Over the summer, I spent a little over a week in Edinburgh, Scotland for an academic collaboration. I decided to see how many afternoon teas I could sample while visiting (oh, the sacrifice!). Sadly, I was not able to get a reservation at the Colonnades at the Signet Library, which other sources highly recommended. Here are some recommendations and insights from the four locations that I tried.
Clarinda’s Tearoom
Address: 69 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8BS, UK
Pros: Homey feel. Delightfully eccentric mixed china and lace. Friendly service. Excellent scones. Conveniently close to many sites on the Royal Mile for a pick-me-up.
Cons: Crowded and quite busy. Clearly very touristy as a result of being on the Royal Mile and near Holyrood House. They have a policy of sharing tables. So if your dream tea is relaxing with a cup and reading by yourself or people watching, this is not a place that you can come to linger unfortunately. No Wifi available.
Price: $
Logistics: No reservations. Probably best to time your visit outside of peak tourism hours.
![](http://noteanoprana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-05-20-14.04.24-1024x768.jpg)
The Dome
Address: 14 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PF, UK
Pros: Beautiful setting in historical building. Free WiFi. Free to linger. Seating until 5 PM, which can function as dinner. Vegetarian menu offered.
Favorite dish: Tiramasu
Price: $$
Logistics: Reservations recommended.
Chandelier inside the Dome in Edinburgh Afternoon tea at the Dome Inside the tea room at the Dome.
Waldorf Astoria
Pros: Vegan and gluten free menus are available. They can also easily accommodate vegetarian dietary requirements. Seating until 5:30 PM–so you can make this into dinner. You can also try as many teas as you want while you are there!
Cons: Expensive and realistically too much food for one person.
Favorite dish: Chutney + arran cheddar
Price: $$$
Logistics: Reservation required in advance. There is a dress code.
Tea at the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh. Another round of delights at the Waldorf Astoria.
eTeaket
Address: 41 Frederick St, Edinburgh EH2 1EP, UK
Pros: Delicious chocolate cake. Free Wifi.
Cons: When I visited they were out of scones and their Wifi wasn’t working. I was really excited about their cream tea offering, so was somewhat disappointed. Moral of the story: go early, before they sell out of scones!
Price: $
Logistics: No reservation needed.
![](http://noteanoprana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-05-25-16.53.11-1-1024x768.jpg)
Conclusions
In my opinion, there is no such thing as bad afternoon tea. I’m not sure anything will be able to beat my experience at the Ritz in London. However, I think the Dome offered the best value for the experience in Edinburgh. Have you had afternoon tea in Edinburgh? What are your favorite spots?