Over the centuries, afternoon tea has evolved from a mid-afternoon meal to an art form. Few places have mastered it quite like the United Kingdom, with most top hotels offering lavish spreads featuring dainty cakes, finger sandwiches and several different tea options. In the Scottish capital’s luxury hotels and cosy teahouses, the teetering tiers of inventive amuse-bouches, sandwiches, freshly baked scones and jewel-like patisseries are often paired with fine champagnes, the finest loose-leaf teas and innovative cocktails. Here are the best of Edinburgh’s afternoon teas.
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1. Classic afternoon tea at the Balmoral
Best for quintessential elegance
The Balmoral’s Palm Court is the height of elegance. Enjoy afternoon tea beneath its soaring glass dome and Venetian chandelier, the walls adorned with hand-painted wallpaper portraying dreamy sylvan scenes, and tuck in while listening to the soothing strains of a harp. The exquisite tea includes an amuse bouche, sandwiches filled with smoked salmon, chicken pesto salad, honey roast ham and more, and — among the delicate pastries — vanilla chouquettes and roasted pear and ginger cake macaron. The loose-leaf tea menu is a lengthy read with a mind-boggling 88 to choose from, each gloriously named. Who wouldn’t want to sip on Emperor’s Golden Eyebrow or Jasmine Silver Tip? And then there’s the champagne…
Price from £65
roccofortehotels.com
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2. Afternoon tea on board Fingal
Best for a nautical experience
Once used to ferry lighthouse keepers to their remote outposts, Fingal now has a very different role as a luxury floating hotel on Edinburgh’s waterfront. Surrounded by The Lighthouse restaurant’s Art Deco interiors, the afternoon tea experience is all old-fashioned glamour. Fill up on gourmet savouries such as aromatic duck wonton or rare breed pork and apple sausage roll, buttermilk scones with clotted cream and jam, plus sweet treats including lemon curd cake and passionfruit tart. The PekoeTea single estate teas are blended by hand nearby, with a choice of several champagnes if you fancy a glass of bubbly.
Price from £55
fingal.co.uk
3. Scottish afternoon tea at the Glasshouse
Best for a Scottish twist
Behind the show-stopping 19th-century Gothic chapel façade of this luxury hotel, with its leafy rooftop garden and suites named after Scottish distilleries, you can enjoy afternoon tea in the cosy Snug. With a backlit cabinet of almost 160 Scottish whiskies, a Scottish-themed afternoon tea is dished up in front of the fire. Nibble on smoked salmon sandwiches, cheese scones and Scottish macaroons (potato fondant, dipped in chocolate and coated in coconut). You can upgrade to a champagne tea, but for the full Scottish afternoon tea experience sip a warming dram of the signature Glenborrodale Batch 6, buttered oatcakes and heather honey on the nose, chocolate and cherries on the palette.
Price from £30
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theglasshousehotel.co.uk
4. The Colonnades at the Signet Library
Best for bookworms
Enjoy afternoon tea among the fluted Corinthian columns and towering bookcases in this grand Georgian building on the Royal Mile. The elegant salon is a serene setting for one of the finest tea experiences in the Scottish capital. The seasonal savouries, sweets and scones are culinary works of art, intricate and inventive; think hot smoked salmon and kimchi cone, cauliflower and polenta panna cotta, yuzu and passionfruit meringue tart, and chocolate, lime and avocado choux pie. As well as the classic afternoon tea, it offers vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Price from £65
thesignetlibrary.co.uk
5. French afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh — the Caledonian
Best for Francophiles
You don’t need to travel far for a taste of France. In Peacock Alley, once the station concourse of this grand Victorian railway hotel at the western end of Princes Street, traditional finger sandwiches have been swapped for croque monsieur, a Roquefort and spiced pear tart and pan bagnat. Sweet treats include moreish macarons with walnut, Roquefort, whipped ganache and poached pear, chocolate madeleines oozing dark chocolate and truffle cream and a sabayon mousse, coffee and syrup-soaked rum baba. The freshly baked scones also have a continental twist, smeared with apricot and rosemary jam, crème à l’orange and clotted cream. A glass of champagne is a natural accompaniment.
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Price from £55
hilton.com
6. Autumn Harvest afternoon tea at Prestonfield House
Best for privacy
On the edge of Edinburgh you can hide away in the cosy Gothic Tea House in the rose gardens of 17th-century Prestonfield House. This sumptuous summer house was designed for Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday celebrations, the vine crowning the roof gifted from Highgrove. Inside there’s a chandelier, wicker chairs and benches strewn with cushions and a tapestry on the wall. The afternoon tea changes with the seasons. For example, the autumn tea might include savoury pumpkin cheesecake, pulled Ayrshire ham, Arran mustard mayo and apple chutney sandwiches, caramel apple cake, maple and pecan choux and clementine and chocolate tart.
