11 Luxurious Places to Have Coffee, Tea & Cake in London at Least Once
There are plenty of places in London where you can grab a coffee for a few pounds and carry on with your day.
Then there are places where the coffee is almost beside the point.
You go for the room, the architecture, the service, the cakes, the history or simply the feeling of sitting somewhere that makes an ordinary afternoon feel a little more special.
London is full of these places.
Some are grand hotel tea rooms. Some are designer cafés. Others are historic restaurants where you can sit down for coffee, cake or afternoon tea surrounded by some seriously beautiful interiors.
So if you're looking for somewhere that feels elegant, glamorous, expensive or simply worth dressing up for, here are 11 places in London to experience at least once.
1. Claridge's ArtSpace Café - Mayfair
If you want the surroundings of one of London's most famous luxury hotels without committing to a full afternoon tea, Claridge's ArtSpace Café is a particularly good place to start.
Located inside Claridge's in Mayfair, the café was designed by British architect John Pawson and has a contemporary, gallery-like interior with a marble communal table and a patisserie counter.
And unlike the hotel's more formal dining spaces, this really is a café.
The current menu includes crêpes, bagels, galettes, salads, croque monsieur and croque madame, madeleines, Claridge's cakes and coffee. It is open daily and operates on a no-reservations basis.
There's also a bonus: the café provides access down to Perrotin's London gallery, whose exhibitions are free to view.
So you could have coffee and cake, look around the gallery and experience a little of Claridge's without turning it into an entire formal afternoon.
Go for: coffee, crêpes and Claridge's cakes.
2. Ralph's Coffee - New Bond Street
What happens when a luxury fashion house creates its own coffee shop?
You get Ralph's Coffee.
The New Bond Street location sits at 1 New Bond Street, right in the middle of one of London's most luxurious shopping areas. Ralph Lauren's current store directory confirms the location and lists coffee among the services there.
This isn't grand-hotel luxury.
It's fashion-world luxury.
The setting fits naturally into a day spent wandering around Mayfair, New Bond Street and St James's, and the Ralph's Coffee branding makes it instantly recognisable.
It's also a good reminder that luxury doesn't always have to mean chandeliers and white tablecloths.
Sometimes it is simply a beautifully branded space in one of the most expensive shopping districts in London.
Go for: the Ralph Lauren atmosphere and a coffee break while exploring Mayfair.
3. Anya Café - Belgravia
If you prefer your luxury with a little more personality, head to Anya Café in Belgravia.
The café is part of designer Anya Hindmarch's The Village, and it serves breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea and early-evening drinks.
The café also creates its own Anya Hindmarch cakes and biscuits, which can be eaten there or taken away in gift boxes.
And if you want to turn your visit into something more elaborate, Anya Café currently offers its own afternoon tea, served daily between 11am and 4:30pm, with advance booking required.
This is a very different kind of luxury from somewhere like The Ritz.
It's playful, fashion-led and unmistakably Anya Hindmarch.
Go for: designer surroundings, cakes and the afternoon tea.
4. The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon - Fortnum & Mason
This one isn't technically a café, but if you're looking for a luxurious place to sit down for tea and something sweet, leaving it out would make very little sense.
The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon occupies the fourth floor of Fortnum & Mason at 181 Piccadilly.
It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 and has become one of London's most recognisable afternoon-tea destinations. Fortnum's currently describes it as an elegant and refined setting for its afternoon tea.
The current Classic Afternoon Tea starts at £84 per person, excluding service charge. Fortnum & Mason also offers savoury, high tea, children's, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
And if you're after something even more extravagant, its current Caviar Tea Experience starts at £165.
This is the place to choose when you want the full traditional London experience.
Go for: afternoon tea, exceptional cakes and the sense of occasion.
5. The Ritz London - Palm Court
If there is one place in London that practically defines luxurious afternoon tea, it is the Palm Court at The Ritz.
