Afternoon Tea at Vicinity Tower Bridge

Few things say London more than Tower Bridge and Vicinity, a bar and restaurant in Tower Hotel, offers an afternoon tea that capitalises on that with a Tower Bridge-shaped cake stand. This is a good afternoon tea for tourists in London, as you have a view of Tower Bridge from the window, and can indulge in the quintessential English finger sandwiches and scones and a selection of patisserie and petit fours.

My husband I were given a voucher for afternoon tea here some time ago, then Covid prevented us from using it; the hotel luckily offered to extend the expiry date so we were able to finally make a booking just before Christmas last year. We took a day off work while our daughter was at nursery and made the most of it, following our afternoon tea with the Money Heist Experience!

If you are coming here, whether it’s to see the bridge (which is a tourist attraction you can visit) or to go to the hotel or restaurant, I recommend walking from London Bridge if you can. It’s a lovely walk alongside the river and in winter, there is usually a Christmas market which creates a magical atmosphere – and you get a good view of Tower Bridge as you approach.

The restaurant was fairly quiet when we arrived at lunchtime on a weekday but quickly filled up, with what looked like a few office Christmas lunches as well as tourists. We had excellent service from someone who appeared to be the maitre d’; we were given a table next to the window with a view of the bridge and a menu for the afternoon tea. I always think it’s a shame when the menus are taken away once the food comes and you are trying to remember what each of the petit fours and mini desserts are – though in this case I could be forgiven for not remembering as I realised they didn’t match up with what was on the menu. 

I asked the waiter and the maitre d’ then came over to apologise, blaming supply chain issues – I didn’t mind that the cakes were different at all, I just wanted to know what we had in front of us! He told us what each one was, and they were delicious – as was the cocktail that they gave us as a complementary treat and the extra portion of mille-feuilles as they said they were trying out a new recipe and asked for our opinion!

I would recommend afternoon tea at the Vicinity for the food, cocktails, service and view – and at £24.95 per person it’s not as expensive as some of the more lavish, luxurious London hotels, so it won’t blow the budget either.