Price from £50
prestonfield.com
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7. Tipsy Tea at the Georgian Tea Room at the Dome
Best for cocktails
A cocktail is paired with each tier of the savoury and sweet treats beneath the crystal chandeliers in this old-world, white-table-clothed, first-floor tearoom. Peach Partea is a heady concoction of spiced rum, peach schnapps, pineapple and lime, the Strawberry & Lemongrass Cosmo a fruity mix of Cointreau and cranberry while the Paddington Punch is topped with marmalade foam. All of the loose-leaf teas are organic and Fairtrade. The Scottish Brew is a full-bodied gold leaf Assam; the single estate Darjeeling goes perfectly with scones. There are also gluten-free, vegan and children’s teas — think ham sandwiches, fudgy chocolate brownies and a glass of milk.
Price from £29.50; Tipsy Tea from £58
thedomeedinburgh.com
8. Afternoon tea at Eteaket
Best for tea connoisseurs
The tea is the star at this turquoise-toned New Town teahouse. Its founder, Erica Moore, scours tea gardens around the world to source and blend the finest loose-leaf tea. The extensive list of black, oolong, white and green teas and infusions includes a Second Flush Darjeeling, known as the champagne of teas with its muscatel aroma; meanwhile, closer to home, the Tomatin Whisky Tea is a blend of Assam, Ceylon and Fujian finished in Scottish whisky barrels. It’s the perfect pitstop for a tantalising brew and afternoon tea, an Earl Grey panna cotta hiding among the patisseries, and a Little Brewers high tea menu for children.
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Price from £22.75
eteaket.co.uk
9. Afternoon tea at The Witchery by the Castle
Best for history buffs
Enjoy afternoon tea by candlelight in this mad jumble of 16th-century buildings nudging up to Edinburgh Castle. Choose between the opulent oak-panelled dining room or the dreamy Secret Garden with its hand-painted ceiling and secluded terrace. The tiered silver cake stands are piled high with haggis bon-bons with pineapple chutney, Scandinavian-style open rye bread sandwiches topped with smoked salmon, cucumber and dill mousse and — for a taste of France — a croque monsieur, along with sublime sweets: passionfruit and white chocolate trifle, dragon cake, and apple, cinnamon and vanilla brioche.
Price from £40
thewitchery.com
10. Afternoon tea at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Best for a royal flush
After pottering around the palace, swing by the cosy courtyard café for a reviving cuppa sipped from specially commissioned pale blue and cream china. The afternoon tea experience showcases the best Scottish ingredients and specialities; think Ayrshire ham and Glenrath free-range egg finger sandwiches, Fife strawberry and pistachio Battenberg, plus freshly baked plain and fruit scones with Scottish berry jam and clotted cream. Gluten- and dairy-free, vegan and children’s teas are also available.
Price from £30
rct.uk
11. The Grand Afternoon Tea at Cheval the Edinburgh Grand
Best for a private member’s club atmosphere
Sink into one of the leather sofas and banquettes surrounded by the warm wood panelling and parquet floors of the Edinburgh Grand’s Register Club, in what was once the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland. It’s now a luxury hotel, and the fourth-floor lounge-bar with its art deco style has a gentlemen’s club vibe. Feast on local haggis, neeps and tattie pie, a warm smoked applewood and white truffle profiterole, and a selection of sandwiches, including hot smoked Loch Fyne salmon. Sweet treats include a toasted lemon meringue tart and Chef Jean Marc’s macarons. Vegan and gluten-free options are also available.
Price from £36
chevalcollection.com
12. Dream Afternoon Tea at the Ivy on the Square
Best for shopaholics
Teeter “Ab Fab” style across St Andrew Square from Harvey Nicks to a foliage-fringed fantasy. The Ivy’s three-tiered Dream Afternoon Tea comes with a flourish of swirling dry ice and more than a hint of theatricality. Tuck into a chicken and truffle mayonnaise brioche roll and pickled cucumber, courgette and basil double decker — a contemporary twist on cucumber sandwiches. But it’s the edible-flower-trimmed sweet treats that are the crowning glory; dig in to a plant pot of honeycomb and dark chocolate, nibble an almond and black bee honey macaron and wash it down with a mango and coconut smoothie — along with a bottle or two of Bollinger.
Price from £32.95
ivycollection.com
13. Red Bus Bistro
Best for sightseeing
Hop on a vintage red double-decker bus to pair afternoon tea with taking in the sights, including Scott Monument and the Scottish Parliament. You’ll trundle up the Royal Mile to the castle, ticking off the landmarks as you go, while tucking into freshly baked scones with whipped cream and jam, sandwiches, mini-quiche, delicious cakes and dainty petit fours. As well as a glass of bubbly, a quirky touch is the signature gin “pot-tails” — flavoured Scottish gins served in a glass teapot topped with edible flowers.
Price from £43.50 (£49.95 with gin)
redbusbistro.co.uk
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