Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea: A Family Friendly London Tea House

Having afternoon tea is something that everyone should experience when visiting the UK and there are no shortage of places to indulge in the tradition. Our first family afternoon tea adventure was at the Chesterfield Mayfair hotel in London, England. After scouring the web for some of the best locations to have tea with kids, we decided the Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea was the perfect family friendly London tea house. What kids (even “cool” teenage boys) don’t love all things Wonka?

We arrived at the beautiful Chesterfield Mayfair hotel and were immediately greeted by a smiling doorman and escorted to the restaurant. After providing our name, we were whisked to our table in the sunny conservatory. The Wonka fun started immediately as we were presented with mini bottles of fizzy lifting drink with brightly colored straws. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the drink (too sweet) but Derrick and the kids loved it.

If you’re an afternoon tea newbie like us, you just need to choose your tea from the menu as the food selections will automatically be brought to the table. Vegetarian and gluten free options were available upon request. You could also upgrade to enjoy a glass of champagne with your tea, if desired. While it’s all about the tea, you could order coffee or hot chocolate instead.

Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea Review

I ordered the Chesterfield Afternoon Blend, a classic English Breakfast tea (but don’t ask me how a Breakfast tea can be an Afternoon tea), and thought it was lovely. Lucy had the Chesterfield Chocolate Tea but wasn’t a big fan. She preferred my Chesterfield Afternoon Blend. Derrick had the Oolong Tea and was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. K tried some of Derrick’s tea and ended up drinking 2 cups! He also had a vanilla milkshake from Lucy’s kids tea menu.

The kids afternoon tea came with a selection of ham, cheese and jam sandwiches; one raisin and one chocolate chip scone, clotted cream and strawberry jam; bubblegum éclair, orange cupcake white chocolate golden egg, Scrumptious Bar; and a choice of milkshake or tea.

Lucy excitingly dug into her plate even sampling a couple of our sandwiches. My little foodie is a big cucumber sandwich and smoked salmon fan! She decided to extend the experience and save her chocolate bar as an evening treat. Everything was perfect for kids and kept with the Charlie theme.

The adult Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea came with a selection of homemade sandwiches, pastries and other treats, Cornish clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam, freshly baked home-made chocolate chip and raisin scones as well as a milk chocolate Scrumptious Bar. Yep, parents got a chocolate bar too!

 

The sandwiches included:

• Honey roast ham with Cheddar cheese and tomato chutney on onion bread
• Roast chicken with grain mustard mayonnaise and nibbled almonds on white bread
• Scottish smoked salmon with horseradish cream cheese on beetroot bread
• Free range egg mayonnaise and watercress on basil bread
• Cucumber and cream cheese on white bread

I particularly enjoyed the ham, chicken and cucumber sandwiches. According to K, the best part of the tea was the unlimited food. We polished off the first plate of sandwiches and another appeared at our table almost instantaneously. K changed his tune about afternoon tea pretty quickly! He even requested more scones near the end. Derrick, Lucy and I couldn’t manage another bite but K was still going strong. He asked for one more chocolate chip and one more raisin scone to finish his meal.

My favorite part of the tea was the home-made chocolate scones sans raisins lathered in Scottish clothed cream. I could have eaten a tray of them!

The selection of treats included:

• Blueberry macaron
• Bubblegum éclair
• Fizzy lifting cake
• Fruity tart
• Orange cupcake White chocolate golden egg
• Lemon cheesecake (though this wasn’t on the menu)

We didn’t like the bubblegum éclair, but all the other desserts were good. By the time we made it to the sweet treats, I was already full, so the kids and Derrick shared most of the goodies. I just took a bite to sample all the delicacies. After finishing afternoon tea, you’ll receive a gobstopper and golden ticket. The Wonka fun just keeps going right until the end!

 

Reservations should be made in advance and can easily be made online or by phone.

We had a fantastic experience at the Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea. The food was delicious and the theme was perfect for kids without being too childish for adults. It was the perfect blend of English tea refinement with “little surprises around every corner.”

Do you have a favorite London tea house or enjoyed the Charles and the Chesterfield Afternoon Tea? Tell us your experience in the comments.

Disclosure: We were guests of the Chesterfield Mayfair hotel in London, England to help facilitate this review. As always, opinions are 100% my own and may differ from others.