The Orangery

Anticlimatic. Great View and location but the food fell short for me. Considering how much it was and the fact that I was in London, I was expecting better. Again, call me spoiled but I’ve been to several high tea places in California and it pretty much was at a similar caliber and cheaper in the states… eeks.
Bathroom is far from the dining area so that was annoying.

Wonderful afternoon tea at The Orangery! Kensington Palace was lovely on a sunny afternoon, and the Royal Afternoon Tea menu with a glass of Pimm’s were exactly what you want on such a day. Really nice experience.

Such a lovely location and setting… but such a disappointment. We arrived at (4:30pm) with a reservation that was happily accepted. However, it became clear that The Orangery was «closing» shortly. They were not kidding. The sandwiches and assorted pastries were stale, odd ones placed on our plates as some items had clearly run out. The real shock, that compels me to write this review… we were unable to get more hot water for our tea. As I stated earlier, and our server reminded us, they were closing. We barely squeaked in our tea in under an hour.
Not what one would expect for £104.
Go elsewhere.anywhere.

Not only is The Orangery a beautiful venue for afternoon tea, but Kensington Gardens is a fantastic backdrop! What an experience to walk the gardens and see how lucky the English are to have such a wonderful area to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.
The Orangery has massive windows that allows for natural lighting. The high quality of tea service is outstanding. Simply sitting and sipping tea at the Orangery makes one feel like royalty. If you are looking for top-​notch afternoon tea in a gorgeous setting, then go to the Orangery. I highly recommend making advanced reservations, as there is a long line and wait for drop-​ins.

Touring Kensington Palace and the gardens, is a perfect occasion for an English tea experience. The tea room is lovely! Very palatial with tall ceiling and lots of windows for natural light and a view of the grounds. We opted for the traditional tea. They also offer tea service with champagne.
The pastries were lovely and the scones were delicious! Scones are my favorite.
The finger sandwiches were tasty as well with a good variety of salmon, cucumber, chicken curry and egg. Crusts cut off of course. :-)
The tea was good and served on lovely «royal» china. Service was prompt and friendly. I recommend making a reservation to ensure you get a table. It was a truly fun experience having tea at the Palace. An ideal thing to do while visiting!

Cool looking location. Nice service and food is solid. Tea is very good.
I liked the tea and the sandwiches. Price is good as afternoon tea in other places in London are much more expensive.
I’d definitely recommend it if you are looking for a solid afternoon tea place with a good price.

This place is special. The food and service are probably 3.5 stars but the location more than makes up for it. It is right next to Kensington Palace, in the park. Enough to make all your Jane Austen, Royals, Anglophile dreams come true. I had a croissant with ham and cheese and my bf had the Full English Breakfast. We got there early so there was no wait, but as the day went on it got more crowded. We sat outside with the tremendous view, but the inside looked beautiful as well. A must see.

Stunning location (interior and exterior) and a great opportunity to say you had high tea in London. Seriously, I gasped when I saw the building and then when I walked inside. Gorgeous!
Location ⁵⁄₅
Ambiance ⁵⁄₅
Service ⁴⁄₅
Food ⁴⁄₅ (⁵⁄₅ for tea and sandwiches, ³⁄₅ for scones, ²⁄₅ for dessert)
It’s a less expensive tea than you’d get in other places in there city, but it’s a bit pricey to what I’ve paid in other cities. I would have been happier to pay the 30 pounds (roughly $ 55) if it had been all outstanding, but only certain parts of the actual food were primo in my book. The tea itself: perfection. You get your own little pot and out renders around 4 cups, which is standard. The sandwiches were fantastic and easily the best part of the meal other than the tea itself. The scones (one plain and one raisin) were okay, the jam and clotted cream were also okay. The dessert, what I was looking forward to most, was not good. I didn’t eat two out of the four mini deserts. They lacked flavor for my palate, but maybe it’s just me. The food was all very pretty.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I would. It’s a pretty place. I might order lunch instead of high tea next time.

