of 20 afternoon tea sandwich fillings has more ideas, and we have covered past festive menus such as The Dilly’s festive afternoon tea.
If you are heading out of London instead, our guide to Christmas markets in the UK in 2026 has dates and food for 10 markets across the UK.
All prices and dates in this guide were taken from each venue’s own website on 12 November 2026. Menus marked as samples may change, so check with the venue before you go.
