Afternoon Tea at The Montague on The Gardens — Restaurant in London

We loved our afternoon tea here! I was recommended by a friend but almost tried another place because of mixed reviews from other tourists on here, and being a tourist myself on this occasion. I’m glad I tried it! I’ll break down the highlights that would have helped me decide.

Because of the day & timing with other activities, we wanted somewhere near the British museum and we needed somewhere we could be casually/comfortably dressed. This place did not enforce a dress code and we did not at all feel looked down on for this. I will say though, everyone around us was smart casual or formal and I do wish I had been able to schedule it at a time when we were as well- but it just wasn’t in the cards. If you want somewhere that feels like a chill, casual garden setting- this isn’t it. This is definitely nicer.

We paid 50% for the experience, 50% for the food. Meaning, the sandwiches, scones and dessert definitely were not worth what we paid. However! Everything seemed refillable, included in the cost- which makes it completely worth it to be honest. We’d do it again.

Taste-wise, most of the desserts & the scones, clotted cream and jam were phenomenal. The teas are great too. I do have more premium teas myself at home, and wish some better ones could have been on their menu. These read and tasted fairly normal! The sandwiches were beautifully presented, but left a lot to be desired taste-wise. They weren’t bad by any means, but lacked any flavor at all and bread quality felt no different than buying sliced bread at a basic store. Bread generally in the UK has been so good that I did expect more speciality breads on the sandwiches: brioche, sourdough, baguette slices, something nicer.

For Americans reading this, it was filling for us!! More than we thought. Having refills helped!

Service is exceptional. I believe the manager or someone higher up served us himself at one point, which is a big signal to me that leadership and their team is solid.

We appreciated this place and would do it again!

** Editing to add constructive thoughts for The Montague on the Gardens, since most of my review was geared to fellow tourists:

My foremost suggestion would be to invest more thought and intentionally into curating items served. The presentation itself is beautiful and professional, but lacks quality and intentionality of taste.

•The scones were good but nothing above average. The clotted cream and jam- top notch. •Sandwiches, as mentioned above, need the most work. Intentionality with quality. Sourcing higher quality ingredients, especially the bread itself. Introduce different styles of bread, not just basic sliced OR if sticking with just sliced, a higher quality one. •Though most will go for the classic choices, my suggestion is still to add a couple of premium teas to the list. •Concerning the desserts, most of them tasted amazing, but again lacked the experience of intentional curation. I am not sure what to recommend here other than to think through how you would love for it to be curated for yourself, and the intentionality you would enjoy in putting the tea together.

Overall, I still give afternoon tea here a 5/5. Excellence that already exists can be either the best or the hardest to improve upon. I’m taking the time to give feedback because of how much I enjoyed it! While I’m not sure when next we will be back in England, I would come again and I even said to my spouse that I hope that in 5-7 years when we hopefully have a daughter/daughters in the picture and bring them to the UK, that this place can be a part...

this is solely for the service; food was excellent I had booked the ultimate champagne afternoon tea as the highlight to end my vacation, but was sorely disappointed.

There was confusion (mostly on my part) upon check-in regarding a deposit, but it was simply to hold a card in case of no-shows. The service started off great, but was gradually became infrequent. 50 minutes into my seating, I was in need of a refill of hot water for my tea, water, and my champagne (which the latter I would have been fine with not acknowledging). I was glanced past multiple times with a visible empty glass of water and tea pot until I requested the server in passing coming back from the bathroom to ask for refills of liquids, as well as sandwiches, as unlimited food is supposed to be included with the experience. The next time I was checked on was a little past the time limit (30+ minutes later), and proceeded to wait another 40+ minutes until a shift change occurred where a new server finally checked in on me (well past my 90 minute window). I asked if I could have one more glass of champagne since I hadn’t been checked on for a long time, and overheard the manager upset, yet not checking on me to inform me himself or ask for context as to why I still hadn’t been checked out. I was reassured by the new server that I shouldn’t have needed to walk to the bar to ask for service because I apologized thinking I needed to rather than waiting like a sitting duck the past 40 minutes like a fool at my table. She apologized as clearly there was miscommunication with the staff regarding zoning handoff during their shift changes. This review is not based on her. If anything, she was a relief to finally provide context so I could ask for the check and finally leave.

With the already included gratuity, this experience is NOT WORTH whatsoever. To clarify, this review isn’t about how much “unlimited” I received during my reservation, but that the service was severely lacking the further into my reservation time it got. I knew it was well past my time, but I felt horribly unwelcomed by what I overheard and wanted to leave as soon as I could after paying my bill, but the service charge is wholly not deserved, let alone the initial price. I would have contested the service charge had I not already felt mortified and uncomfortable about staying at my table any longer than necessary. It left a terrible taste in my mouth to the end of my vacation, and I am genuinely upset to have wasted 184£ and my time on this afternoon tea experience. I do...

Will not return

Afternoon tea at the Montague on the Gardens, with three tiers of sweets, sandwiches, scorns, and savories. We don't have a reservation, but are accommodated in their modest 5-table conservatory with a skylight. The patrons are mostly, if not entirely, Americans.

The location: 5 /5 The hotel lobby and bathroom 4 The conservatory 3.5 The service 4 The menu cover 5 The tea 3 The food 3

The cover of the thin menu is charming, far more attractive than the venue and food. They offer two kinds of tea: black and green, which includes mixed. I tried the Herbal Infusion, which is ok, and Jasmin, which is inferior, a mere supermarket issue in the eyes of a Chinese tea drinker.

The food, except for the smoked salmon, is slightly below average, feeling old and tired, despite being a fan of scones and shortbread. I hardly touched the £8/$10.69 Kingsdown still water, it's really unnecessary.

It's our museum day. Between the army museum and the British Museum, we're hunting for lunch near the latter. The elegant Georgian townhouses, dating back to 1860 in the heart of Bloomsbury, caught my eye.

They're next to the British Museum, on the quiet Montague Street. The hotel is part of the Red Carnation...