Thames Foyer

Beautiful room for a lovely breakfast, under the atrium. Fancy tea and coffee service. Splendid Eggs Benedict, with multi dimensional texture, perfectly proportionate eggs/​ham/​English muffins. Probably on the top five best Benedict ever eaten of my life. It was that good!

We were not sure where to go to experience afternoon tea on our visit to London. Based upon friend’s recommendations and Unilocal,we chose The Thames Foyer at The Savoy.
We were seated at a sofa, but it did not look comfortable for eating so we changed to a table. Our waiter, Manuelo explained the menu to us. We started out with finger sandwiches: egg salad, chicken, smoked salmon and cucumber. They were all delicious. As we had been on the go, we started out with iced Ceylon tea which hit the spot. Then scones with clotted cream, jam and lemon curd. These were delicious. Manuelo had suggested hot teas for us to try and they were delicious. Then the petit four type pastries, each one better than the last. My favorite was the chocolate and salted caramel. Finally the 4^th course was a chocolate cake and what we in The States would call a strawberry short cake. All scrumptious. And, the waiters brought out seconds and more if you wanted.
The ambiance was a 10+. We felt totally pampered in this high class Mecca of cuisine. I will definitely return to The Thames Foyer next time I go to London. The price was £56.25 including service fee. Worth the price!

Afternoon Tea was definitely a London highlight for me, my husband and our 13 year old daughter. I made reservations about 3 months ahead of time at 5:15pm. There’s no cost to make reservations, and you’ll receive an email confirmation. Afternoon tea ends at 5:45pm, but we were able to stay as long as we wanted, so this was a perfect time slot! Earlier time slots, you are limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes.
There’s a cloak room for your jackets and bags. The ladies bathrooms are beautiful.
The Thames Foyer is a beautiful tea room! Our server was Alice and she was very nice in answering our questions. We had a 3 hours 4 course Afternoon Tea and it was a definite London highlight for me, my husband, and our 13 year old daughter to experience together. We had a relaxing time, and ordered as much as we wanted. We had a choice of over 31 teas, and we each tried 2 to 3 different teas. The first course is tea. Second course is sandwiches. Third course is pastries. Fourth course is specialty cakes.
We enjoyed the sandwiches and found them filling. My husband’s favorte sandwiches were Coronation chicken on olive bread and the Wiltshire bone ham with whole grain mustard, apple chutney on carrot & coriander bread. I loved the freshly baked raisin scones served with Cornish clotted cream, homemade lemon curd and strawberry preserve
The pastries were beautiful! My favorite was the Savoy Rose — wild strawberry jelly rose scented chantilly, almond macaroon. By 7:45pm, we were full. If you have afternoon tea at 5:15pm like we did, you certainly don’t need to eat dinner.
Afternoon tea is £50 per person. Champagne, soda, coffee costs extra.
There’s a 12.5% service charge that is automatically added.
Total for the 3 of us was £168.75

Let me just start out by saying that I can’t wait to come back here!
The venue was just gorgeous and super old world opulent. High tea at the Savoy, how can you go wrong?!
The scones with clotted cream were heavenly, they were definitely my favorite part. Super airy and light, definitely cannot find anything close in the states. Everything else was delicious to; bf and I couldn’t finish even half of the items on the platter and left completely stuffed.
Our waiter was the absolute best, very personable and just an awesome guy overall.

I need absolutely no encouragement to come to the Savoy, I love it here. We booked afternoon tea for my husband’s parents’ Christmas present, so have been eagerly waiting for this treat.
The Thames Foyer is a beautiful oasis, decadence oozes off the walls. The staff seem to float effortlessly and have some sort of telepathy, tea is immediately poured when your cup is empty and scones and sandwiches magically appear.
Between the four of us we had two afternoon teas and two high teas, with the afternoon tea blend and bubbles all round. What’s the difference between afternoon tea and high tea you ask? Afternoon tea is sandwiches, scones with a selection of french pastries followed by cake. High tea is sandwiches, scones with a savoury dish followed by cake. Both are lovely. I do recommend having a glass of bubbles as it makes it extra special.
My favourite sandwich was the Coronation chicken. The scones are of course served warm with lashings of clotted cream, jam and lemon curd. I love lemon curd and the Savoy’s is delightful, so light and creamy. The savoury dish was smoked salmon with a poached egg served on a toasted brioche, I managed to sneak a bite and it was lush! The tray of french pastries made my eyes pop out! I had the pistachio éclair and a chocolate and salted caramel mousse thing which was divine and incredibly rich. I also got to try my Mother-​in-​laws mango and passion fruit mousse. Feeling very full a beautiful apple and cinnamon cake appeared. This light cake was too much for me and I shamefully only managed two bites, which was very upsetting for me as I hate leaving food.
If you have a special occasion or want to show someone a true glimmer of London glamour come here!

«Posh» is really the only word to describe this place. Utterly, utterly posh.
I figured you can tell what this place is all about from the photos and other reviews, so mine will be concise.
Highlights:
— beautiful décor, classic but not boring
— the bird cage in the middle of the room
— live piano playing
— very attentive servers (so attentive that I feel discouraged to pour my own tea once in a while)
I like the sandwiches and scones better at the Dorchester hotel, but the atmosphere here is definitely more exciting.

