Last Updated on September 18, 2026 by Adrienne
Afternoon tea is on the agenda for many visitors to London, and the city offers an incredible number of options. Many are family-friendly, with special children’s menus and themes related to beloved British characters. Here are five great spots for kid-friendly afternoon tea in London.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea at One Aldwych
One Aldwych‘s immersive Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tea experience begins before you even sit down, with an entrance decorated like Willy Wonka’s factory. My daughter was a big fan of the fancy hot chocolate and that they included crayons and a coloring page for kids (the only tea we went to that did that). The savory bites here were the highlight for me in terms of taste, especially the mushroom toastie and the quiche, but, as you’d expect, they go all-out with the presentation of the desserts. Conveniently located in Covent Garden, this is a great place to stop for tea before a West End show (if you want a Roald Dahl double-header, the Matilda musical is currently playing).
Harry Potter Tea at Warner Bros Studios
We added this tea onto our day doing the Warner Bros Studios Harry Potter tour (my full review of the studio tour experience is here). My expectations were modest because we were eating in a cafeteria instead of a fancy hotel or tearoom, but this ended up being a really nice tea and is a great value if you’re already out in Watford doing the studio tour. The attention to detail with the theming is fantastic: the kids’ tea comes in an adorable Hogwarts trunk, and you dine on chocolate frogs, dragon’s eggs and Molly Weasley’s sandwiches. The food is also excellent. The butterbeer scone was the best of the many scones we tried, and the sausage roll was one of my favorite savory bites of the whole trip. My 8 year old and I are both big Harry Potter fans, but this was the second favorite afternoon tea for both of us.
Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
The Paddington afternoon tea bus tour by B. Bakery is a great option if you have younger children who may not be able to sit through a formal tea service. The tea here is served on a double decker bus as you travel around London and the guides point out landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye. We did this on our first day in the city and it was a terrific intro to London. The food isn’t mind-blowing, but it’s pretty good considering it’s served on a moving bus and it’s simple enough to appeal to the pickiest eaters. There are cute nods to the Paddington books and movies in the form of paw print cookies and cupcakes, PB initials on desserts and, of course, orange marmalade sandwiches. The guides were fun and engaging, and you get a really nice souvenir Paddington cup to take home. My 8 year old picked this as her favorite of all the teas we did in London. In addition to Paddington, they have Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol themed teas that are suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. Splurge for the upper deck if you can, you’ll have a better view.
Science Afternoon Tea at The Ampersand Hotel
The Ampersand Hotel is right around the corner from the Science and Natural History museums, and capitalizes on its location with a delightful science afternoon tea. This was my favorite of all the teas we did in London, factoring in cost, presentation, taste and ambiance. The theming is out of this world (pun intended 😉), and includes a set of beakers and pipettes to mix your own welcome drink, a rocket-shaped tea tower for kids, a Saturn dessert complete with rings and liquid nitrogen, and a chocolate “fossil” at the end to dig out of chocolate crumb soil. The food was all very good and just kept coming with one treat after another beyond the traditional tea foods. Just when we thought we were finally done they brought us a scoop of liquid nitrogen chocolate ice cream and a lollipop to go. The decor at the Ampersand Hotel is also beautiful.
Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon
If you’re looking for a more traditional British tea experience, rather than a themed character tea, Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon is a classic for a reason. The food here didn’t impress me as much as at some of the other stops, but the tea itself was the best we had in London and they have a huge selection of teas. The ambiance here is also very elegant, but it’s still appropriate to bring children and they have a separate children’s menu. Make sure you allow time to explore the food hall on the lower levels; it’s worth a visit in its own right.
Other Kid-Friendly Afternoon Teas in London
If these places aren’t, ahem, your cup of tea, London has many other kid-friendly spots for afternoon tea, including a Wicked tea at The Clermont, a Peter Pan afternoon tea at the top of the Shard (London’s tallest building), a Jurassic tea at The Ampersand Hotel if your kids are more into dinosaurs than science, the iconic Sketch, with its pink decor and pod bathrooms, and a Disney princess afternoon tea at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
This post contains affiliate links. If you book a stay through my link, I will earn a commission at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support of Destinations & Desserts.
