The Promenade

The best tea experience in London. Live piano player, great sofas, nice décor, beautiful flowers, delicious sandwiches and the best fries.

I love visiting the Dorchester for their famous champagne afternoon tea, the sandwiches are always delicious, and you are always offered another round. The scones and tea are equally lovely, and I always leave feeling full! The only fault is the recent change to smaller champagne flutes! When you visit the Dorchester, you expect the highest standard of quality and service, as that’s what you pay for, and I was shocked to discover that the Dorchester would feel the need to start cutting corners! Although everything else was lovely, my last few visits have left me feeling a little cheated, as I am paying the same price, for less champagne.

I really like The Promenade at the Dorchester. My first experience here was at afternoon tea about four years ago when some friends were visiting from the states. I remember being supplied with some delicious tea, some never-​ending sandwiches and some sweets at the end. It was spendy, but definitely worth it.
Before the tea, we ended up at the bar and had some drinks. I remember having an amazing Rosemary Martini, and I always wanted to go back to have another. So fast-​forward to January 2015, and we end up back at the bar before having dinner at Alain Ducasse.
The bar seems very classy and elegant, and it’s also a bit more of a classical/​older style (think the 1920s or earlier perhaps). There was also a piano player playing which is a nice touch. As we went to the reservation, a three-​piece (jazz?) band was setting up to start playing as well.
Unfortunately, the Rosemary Martini was no longer on the menu, but I opted for a liquorice martini instead. And it was really tasty. I also had a modern twist on the classic champagne cocktail which was also highly enjoyable. My partner ordered a smoky whisky drink that was really superb and a sazerac. Not the best sazerac, but it was good.
They also supply you with some mixed nuts and some covered nuts (a few of which are wasabi flavored which is a nice touch). Just be prepared for some hefty prices. It’s not more than we’ve spent at other bars we like, but I’ve preferred drinks from those other places.
However, I’d come back. If not for tea again for drinks. It’s a nice, elegant place to enjoy some drinks with friends and have some light music in the background.

My friend Steve who lives here says this is one of the top 10 places in London to have tea. Ok, so we checked it out. Since we had lunch at Ducasse right next door, it made it an easy choice. If you can’t get one of the coveted tables along the row go to the bar and say hi to Cesar the Portuguese bartender. He’ll take good care of you and give you great stories. Also he’ll give you his tips on good Portuguese food as he’s a food lover as well. English Breakfast, Darjeeling, and their Dorchester bland are all fantastic choices.

The Dorchester has a timeless elegance that is beyond posh. My boyfriend and I had one of our most romantic evenings in London drinking at the Dorchester’s Promenade Bar.
The Piano player is phenomenal, one of the best we have ever experienced. This is the kind of bar you expect to get one drink, but end up settling in for the rest of the evening.
Our bartender Caesar crafted us signature cocktails according to our tastes. I highly recommend the raspberry champagne fizz. This bar is frequented by the rich and famous, but nothing is flashy. We had such a lovely evening, we will return every time we are in London.

This was a birthday treat for myself, and from the moment we arrived to the moment we left we were spoilt. It was the little touches that made the service the best we have had — such as our waiter always being there to pour our tea, asking us if we want more of anything (we ate a lot of sandwiches!) and just being friendly.
As I’m not a tea drinker, I was offered hot chocolate instead and it was lovely. I think there were six kinds of sandwiches (my favourite being smoked salmon and the Christmas special turkey and stuffing) and we were offered as many plates as we could eat. Next came the scones with clotted cream and jams, again we were offered two to start then more (we had to decline at this point just to be able to eat the cakes!). Then we had Christmas pastries which looked and tasted fabulous. Again, we were offered more and we accepted! As this was my birthday they had made a small chocolate cake with two pink candles and the pianist played happy birthday. My boyfriend had also contacted them to arrange a bigger birthday cake for me and it was a Christmas design and was beautiful.
We all loved our experience here and would love to thank our waiter (he had only been there for two months) for helping to make our afternoon tea one we won’t forget.
As this was my first Afternoon Tea experience I fear I have been spoilt — however, I still plan to work my way around London!

Over the Christmas break, we went into The Dorchester Promenade bar for some festive drinks.
Bar staff were really nice/​attentive. The place was filled mainly with people there for afternoon tea so we went and sat at the bar area. (Decided not to go to the actual Dorchester bar as they had carol singers in the Promenade area by the piano which happens to be just by the Promenade’s bar).
First off, the cocktails were good and I don’t mind paying for a good cocktail. But be warned, the cheapest is £16. We stayed for two each and I would possibly go here again, but still think Duke’s and Claridge’s do better drinks at a bit cheaper price (not much mind you).
4 stars goes to the bartenders who were really nice.

It was a pleasant experience dining here, the food is outstanding and the service is excellent. However I did not find the atmosphere very comfortable or relaxing at all.
Despite the restaurant being quite full, it was still fairly quite, so definitely not a place to talk too loud at all. All in all it was a good night out, but for that price tag I can name many better places to eat.

Promenade: (old fashioned) a walk that you take for pleasure or excercise
Located at the plush, pretty, posh place that is The Dorchester, the promenade is literally a hall way, marvellously designed in victorian pieces, you walk in not even knowing that you are at a restaurant, the air is very calming, be it the smiling concierge, the polite waiters, the entertaining pianist, the very impressive seating arrangements, it is all round marvellous (i’m still in awe).
The restaurant accepts reasonable requests (like cheesy birthday songs), the pianist will sing any tune as long as he knows it, the staff smother you with attention.
You maybe digging deep into your pocket, but it lives up to the QYPE