Came here for afternoon high tea while visiting London. I would highly recommend this to anyone coming to visit the area. This is right next to kensington palace, a great way to get here is to just walk, come through the gardens behind the palace. The building is beautiful, high ceilings and an airy feel. We got the traditional high tea with a glass of champagne. The service was impeccable and the food was delicious. This was one of my favorite experiences in London. They will let you sit outside if the weather is nice, but it was chilly on our day so we sat inside.

My hubby had made reservations for breakfast for this place. Quite fast and convenient as you can make them online.
Beautiful scenery, beautiful sunny day. Glad we took a seat inside as the sun was beating down very hard and we were already very hot inside nearby the window. I ordered a fruit salad with yogurt and a black tea (afternoon in the palace). The yogurt in the fruit salad was not sweet, possibly more like the Greek yogurts which I do not fancy too much. My black tea was great. The plateware at this place is so pretty, definitely have a tea over a beer/​cocktail just so you can use the fancy China! My husband got the full english breakfast with eggs sausage bacon and mushroom/​tomatoe. It was not very filling for him and nothing too exciting to report from it. They do serve bread when you are seated and it comes with jam and butter. He also ordered an english iced tea which was very delightful and refreshing. I wanted to order the trio of dessert shots with my order but was told from waitor that I had to wait until 12 to order that since its from lunch menu. (Howver breakfast and lunch items were printed on same menu). We finished our food at maybe 15 minutes before 12. I asked the waitor if I could order the dessert but unfortunate they are quite strict on their lunch service time. We waited the 15 minutes to order he dessert. Well worth the wait tho! Vanilla chocolate and lemon dessert shots were all very rich and delicious! If you love sweets, don’t miss out on them.

We made reservations for afternoon tea, and luckily we did because there was a line out the door by the time we left. The interior is elegant and bright with floor to ceiling windows. There were a number of families and tourists, but they did not at all take away from the experience. The tables are simply but beautifully decorated, and our server was welcoming and attentive. Three of us had the English Afternoon Tea, and the other two had the pork belly and seared tuna.
The Lady Grey was delicious (a floral Earl Grey), although the sandwiches and desserts were just good (not fantastic, but not bad either). The pork belly was again okay, but the seared tuna was disappointing. In general, I expect tuna to be seared rare, but this one was cooked through and on the dry side.
Nevertheless, we really enjoyed our lunch at the Orangery. From the classy environment to the wonderful service, I would definitely recommend afternoon tea at the Orangery.
ATMOSPHERE: ⁵⁄₅
SERVICE: ⁵⁄₅
FOOD: 3.5÷5
VALUE: 3.5÷5
OVERALL: ⁴⁄₅

Afternoon tea at the Orangery is a lovely (and affordable: £26.00) weekend experience. Fairly priced, you don’t feel guilty about splurging and adding on a glass of wine or champagne. The grounds are beautiful, especially the walk to the brick building where you pass through immaculately trimmed hedges and zigzag bushes to get to the main dining hall. The expansive ceilings give an airy and light feel to the space, and the lily-​white walls and lattice windows opening to the patio and garden add to the relaxed and classy atmosphere. The lighting is amazing (no irritating or blinding glare), the royal china is delicate and beautiful – a faint Tiffany blue with gold, and the sweets and savories are made fresh so you won’t run into any dried bread or stale scones. Presentation is simplistic and classy. Add-​on options: Pimm’s, champagne, wine, etc.
Sweets: orange and currant scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam, chocolate and jam cakes, lemon and chocolate mousse.
Savories: egg mayonnaise, chicken wrap, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini bagel, and cucumber and fresh mint sandwich.
Drinks: loose leaf teas, infusions, espresso drinks, miscellaneous cold bevvies like ginger beer, lagers, and juices.
The waitstaff never made us feel as if the affair must be rushed, so we didn’t have to hurry along with our drinks and fare. Reservations highly recommended as the line to get in can range from an hour to two, especially midday on weekends. Patio seating beneath umbrellas is an option as well.

