Afternoon tea in London

[Pansypuss]

Anyone with lots of money to spare, here's an idea for you! Afternoon tea at the Ritz. My mother-in-law is celebrating her 70th birthday and fancied tea at the Ritz. I thought, oh well, I'll just go along and watch the rest tuck in and sip daintily (!) at a cup of tea. Then I thought I'd write to the Ritz and see what they said and got this reply:- brilliant!

'Thank you for contacting The Ritz.

I am pleased to advise we have afternoon tea vegan sandwiches and pastries available. Please kindly advise at the time of booking.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I may be of any further assistance. We look forward to the opportunity of welcoming you to The Ritz.'

[twinkle]

That's fantastic! Thanks for letting us know. I actually seriously fancy that :) (although I wonder what the sandwich fillings are? I hope they don't think salmon is vegan).

[Marrers]

Are you going Pansypuss? When is it? We will need a review of course!

(I had tea at The Grand in Brighton as part of a literary thing and got cucumber and salad sandwiches. IIRC I don't think there was any cake for me though.)

[Troutina]

Oh my God that's amazing!!
My Spanish flatmate is obsessed by British tea parties and I really wanted to take her for a traditional tea but couldn't find anywhere vegan!
I'm super excited now!!

[Pansypuss]

Well, we can't get a booking for the time we need so are booked into the Dorchester. I'll send a similar message to ask them if they will cater for me. I'll let you know what they say.

[Agatha]

just a word of warnign about the ritz ... i took my mum there for her birthday two years ago and had the same response of 'yes we can accommodate you'. I said at the time of booking i was vegan. i phoned the day before just to confirm we hadn't fogotten and i was still vegan. and i made it known when we arrived. i was offered a cucumber sandwich (literally a slice of cucumber between two slices of white bread) and black tea. no pastries. the French waiter came to ask why i wasn't eating any of the cake. so i told him again i was vegan and wouldn't eat anything with egg or milk in. he just shurgged and walked off.

yup, i found that 'accommodating'.

[BlackCats]

just a word of warnign about the ritz i was offered a cucumber sandwich (literally a slice of cucumber between two slices of white bread) and black tea. no pastries. the French waiter came to ask why i wasn't eating any of the cake. so i told him again i was vegan and wouldn't eat anything with egg or milk in. he just shurgged and walked off.


Vegans can be so fussy, what's the matter with that, it sounds like enough food to me.;):D That would have really annoyed me! I'm wondering how much money that cost you as well.

That is a shame as tea at the Ritz is something I would like to try for a special occasion.

[Agatha]

forty quid. each. the most expensive over-stewed cup of tea i have ever had!

if it wasn't a special occasion i would have made more of a fuss. but as was i just grinned and looked at the chandeliers.

[harpy]

Blimey! Thanks for the warning, Agatha. I would have been tempted to try and pocket the tea-pot for that price (just joking!). Hope your mum enjoyed the experience?

Will be interested to hear how Pansypuss gets on, not that I'm in the market for any £40 teas myself but you never know.

[Marrers]

Maybe we should all meet up for tea at The Ritz - with enough vegans coming in at once they would have to make us cakes and do some decent sandwiches. (We could call in and speak to someone in charge about exactly what they planned to offer.) I'd love to do tea at The Ritz too.

If they didn't cater for us suitably well we would just walk out without paying!

(Pansypuss I went to a big dinner at The Dorchester and they did me lovely food but I had to bring my own wine - it was a bit embarrassing arriving for a posh event clutching a bottle in a bag though, I felt like a wino.)

[BlackCats]

Maybe we should all meet up for tea at The Ritz - with enough vegans coming in at once they would have to make us cakes and do some decent sandwiches. (We could call in and speak to someone in charge about exactly what they planned to offer.) I'd love to do tea at The Ritz too. If they didn't cater for us suitably well we would just walk out without paying!


Yes I would like to do that.:) I think they would have to provide something decent if there were a few of us.

[Marrers]

So who is up for an expensive afternoon tea with BlackCats and I? (Go on harpy, you know you want to!)