Awfully posh for us raggedy tourist types!
Seriously though, I was surprised they let us in, as I was in cargo pants and a long sleeved T, and all the rest of the folks were in at least collared shirts, and of course the staff in tails.
However, in we went and what an experience!
OK, so it is 50 quid for afternoon tea, but it is all you can eat of the most delightful finger sandwiches and scones, followed by pastries to make us fat boys sweat, and lastly a cake selection that floored me.
And all the tea you can drink, which as it turns out was quite a lot.
The atmosphere is of course very proper and hushed, except for the tinkle of the piano, the low hum over conversation and the clink of spoons on cups.
Tea is poured for you as soon as your cup is empty, and by the placement of the pots we felt pouring for ourselves was discouraged, my dear boy.
For an extra 12 pounds a glass of bubbles can be had with it, which we declined as we had some more pavement to pound, and I already felt like aI needed a nap after nearly lapsing into a sugar coma after the pastries…
I recommend booking ahead, although we managed to get a table by lingering about.
Highly recommended, wins coveted and rare 5 stars from me.

I recognize that the class system is still alive and well in London, and that tourists are at the bottom of it. I did not actually expect for the tea hostess to laugh at me when I asked if there were any seatings left today.
It looks like a beautiful setting, lovelier than the Ritz or the Plaza in New York. Of course the snobs have to actually let you in before you can try anything.

Better late than never — fiiinally got to have a proper look inside The Savoy after its 3-​year facelift! In fact I was so overexcited at this prospect that I managed to enter the hotel via some random back entrance by the river and almost crash a wedding (which looked divine btw).
Felt a little like I was walking the corridors of an old Hollywood movie set, a feeling that only got stronger when I finally reached The Foyer where I was meeting 3 friends for afternoon tea. Even without thinking about all the VIPs that must have been here in the past, it pretty much oozes class.
The foyer is light and airy thanks to a glass domed cupola (yep I learned that word on the day), with white Edwardian pillars and throne-​like armchairs to sink into when the sugar coma hits (I’ll come back to this part). Clientele are well-​dressed and well-​heeled, from the lady celebrating her 80^th bday at the table next to us with her husband (aw) to whole families with unusually well-​behaved kids. I also snuck a peek into the sexy adjoining Beaufort Bar, all gold leaf on black walls (one for another visit!).
The service was exactly what you’d expect of such a setting — polite, attentive and I loved how smart the female waitresses looked wearing traditionally masculine tailcoats. Upon hearing we had a birthday they brought out an extra strawberry tartlet with a candle and ‘Happy Birthday’ piped onto the plate which was a sweet (no pun intended) touch.
As for the food, I’ll spare you an essay on the consistency of the dark chocolate and salted caramel cube (it really was quite something though), and just warn you that the risk of giving yourself diabetes here is significant. The finger sandwiches are nice enough but don’t make the mistake of getting extras just because you want to use the unlimited refills. That’s right, UNLIMITED. On everything! Ahem. So yes save yourself for the scones, then the 6 different pastries that come round on a tray (try them all obv, but esp the earl grey and raspberry macaroon) and finally when you’re about to burst you’ll need to find some room for the cakes that pull up on a trolley (banana pecan is the only good choice here).
Having been to a few London teas now, it’s the setting and service that make this one special, and we easily whiled away a Sunday afternoon of girly chat along with about 20 cuppas. I’ve had tastier and more interesting food elsewhere, but they’re certainly generous with it (you’ll need several dessert stomachs) and your sweet tooth will be satisfied for a week. Couple of extra details that really put a smile on my face were the live pianist (who had me at the Amélie soundtrack), the super posh loos (you’ll be putting that yum hand moisturiser all over yourself) and the pretty patterned take-​away boxes (would have been rude not to use one!). Special thanks to the waiter who put a load of extra cakes in ours ;-)

Well we all have highly different ideas for what is special in life. Something that has been suggested to me multiple times, is to have High Tea at the Savoy. This is a truly unique experience.
It is simply one thing to have High Tea. The scones, finger sandwiches, pastries, and the tea. It is altogether an entirely different thing to have High Tea at the Savoy in London while passing an afternoon in luxurious environs.
Pro Tip: Make sure you dress classy. Yes that means suit and tie for the gents and nice dresses for the ladies.
My experience here is simply put elegant and classy. If you have the time and the money for it. It is a truly unique wonderful experience. I hope you do go and enjoy the experience.

Thames Foyer is the official site of High Tea at the Savoy hotel. You simply cannot, in my opinion, visit London and NOT participate in at least one true afternoon tea. It’s sacrilege!
On my first visit to London all by myself in 2003, my very first order of business was High Tea at the Savoy. It was a 5-​star PLUS experience. Everything I imagined and more. You can imagine how excited I was to introduce my 11-​year-​old daughter to this experience when we visited this November.
Sometimes I think nothing is ever as good as the first time. So sadly, for 2011, I only give the Savoy’s high tea 4 stars. The experience overall was still sublime as my daughter and I enjoyed a leisurely tea, conversation, and the live piano music at the grand piano in the central gazebo. The food, however, is what brings them down a star. It just wasn’t great.
First course was a 3-​tiered tray with 4 scones on top, finger sandwiches in the middle, and a bottom plate with clotted cream, lemon curd, and strawberry jam. The sandwiches included ham, egg salad, salmon, turkey, and cucumber. All very bland, but decent.
Next came the dessert tray with chocolate cakes, strawberry tarts, etc. (about 5 choices). OK, but sweets aren’t my thing and even my daughter didn’t eat much. Lastly, they brought a trolley by with English fruit cake, banana cake, and carrot cake. All bad. My daughter normally loves carrot cake, but she only took a bite and then quit.
Summary: A lovely experience. It’s not all about the food. The tea, service, and setting were spectacular. Improve the food, and you’ll go back to 5 stars plus.