The Orangery is a small gem on the side of Kensington Park, just up from the palace. I like the high ceiling of the dining room with its ornate ceiling trim. It was we were having lunch in one of the wings of the V&A museum. There was plenty of space for our pram. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing.
I thought the food might be second best to the setting, but I was pleasantly surprised. We both ordered the pork belly. This was nicely done. It had lots of tender meat and it wasn’t too fatty. The meal came with apple mash, green beans, fennel and a decent piece of crackling. The flavour combinations were good and it was a decent lunch.
My wife was feeding our new baby and they offered to hold her meal in the oven until she was free to enjoy it. This was good initiative from the server and much appreciated.

Afternoon tea in the Kensington Gardens on a lovely Saturday afternoon — does life get better than this? The prices are fairly reasonable too especially considering the location. Reservations are easy to make on opentable, and the menu is straightforward. I loved the maracon with the pastry basket, and they make it easy for two to share a set.
If tea isn’t your thing, there are lunch options to turn to instead. And the outdoor patio overlooking the garden can be gorgeous if London weather ever cooperates.

Talk about have tea in London! This place is a must! Not only do you get to have to in Kensington Gardens surrounded by some of the most beautiful gardens but then you walk into this picture perfect all white tea room. The only thing we regret is not sitting outside and enjoying the view, but it was a bit chilly.
The tea was great, but I am a huge tea drinker so I recommend the lemon and ginger tea, it suits my pallet. The mini sandwiches were good too! My husband fell in love with the biscuits

Disappointing. Do not go here for tea if you’re hungry. The tea sandwiches taste of stale bread and were so tiny it almost seemed like a joke. The scones were good as well as the desserts, but not worth the £30 I paid.
On a good note, the staff was lovely And the ambiance is quite nice! Maybe I’d come back for breakfast or lunch based in others photos but not for tea!

I’m a tea lover and while in London it was imperative that I experience a proper afternoon tea. A friend recommended The Orangery situated right next to Kensington Palace. As a tourist with a tight schedule, I loved the idea of killing two birds with one stone. I made a reservation online for 3pm on a Friday.
My mom and I were seated as we arrived in the all white room with high ceilings. We opted for the English Orangery Afternoon Tea for £26.00 per person. The china was beautiful and the ambiance was lovely. I chose the lemon and ginger tea and my mom selected the wild berries tea. The tea was accompanied by a three tiered tower of mini sandwiches, scones, and sweets. My favorite selections of food were the scones, chicken wrap, and the lemon mousse (or whatever it was). This was our lunch for the day and we left feeling satisfied. I especially enjoyed being able to sit, relax, and admire the view of the perfectly manicured palace garden.
We weren’t sure how fancy to dress, so we went with black dress pants and cardigan sweaters, others were dressed more causally. I imagine this place would be a great location for a bridal shower or brunch. If only I lived closer!

Great place to take a friend for a birthday afternoon tea. We had the champagne afternoon tea and thoroughly enjoyed it.
We were seated in the room at the very end on the left, with a prime view of the gardens outside.
I think it was because there were three of us, but even though we got there 20 minutes before the couples seated by us, our food took ages to come. Oh well, I guess you come for the setting and the grandeur of having afternoon tea and not necessarily a punctual service!

The definition of English afternoon tea. Beautiful location amongst Kensington Gardens. The building itself is remarkable. Enjoyed the fresh scones and the selection of desserts and sandwiches which complimented the tea service. A lovely experience indeed.

I agree with some of the previous reviews that the price for tea here is overpriced. However, I guess you are paying to have tea at a palace. The Orangery is nice, but the real reason why you should visit is the beautiful Kensington Gardens. The tea was ok, but not great. The service was acceptable. All in all, it was a fun experience to have while in London.
Definitely make a reservation because the line without is a little ridiculous (I was able to make a reservation on their website).

Magnifique full breakfast dans le cadre superbe du château de kensington. Service parfait on se sent comme une princesse. À refaire