This isn't somewhere you pop into because you happened to be nearby.
You book it.
You dress appropriately.
And you settle in for the experience.
Time Out's current 2026 guide lists Palm Court at The Ritz as its pick for the best London afternoon tea for splashing out, while Visit London continues to include The Ritz among the capital's classic luxury afternoon teas.
It's the ornate interiors, formal service and traditional afternoon-tea setting that make this such a recognisable London experience.
And yes, you'll pay considerably more than you would at your neighbourhood café.
But that's not really what you're paying for.
You're paying for the experience of having afternoon tea at The Ritz.
Go for: old-school London glamour.
6. The Savoy - Thames Foyer
Another London institution is The Savoy's Thames Foyer.
The setting is elegant, historic and unmistakably grand, making it ideal for anyone who wants a classic hotel afternoon tea rather than a modern café experience.
Visit London's current 2026 afternoon-tea guide includes The Savoy among London's notable traditional afternoon teas.
And this is one of those places where the surroundings are almost as important as what's on the table.
You aren't just drinking tea.
You're sitting inside one of London's most famous hotels.
If you're already exploring Covent Garden, the Strand or the South Bank, The Savoy is also conveniently placed for turning afternoon tea into part of a wider day in central London.
Go for: classic hotel luxury.
7. The Wolseley - Piccadilly
Now for something slightly different.
The Wolseley is a grand café-restaurant rather than a hotel tea room, and that's precisely why it deserves a place here.
It has the atmosphere of an old European grand café, making it a particularly good choice if you want somewhere elegant where you can have breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea or a proper meal rather than committing to a formal afternoon tea.
Time Out's current 2026 guide actually names The Wolseley its best-value afternoon tea among its featured options.
Its Piccadilly location also makes it easy to combine with a walk through Mayfair, St James's, Green Park or Regent Street.
This is luxury without necessarily feeling like you have to make a huge event out of it.
Go for: grand café culture and a more flexible experience.
8. Brown's Hotel - The Drawing Room
For something quieter and more traditional, consider The Drawing Room at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair.
Brown's has been part of London's luxury-hotel landscape for generations, and The Drawing Room provides the kind of setting you'd expect from a historic Mayfair hotel.
It's particularly suited to anyone who likes their luxury understated rather than flashy.
No need for something covered in gold.
No need for an Instagram gimmick.
Just a beautiful room, traditional service and the opportunity to slow down for a while.
It also works particularly well if you're already exploring Mayfair's galleries, boutiques and historic streets.
Go for: understated old-school elegance.
9. Café Royal - Regent Street
If you want historic London glamour but something with a slightly more theatrical feel, Café Royal is another place worth knowing.
The historic hotel sits between Piccadilly and Regent Street, making it easy to include in a central London afternoon.
Its various dining and drinking spaces offer a very different experience from an ordinary coffee shop, and the hotel's history and interiors are a major part of the appeal.
This is another example of why “luxurious places to have coffee, tea and cake” is a better description than simply calling every venue on this list a café.
You're visiting a luxury hotel.
The drink is only part of the experience.
Go for: historic glamour around Regent Street.
10. The Beaumont - Mayfair
If you want Mayfair luxury without choosing one of the city's biggest and most famous hotel names, The Beaumont is worth considering.
Located on Balderton Street near Brown Hart Gardens, the hotel offers afternoon tea in a more intimate setting.
This is the sort of place that works particularly well for a relaxed special occasion.
Think:
Mayfair.
Beautiful surroundings.
Afternoon tea.
No need to rush.
It's less about making a dramatic entrance and more about enjoying a polished afternoon somewhere that feels removed from the chaos of central London.
Go for: understated Mayfair luxury.
11. The Monocle Café - Marylebone
And finally, something that proves luxury doesn't have to mean a grand hotel.
The Monocle Café on Chiltern Street in Marylebone is much more understated.
