English people in London?

[aston]

The Wolesely on Piccadilly does an excellent afternoon tea, and may be a tad more relaxed for the two teenage girls.

[Dr T]

Thanks Aston - its top of the list at the moment.

[Dr T]

Dukes, now that's different. Thank you andy57

[couch]

The Wolesely on Piccadilly does an excellent afternoon tea, and may be a tad more relaxed for the two teenage girls.

Yes, it's buzzy and traditional, a deco gem of a space, and you might see a face or two you recognize.

[aston]

It may be of interest that the space it occupies used to be a car showroom. Wolesely was an iconic brand, and, like most great British motoring icons, other than perhaps Aston Martin, long gone.

[Concordia]

The other greatest hits on hotels for tea, which might or might not be as good: Connaught, Browns, the Ritz. There is probably some little boutique in the north of Soho that kills all of them, though. A lot depends on what impression you want to leave on the teenagers.

I don't know why I forgot about the Ritz. I haven't had tea there since 1988. At that time they had a strict dress code for gentlemen: a jacket and tie was required. My first wife and I were with two other couples, one of whom was staying at the hotel. It was late May, so not cold, and I went in wearing a Burberry over just a shirt and, I guess, trousers that were not jeans. So, the doorman kindly offered me a tie and a jacket. The tie was fine, but the jacket was at least a couple of sizes too small. I wore it anyway, not wishing to spoil the afternoon for the rest of the group. But I certainly looked quite ridiculous. I offered to wear the tie and keep my Burberry on, but the staff insisted on the jacket. So, I complied.

I had similar at the Ritz in Paris, back in the 80s. My mother and sisters and I were doing tourist stuff, when we passed Vendome Place and my Mom decided spontaneously that we should look in and see if they had room for lunch. I was wearing the preppy button-down/shetland sweater thing at that moment, and was not thrilled. The maitre d' was also not thrilled, although he murmered that I was still a young man so could get away with it, I was 17, I think. Then, of course, they gave me the only menu with prices on it. I do wish we'd had a chance to go back to the hotel and change.

[couch]

[edited to include quote that prompted the response, see below]

[couch]

It may be of interest that the space it occupies used to be a car showroom. Wolesely was an iconic brand, and, like most great British motoring icons, other than perhaps Aston Martin, long gone.

Indeed, and the company's story is worth a read. Among the founding and early associated names are Vickers (of armaments note, including the Vickers Vimy WWI aeroplane) Maxim (as in the Maxim gun), Austin (of Austin Motors) and Morris (of the Morris Mini). By the demise of the marque in 1975, it was woven throughout British automotive and military history. But the 1921 Wolseley House, now the Corbin and King café-restaurant, is something special. I don't know how reservations are at present with COVID restrictions, but in normal times they always dedicate the small front room for walk-ins, as capacity permits. Other meals are usually reliable and breakfast can be quite nice with an emphasis on viennoiseries.

[couch]

I had similar at the Ritz in Paris, back in the 80s. My mother and sisters and I were doing tourist stuff, when we passed Vendome Place and my Mom decided spontaneously that we should look in and see if they had room for lunch. I was wearing the preppy button-down/shetland sweater thing at that moment, and was not thrilled. The maitre d' was also not thrilled, although he murmered that I was still a young man so could get away with it, I was 17, I think. Then, of course, they gave me the only menu with prices on it. I do wish we'd had a chance to go back to the hotel and change.

I had a similar experience at the Ritz in Madrid around 1980, though I was given the loaner coat. When I was there again in the late 2000s, I wore jacket and tie, but as we were seated on the garden terrace on a lovely summer evening, I noticed that several of the men, while smartly turned out, were in shirtsleeves.