AD | Afternoon tea at Villiers Hotel, Buckingham

Are you looking for a spot of afternoon tea in Buckingham? Look no further than the Laura Ashley tea room at Villiers Hotel!

Located down a quiet street in the centre of Buckingham, in a beautiful building that’s rich with history, Villiers Hotel is a truly gorgeous backdrop for a cup of tea and some cake amongst friends.

Whether you’re just after the classic tea and scones or something a bit more special, there is something on offer for everyone.

Afternoon tea in Buckingham is suitable for everyone – just take a look at the menu!

There are three tiers to the menu; bronze, silver and gold. In addition to this, there’s vegan options for each level and even a children’s menu! Whether you’re looking to take your child out for a special treat, having a catch up with friends or taking your mum out for a special occasion, Villiers Hotel afternoon tea menu has something for everyone.

Bronze afternoon tea – The bronze afternoon tea provides the classic offering of scones and tea. You get one fruit scone and one plain scone with jam and cream, plus tea, for £12.50 per person.

Silver lighter afternoon tea – Want a little more than a scone? The silver afternoon tea offers the perfect selection of cakes and sandwiches; three sandwiches and three cakes will accompany your scones for £24.00 per person.

Gold afternoon tea ‘full traditional experience’ – This is the full shebang! A real treat to celebrate something special. For the gold afternoon tea you receive five cakes, five sandwiches and two scones for £36.00 per person.

Children’s menu – The children’s menu is super fun! It is made up of a plain scone with jam, a brownie, strawberry jelly, a macaron, a sandwich, a mini pizza, a baby chino and then either a hot chocolate or a milkshake.

There are vegan alternatives available for all menus, including the children’s.

All that food is going to need to be washed down with something just as delicious…

The afternoon tea in Buckingham isn’t just comprised of delicious food, but also has a spectacular tea offering too. With a broad selection of loose leaf teas, you can go for something more classic, like the English Breakfast or the Earl Grey, or try something you may not have had before, like the Jin Xuan from Taiwan or the Bai Mudan.

All the tea is included in the price. You can switch between tea options throughout your meal and try all the flavours! But don’t worry if tea isn’t your thing. You can have a variety of coffees, soft drinks or hot chocolate. If you’re out celebrating, why not treat yourself to a glass of prosecco or bottle of champagne? All these drinks come at an additional cost.

You can find the full menu here.

So what did we think of our afternoon tea in Buckingham?

We really enjoyed ourselves! The Laura Ashley tea room at Villiers Hotel is just stunning. It’s spotlessly clean and the décor is so beautifully put together. It’s quiet, even with plenty of people there, and the atmosphere is relaxing and calm, with soft jazz music drifting through the air. A real dreamy setting for afternoon tea.

The staff are friendly and helpful and provide service with a genuine smile.

And the food. The food, the food, the food. How we loved the food.

There were some things I was a little reluctant to try – chicken liver, for one. But every single morsel was delicious. We both had the gold afternoon tea and found that once we had consumed it all, we were left feeling as full as if we’d had a ‘proper’ meal. This came as a pleasant surprise to us!

My personal favourites were the chocolate and raspberry bouchon, the mini smoked salmon with cream cheese and watercress and the scones! Light, fluffy and absolutely delicious with thick clotted cream and jam (in that order, of course!)

And what about the price?

There’s no denying that at £72, the gold afternoon tea for two people is a top tier treat. It’s not something you could splash out on every day. But that’s what I like about the menu – you have the different levels. You can spend £25 for a simpler version of the tea for two, if you want a more casual catch up with friends that still has a special feel to it because of the gorgeous setting. The different levels to the menu make the afternoon tea more accessible, I feel.

After our visit, I compared the prices with other afternoon tea menus in the area and they are all within the same price range. With that in mind, plus the tiered offerings, I think pricing at Villiers is fair.

What else do you need to know?

• There is free parking available for Villiers customers. Don’t forget to input your registration using the tablet at the front desk. If the car park is full, there is limited amounts of parking within the centre of Buckingham.
• I wouldn’t say it’s completely accessible, as the corridor from the front desk to the tea room is quite narrow. I’m not sure if a wheelchair would fit down here with ease, but I don’t use a wheelchair myself so if in doubt, it might be useful to call ahead and check. Additionally, the Villiers car park has a direct route to the tea room that is down stairs and across cobbles, so not accessible. However, if you took the longer route out of the car park and down the street to the front of the hotel, that would be a more wheelchair-friendly route.
• You must ask in advance about allergens. There are vegan options, so dairy free is more obvious, but for something like a nut allergy, it’s not labelled on the menu and its advised that you speak to staff first.
• They are open from 12pm-6pm every day.

I would definitely visit the Laura Ashley tea rooms at Villiers Hotel again for some afternoon tea in Buckingham. I loved the location, the venue, the food. It was all really brilliant and I think it would be the perfect place to celebrate a birthday with your girlfriends, or a baby shower, or just a catch up with your mum friends away from the kids!

Have you visited the Laura Ashley tea rooms at Villiers Hotel? Have I convinced you to make a booking? Let me know!