Palm Court at The Langham — Restaurant in London

We made an afternoon tea reservation at The Langham’s Palm Court. It was to be a treat for friends from America who have never had afternoon tea. I thought the excellent reputation and rating would guarantee a nice experience and warranted the higher cost.

I reserved a two-hour time slot by phone for six adults and two toddlers. The reservationist was pleasant and helpful, assuring me they were well-quipped to accommodate toddlers. She even anticipatively said they would have room to store prams. She made reserving exceedingly easy. A day before the reservation we had to change to four adults. Making changes over the phone was seamless.

We arrived at the hotel a few minutes early. The hostesses were warm and polite as they welcomed us, took our coats, and lead us to our table. Our friends arrived within minutes. Palm Court has a very high ceiling and is impressively decorated though tables were a bit tight. The room was much louder than expected even as the tables were not all occupied.

 We were given two menus. When our first friend arrived he was given a menu. When our second friend arrived she was not given a menu.

We were asked for our drink choices, and we ordered still water to start. It took 15 minutes for the water to arrive. Then it took more time before the server took our order. We all ordered the afternoon tea and the Langham blend tea. We weren’t served tea until after our first round of sandwiches. Our table was not cleared in a timely manner between courses and tea changes this was particularly problematic as the table was very small for four settings.

The servers are very polite yet inattentive. They would service our table and promptly walk away before we could ask a question or make a request. We expected the meal to proceed at a slower pace, but it was less leisurely and more lackadaisical.

After our guests left, we voiced our feedback. The staff graciously listened and apologized. The assistant manager gave us his contact information. We were also given two tins of tea.

The Good • Polite staff • Elegant decor; They'll give you a stand for purses and bags, though we weren't offered any. • Good food; well presented; ample refills • Child friendly; They have high chairs and children's menu options. • Open to feedback

The Bad • Tightly packed tables; Staff and other patrons will bump into your chair often and regularly. • Surprisingly noisy

The Ugly • Slow, inattentive service

In Short • Chic place to have a tasty afternoon tea, that is…if you can get served in a timely manner. At this price point you would expect superior service, but you won't...

A big overpriced disappointment. The second we sat down we had a stern reminder that we could only stay for 1h 45'. Not the best welcome to anyone looking to enjoy an afternoon of high tea and not joining a rat race. Perhaps it would have been more polite to send that time limitation by email along with the reservation confirmation, spelling it clearly IN WORDS, rather than disguising it with digits, instead of delivering it verbally in person before one has even sat down. I imagine I would not have been the only person to cancel my reservation if I had read the words:"you can only stay for 1 hour and 45' on my email confirmation.

The only reason I agreed to come over to this place, was their offering a gluten free version required by my companion, who found about it through Tik-Tok (that venue should had reaised a red flag, but we were pressed for time). Given the time parameters we had been given, it was outlandish that nothing edible came to our table until 1/2 an hour had gone by. When I asked for an explanation for this unseemly delay I was told that the gluten free option took a lot more time to prepare. Really? Given that I requested it during the reservation we had made weeks in advance, the delay was inexcusable.

After an interminable time, while other customers who arrived after us had already finished their sandwiches, ours finally showed up. Was it worth the wait? No. Mine had a home made look made in a rush, and taste wise were unremarkable. Nothing stood out except their overall blandness. What followed was a sugar maelstrom that felt like a glucose tsunami with each bite indistinguishable from eating sugar straight out of a bowl.

To add insult to injury, mid service and with the clock running, our waiter simply disappeared. We were waving at him frantically for a tea refill, and even though he clearly saw us, he just vanished. I had to ask for the manager to report our missing waiter, and was told his shift had ended but that anyone could help us. But guess what? Nobody did, probably because they were making sure nobody stayed past their alloted 1h 45'.

As for following recommendations from a young tik toker, please beware, the people that post are easily impressed by photo opportunities but their taste buds and taste in general have moved permanently to their phone screens.

I still remember the remarkable morsels I had at the Connaught's high tea a few years ago. In contrast, I remember nothing of what I had at The Langham, except the small folding stool for our bags, our waiter's absence and the insipidness and...

We are a family of four and had afternoon tea to celebrate a birthday. The tea selection, sandwiches, desserts, fruit cake and scones were faultless (£85). My 4y.o. enjoyed the children’s set (£50). Easily in the top three of afternoon tea offerings my husband and I had in the last 10 years.

Unfortunately the service, while friendly, was clumsy (to interpret it in the kindest way possible). In other 5-star establishments, we are always asked “Are you celebrating any special occasion?” - this time at The Langham, having noted that we are celebrating a birthday in the booking form, I thought it was well noted by the staff hence we weren’t asked. Nothing happened and so we didn’t end up celebrating here and by the end of the tea. I didn’t bother asking.

As a Brilliant Sapphire member (Langham’s loyalty programme, second highest tier), we were supposed to get a 10% F&B discount. I showed the staff my membership card through their website as the staff needed my membership number. While the website was showing Sapphire, only a 5% discount was applied. I later went back to check with another staff member who asked me “Are you Onyx (lowest tier) or Sapphire?” She then went to cross check my membership tier with front desk, returned to tell me it was indeed Sapphire, and that the account team will get back to me via email next week to process a 5% refund.

Lastly, when my husband requested our coats back, only his and our daughter’s came back. He had to describe my ‘missing’ coat - a Max Mara teddy bear. Thankfully it was there.

My husband wants to return some time in the future for their brilliant F&B offering, but he will have to go with someone else as I will not. There are many other beautiful places in London with great offerings and much better service.

If you must go… do this: Take a screenshot of your booking form so you keep a record of if you noted your birthday, anniversary, or other special occasions. Double check your special occasion with the staff at the start of your afternoon tea. Keep your nice coats and jackets with you. It might be a tad more troublesome but good to have the peace of mind that your stuff won’t go walkabout. If you have F&B discount, double check before paying. Although your app or website could be displaying higher membership tiers which one would assume to be up-to-date and accurate, you might be given a smaller discount % and it’s truly a pain to sort it out after. Ask yourself if you really...