The Wallace Café
Perfect place to spill tea with your friends over afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea is one of the quintessential British delights you can indulge yourself with to really have the full English experience.
But the main concern is the price you have to pay in order to experience this English tradition.
The Wallace Collection is a museum located in Central London that houses many beautiful paintings that you can view for free, but what many people usually skip is their afternoon tea which is a perfect activity after exploring the museum.
When you first step into the museum, you feel as if you have entered a nobleman's house with its elegant stairs, high ceilings, and regal décor.
Well, that’s because it used to be the former townhouse of the Marquesses of Hertford, who helped Sir Wallace curate the extensive collection of paintings.
You can talk up the stairs and view the extensive collection of paintings, armor, and other various items. But today, the focus isn’t on the museum, so I won’t walk more about it and bore you out of your wits.
Walking past the stairs to the very back is a café where tea and other lunch dishes are served.
The café is a wide courtyard with dusty pink walls, busts of statues and plants, and a high glassed roof through which you can see the blue sky (a rare occasion in London) and let in natural light.
The combination of these makes it feel like you’re having a tea party in a garden! I recommend wearing something pretty, either so that you can pretend to be a noble person hosting a tea party with your friends or to match the lavish interiors of the place.
Even if you’re going alone, it’s nice to dress up, but I suggest you bring a book along to look like a well-read noble enjoying a peaceful afternoon
The café offers many things, such as risottos, charcuterie, and cakes. It also serves Traditional Afternoon Tea, with a selection of finger sandwiches, scones, mini pastries, and cakes, and a pot of tea for only £45.
It is already cheaper than most places that charge by the number of people eating. If you don’t want to eat that much, they also serve a smaller version, the cream tea set.
The Cream Tea includes two scones served with clotted cream and strawberry jam and your choice of tea for under £10.
I wanted to go with this set since I went alone, but I went at Easter time, so they had a special called the Hot Cross Bun Cream Tea, also under £10.
It comes with a freshly baked hot cross bun served with a square of cold butter and some strawberry jam, paired with a pot of tea of your choice.
I went with my all-time favorite, Earl Grey! The bun was a warm delight, especially with the jam, but it was relatively small, so I ordered an additional chocolate cake, which wasn’t my favorite because it was pretty dry, and the icing was too sweet.
The Earl Grey was pleasantly bitter and really helped wash down the sweetness of the cake.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience since I haven’t really had afternoon tea in England before, and it didn’t burn a hole in my pocket. I definitely want to go back to try the afternoon tea with my friends or their Cream Tea set if I happen to go alone.
Location: Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN, United Kingdom
Written by Althea Scully