Let me take you back to 2008. I am in college. I have finals. I have responsibilities. I have a Julia Quinn novel open under my desk and I am absolutely not studying.

I binged the entire Bridgerton series that way. Hidden from the clinical instructors, ignored alongside homework, consumed at a speed that should have concerned someone. And then life moved on, as it does, and I sort of forgot about the Bridgertons the way you forget about a really good dream.

Then Netflix dropped the show and I’m watching episode one and thinking: why does this feel so familiar? Why do I know these characters? Why do I feel personally invested in Daphne Bridgerton’s life choices…

OH MY GOD, I read these in a past life. During finals week 2008. I’m not a fan, I’m a founding member.

So when I found out The Lanesborough Hotel in London was doing a Bridgerton-themed High Tea, my sisters and I did not hesitate. I was in London last March with Ash and my sisters, and I said: we are doing this. We are dressing up. We are going to be posh for an afternoon. This is non-negotiable.

First: The Outfits (Non-Negotiable)

You cannot go to a Bridgerton High Tea in jeans. I don’t make the rules, the Ton makes the rules. My sisters and I showed up in cute, coordinated outfits — the kind you spend too long planning and approximately three minutes wearing before you’re seated and covered in tiny sandwiches. Worth it. Extremely worth it. The photos alone justified the outfit planning.

Me and Ash at Tea

The Lanesborough itself sets the tone before you even sit down. It is grand in the way that makes you automatically stand up straighter and lower your voice. Marble, chandeliers, the kind of soft lighting that makes everyone look like they’ve just returned from a season in Bath. I felt immediately important and completely underdressed at the same time, which is the correct way to feel at a place like this.

The Tea: Regal, Themed, and Genuinely Delicious

The experience is £92 per person — roughly $118 USD — which yes, is a lot of money for tea and tiny food. It is also completely worth it, and I will die on this hill.

Little Ash was still two at the time (he turned three a few months later, which is relevant because I would not have survived this experience with a threenager in a marble hotel — more on that era of my life in another post). He came free, which was both generous of The Lanesborough and an accurate reflection of what a toddler contributes to a high tea.

The spread was fully Bridgerton-themed — every dish tied to a character or a moment from the series. The presentation was stunning. Each tier of the stand felt like a prop from the show, which is genuinely impressive because themed food can go wrong very fast (you know the ones — sad cookie with a blurry face printed on it, labelled with a character name in Comic Sans). This was not that. This was elegant and intentional and really, actually good food.

The desserts were the highlight. Full stop. I’m not even going to rank them because ranking them feels disrespectful to how good they all were. The table went quiet when the dessert tier arrived, which if you know my family, tells you everything.

The service matched the setting — attentive without hovering, warm without being performative. They refilled without being asked. They explained every dish. They did not make us feel rushed for a single second, which is a gift when you’re a group of women who have been waiting for an excuse to sit down and talk uninterrupted.

About That Tea, Though

I need to talk about the tea specifically because it was so good that we bought a bag to take home.

The Lanesborough’s signature tea blend is $40 per pound, which is also a lot of money for dried leaves. We bought it anyway. No regrets. It has genuinely ruined all other tea for me, which is a problem I was not anticipating when I booked this experience but here we are.

If you go — and you should go — do not leave without buying a bag. You will thank me.

Is It Worth It?

Yes. Unreservedly, enthusiastically yes — with one caveat: go with people you actually want to sit with for two hours. High tea is not a quick stop. It is an experience. It is an occasion. It is the kind of afternoon that requires the right company to fully appreciate.

My sisters were perfect. We talked, we laughed, we argued about which Bridgerton sibling we each are (I’m a Daphne with Eloise energy, and I will not be taking further questions on this), we took an unreasonable number of photos, and we left feeling like we had genuinely done something special.

The Bridgerton collab was a love letter to the fandom — and as a woman who has loved these books since before most people knew they existed, sitting in a gorgeous London hotel, dressed up, eating Bridgerton desserts with the people I love most felt a little bit like the universe closing a very long loop.

Worth every pound. Worth every penny. 10/10, would abandon finals for again.

The Details (Because I Know You’re Going to Ask)

📍 Where:  The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, London

💷 Price:  £92 per person (~$118 USD) · Children under 3 free

🍵 Don’t miss:  The dessert tier. The signature tea. Buy a bag to take home.

👗 Dress code:  Smart casual — but honestly, wear something fun. You will want photos.📅 Book ahead:  Reserve in advance — this fills up fast.