Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.
Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.
If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.
Agree (Londoner PP here), Gail's is v good! Not sure I would call it the BEST in Londonbut it's good! To be honest I don't know many Londoners who go out just to get a scone and a cup of tea, but you can certainly get one in Gails, Maison Blanc (a few branches of this around), and many little independent cafes - e.g. J&A Cafe near Charterhouse Square (I think they do a scone tea for £6), the Potting Shed in Dorset Square, Bake a Boo in West Hampstead (good for catering to free-from diets), the Coffee Cup in Hampstead. Often museum cafes (like the one at the V&A, the one at the Wallace Collection) have mini cream teas with scones. There are also less expensive versions of the classic hotel high teas, e.g. the Ham Yard Hotel's tea is very nice and about £19.
BTW I recommended the Clink and Greenwich - Greenwich is on the jubilee line so not really a faff, and my kids loved it there. But agree that these aren't essential places to go, just somewhere different to go in London!
Faff or naff?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.
Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.
If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.
Agree (Londoner PP here), Gail's is v good! Not sure I would call it the BEST in Londonbut it's good! To be honest I don't know many Londoners who go out just to get a scone and a cup of tea, but you can certainly get one in Gails, Maison Blanc (a few branches of this around), and many little independent cafes - e.g. J&A Cafe near Charterhouse Square (I think they do a scone tea for £6), the Potting Shed in Dorset Square, Bake a Boo in West Hampstead (good for catering to free-from diets), the Coffee Cup in Hampstead. Often museum cafes (like the one at the V&A, the one at the Wallace Collection) have mini cream teas with scones. There are also less expensive versions of the classic hotel high teas, e.g. the Ham Yard Hotel's tea is very nice and about £19.
BTW I recommended the Clink and Greenwich - Greenwich is on the jubilee line so not really a faff, and my kids loved it there. But agree that these aren't essential places to go, just somewhere different to go in London!
Anonymous wrote:Stonehenge!
We spent a couple king days seeing the big spots in London. You don't need to buy a tour for every place.
Loved Stonehenge!
Have fun!
Anonymous wrote:Fellow Londoner, I will have to disagree about Greenwich being on the Jubilee line. Sure, the O2 Arena is on the Jubilee but Greenwich proper, ie Cutty Sark/Greenwich market are not.
I live in Clerkenwell so can't speak to your W Hampstead recs, but I'd avoid J&A. Not that great. +1 on tea at museums. I also thought about tea at the Ham yard and while it is priced lower, there are a lot of add ons that I think would take the cost up to Ritz level. But its a great property.
Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.
Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.
If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.