The appeal here is design, atmosphere and the Monocle aesthetic rather than chandeliers and formal afternoon tea.
It is a good choice if your idea of a luxurious afternoon is:
excellent design,
good coffee,
a beautiful neighbourhood,
and somewhere that feels effortlessly stylish.
Marylebone itself adds to the experience.
You can have coffee, walk along Chiltern Street, browse the independent shops and galleries and spend the afternoon exploring one of central London's more polished neighbourhoods.
Go for: understated, design-led café culture.
Which one should you choose?
Because “luxury” means something different to everyone.
Want the classic London experience?
The Ritz or Fortnum & Mason
Want a grand hotel?
The Savoy or Brown's Hotel
Want Art Deco?
Claridge's ArtSpace Café
Want fashion and designer culture?
Ralph's Coffee or Anya Café
Want a grand café rather than formal afternoon tea?
The Wolseley
Want something quieter?
The Beaumont
Want modern, understated style?
The Monocle Café
Do you need to dress up?
This depends entirely on where you're going.
A designer café such as Ralph's Coffee or Anya Café is very different from booking afternoon tea at The Ritz.
For traditional afternoon tea, check the individual venue's current dress code before you go.
Don't assume that because somewhere is luxurious, you need to arrive in formalwear.
But equally, don't turn up to a formal afternoon tea in beachwear.
For places such as The Ritz, the dress code is considerably more formal than it would be at a normal café.
The safest rule?
If you're spending serious money on afternoon tea, dress smartly.
It makes the whole experience feel better anyway.
Should you book?
For the genuinely luxurious experiences, yes.
Especially if you're going for afternoon tea.
Fortnum & Mason currently provides advance table booking for its Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, while Anya Café explicitly says its afternoon tea requires pre-booking.
And with London's most famous afternoon teas, booking ahead is sensible simply because these are experiences people deliberately travel to London for.
For a casual coffee at a café, however, the situation can be very different.
Claridge's ArtSpace Café, for example, currently operates a no-reservations policy.
So always check the individual venue rather than assuming every luxury place works the same way.
Luxury doesn't always mean the most expensive place
That's probably the most important thing to remember.
A place can be luxurious because of its price.
But it can also feel luxurious because of:
the building,
the history,
the design,
the service,
the location,
the food,
or simply the atmosphere.
That's why this isn't a list of London's 11 most expensive cafés.
It's a list of places where sitting down for coffee, tea, cake or afternoon tea can actually feel like an experience.
Sometimes that experience costs £5 more than your normal coffee.
Sometimes it costs considerably more.
But the point is that you remember where you had it.
You don't need an occasion
And honestly, don't wait for one.
You don't necessarily need a birthday.
You don't need an anniversary.
You don't need a celebration.
Sometimes you can simply decide that you're going to spend an afternoon doing something a little more luxurious than usual.
Walk through Mayfair.
Sit somewhere beautiful.
Order the cake.
Have the tea.
Take your time.
And enjoy London.
Because there are thousands of places in this city where you can grab a coffee and leave in ten minutes.
But sometimes it's worth choosing somewhere where you actually want to stay for a while.
Sometimes the café is the destination
London's best cafés aren't always about finding the cheapest coffee or the biggest slice of cake.
Sometimes they're about the experience around it.
A coffee inside a luxury fashion house.
Cake inside Claridge's.
Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason.
A grand café in Piccadilly.
A beautifully designed space in Marylebone.
Or a few hours in one of London's legendary hotels.
These are the places where you don't simply go for coffee.
You go because you want to experience a different side of London.
So pick one, book ahead if you need to, dress a little smarter and give yourself an afternoon to enjoy it.
Because sometimes, you don't need a special occasion to have a luxurious afternoon in London.
You just need a really good place to sit.
Discover more beautiful London cafés, restaurants, hidden gems and places worth visiting on LondonYaar.com.
Follow @rohan.londonyaar for more London food, travel and things to do.