150 Piccadilly
W1J 9BR
Tel: 020 7493 8181
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, September 18th, 2005
The Victims: MOM!!! Mom’s friend Mary, Julie
The Damage: 37.50ish each (GBP)
Mom came for a quick visit and brought her friend Mary along. I wanted to do tea at The Ritz, so we did! First, we went to Buckingham Palace and did the State Rooms tour, which was very classy. Then we took a taxi to Jermyn street, which was even classier. Of course, it was a Sunday at noon so nothing was open, which was bad. But eventually, we made our way to The Ritz for our tea and everything was solved.
Firstly, we were greeted PERFECTLY upon arrival. A distinguished gentleman asked if he could help us, to which I responded that we had a booking for tea. He asked, in all seriousness, "You’re not very hungry, are you?" It was sweet. Then he pointed us in the right direction. We headed straight for the ladies. I have a feeling had I left Mom and Mary there, he would have married one of them!
I will deduct some points for stairs. Stairs suck. Going to the bathroom shouldn’t be work. But the ladies was delightful and had very pretty murals and all that. The biggest plus were the complimentary beverages in the corner–okay, just water, but still.
Back upstairs, we were shown to a quiet and comfortable table in the corner. Having (what seem to be) quirky tastes, I asked for the Lapsong Souchong tea. Our waiter warned me that it would be very different. I was ready for it. It was delicious…smoky and interesting. Mom and Mary went for the Ritz tea and Julie went for the Darjeling tea, which I can never have again after having it at an Indian restaurant in South Bend Indiana and drinking the most delicious thing ever.
Then came our little silver tray. Three stories tall. First story…ham and salmon sandwiches, cream cheese sandwiches, egg salad sanwiches (which I don’t usually like, but which were mucho deliciouso), and one other which escapes me, but which was not prawn and avocado, surprise, surprise! Second story…scones, and clotted cream and preserves. Now, nothing compares to a Chicago Starbucks scone which aren’t scones at all but rather bastardized donuts. But these were quite tasty. Lastly–the delicious assortment of desserts. Perfect ending.
OK, well, I can’t just end with dessert. Julie and I went for the glass of champagne. A nice touch. Our waiter was kind enough to take our photo, which was very sweet of him. He must get tired of that. He kept checking in with us, which was nice. Good customer service, that Ritz. Love it. They’ve got it right. I wonder how they do it? Oh yes, and just when we thought it was all over and we’d paid the bill and everything, they brought us some more clotted cream and berries!
The Verdict: Lovely. Well done. Would go again in a heartbeat.