[1gentlemaorispirit]

Maybe we should all meet up for tea at The Ritz - with enough vegans coming in at once they would have to make us cakes and do some decent sandwiches. (We could call in and speak to someone in charge about exactly what they planned to offer.) I'd love to do tea at The Ritz too.

If they didn't cater for us suitably well we would just walk out without paying!

(Pansypuss I went to a big dinner at The Dorchester and they did me lovely food but I had to bring my own wine - it was a bit embarrassing arriving for a posh event clutching a bottle in a bag though, I felt like a wino.)

I think it's a great idea! Why shouldn't we be pampered for an afternoon in style and comfort?! Ok, £40 is a bit pricey, but for a one off treat it would be worth it.

I confess to walking out without paying for my food once. :o I went on a date with a guy who was emotionally constipated, and talking about the anatomy of the prawns in his sandwiches, whilst seeing if he demostrate it to me. :mad: I told him how disgusting he was and left.

He sent me a text message asking if he had offended me? Well, duh!:satisfied:

[squigaletta]

I heard that the legal stance is if you are not happy with a meal you should pay for what you estimate the meal to have cost for the establishment to buy, and then you are 'legally covered' I don't know how true this is but I'm not sure I could have brought myself to pay £40!

[Marrers]

I think it's a great idea!
So are you up for joining us? (Not sure where you are based.)

I may pop into The Ritz and make enquiries and if it sounds like they can do us a decent spread I'll post about it in the meet ups section, see if anyone else is interested.

[1gentlemaorispirit]

So are you up for joining us? (Not sure where you are based.)

I may pop into The Ritz and make enquiries and if it sounds like they can do us a decent spread I'll post about it in the meet ups section, see if anyone else is interested.

Absolutely, I'm up for it!!!:D I'm in Basildon, Essex, and can get the train from here to Fenchurch street, no worries.;)

I know I can't make it until April as I've managed to get myself into various things in Feb and March. :rolleyes:

I would be great to meet some or all of you!:)

[twinkle]

It depends when it is and how flush I'm feeling at the time, but I would potentially be interested :)

[Marrers]

Good news. I think it would be nice to do it in spring - we could walk it off in Green Park afterwards!

[1gentlemaorispirit]

Marrers, I was chatting to a colleague earlier and mentioned about a vegan afternoon tea at the Ritz, he advised me to go to The Dorchester as they routinely ask about dietry requirements. Whether they still do or not, I don't know.

He went last year with his wife and is allergic to eggs and tomatoes, and they made a selection sandwiches for him at no extra cost.

It may be worth checking out?! Either way I'm in!:D OH too if he's not working.

[Pansypuss]

I made a boo boo, it is Claridges we are going to, don't know where I got the Dorchester from. Wish it was the Dorchester though by the sound of it that would have been good. Anyone been to Claridges?

[Ruby Rose]

I went to a wedding at Claridges. I got a pepper stuffed with couscous *yawn* and fruit salad for dessert - no vegan petit fours, biscuits or cake. But maybe it's different if you're going there for tea rather than a big catered event.

[Agatha]

i would abslutely love to go back in a vegan posse and get some good cake! we need to book about three months in advance and we would need to pay in advance too.

i would also love to check out the dorchester and claridges so if somebody has betetr organisational skills than me count me in!

[satsuma]

I'd love to take part in this but would need notice so I could arrange somewhere to stay overnight in London

[Mr Flibble]

Anyone been to Claridges?

No - the restuarant is run by Gordon Ramsey (http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/pr_horse/ALL/1586//).

[VeganMonkey]

I'd love to go to the Ritz/ Dorchester for afternoon tea if they promise us vegan cakes (it would be an interesting experiment in vegan power!) I did go to the Four Seasons for similar last year but my very thoughtful friend (!) didn't tell them I was vegan (and sprung the whole thing on me on the day so I couldn't call ahead). They did me cucumber sandwiches and avocado sandwiches but I'm not convinced the margarine was vegan (though they did seem to understand the concept). No cakes of course so just drank enough tea to burst! I agree with Mr Fibble - Claridges' associations with Gorndon 'kill it' Ramsey would stop me going there :)