Though the Queen’s House is open year-round, this was a pop-up afternoon tea on the balcony looking out towards the Greenwich Observatory, where Greenwich Meantime is set.
High Tea Society had the pleasure of taking afternoon tea at the Queen’s House in Greenwich. Though the Queen’s House is open year-round, this was a pop-up afternoon tea on the balcony looking out towards the Greenwich Observatory, where Greenwich Meantime is set. This was a splendid experience and we felt like queens ourselves looking out to Greenwich Park where there happened to be a steampunk festival taking place.
When we arrived, a sitar player below our balcony was making the venue sound absolutely magical. We’re not sure if he was there because of the steampunk festival or that he is a regular feature on summer days in Greenwich but he made the atmosphere even more surreal, given that we were on the same balcony that many a royal would have sat on since the 1700’s, and had just walked up one of the world’s most unique spiral staircases, through a stunning art gallery which contains pieces by Gainsborough, Turner and Hogarth, to arrive at our table.
The afternoon tea began with a selection of Dammann Freres Tea, one of us choosing a refreshing peppermint, the other a delightful green jasmine. Served on vintage China tea sets, the tea was followed by a cake stand containing good quality homemade sandwiches (honey-smoked ham, egg, Scottish smoked-salmon, cream-cheese with cucumber), lovely petit fours, scones (one each with excellent clotted cream and raspberry jam), along with a traditional Bakewell slice and fruit cake.
Each session at the Queen’s House lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes and you can also take an art tour with the Galleries’ curator on certain dates during August. Due to its popularity, people were being turned away at the door so we strongly recommend booking early, particularly given that high end afternoon teas like this are difficult to find in Greenwich.
We had a fantastic and very unique afternoon at the Queen’s House. Highlights for us were most definitely the view (we had also picked the perfect day, but it would be gorgeous regardless of the weather), the honey-glazed ham on homemade bread sandwiches and the Bakewell slice – given that this is a very British pop-up, it seems fitting that the Bakewell was done to perfection. Very highly recommended by us – book now.
