Tea Room Near Me in Kensington: Candella's £28.95 Afternoon Tea

Candella Tea Room serves a traditional afternoon tea for £28.95 a head, roughly a third of what the Mayfair hotels charge. It sits at 34 Kensington Church Street, between High Street Kensington and Notting Hill Gate stations, and has been run by the same family since it opened in 2012. Anyone looking for a tea room near me in west London that does not need a special-occasion budget will find more than 50 loose-leaf blends here, poured into mismatched vintage china.

Kensington Church Street climbs north from Kensington High Street to Notting Hill Gate. From High Street Kensington station, on the Circle and District lines, it is a short uphill walk; from Notting Hill Gate, on the Central, Circle and District lines, you walk downhill. The shop is small, so look for the tables on the pavement and the china stacked in the window.

Candella calls itself independent and family-run, and the room reflects one owner's eclectic taste: vintage china that never quite matches and a hand-painted mural across one wall. Reviewers on Tripadvisor note that it is really small, which is part of the charm and part of the challenge. There is no pianist and no silver service. The point is a proper loose-leaf pot and scones in a relaxed room, at a price that makes a weekday tea possible on a whim.

The traditional afternoon tea at £28.95 per person brings sandwiches, scones and cakes together, and it is served all day rather than in fixed sittings. The scones are made with Cornish buttermilk and come with clotted cream. Cakes rotate, but the menu names a pistachio French Opera gâteau and a chocolate and salted caramel torte among the regulars. Adding a glass of Prosecco costs £6.95, and a bottle to share is £19.95, which keeps a birthday tea for two well under £80.

For a lighter stop, the Cream Tea for Me costs £12.95 and is built for a single guest: scones, clotted cream and jam with a pot of tea. It is the best value on the menu and the right order for a solo visit between museums or shops. A pot and two scones also leaves room to walk up the hill to Notting Hill afterwards, which a full three-tier tea at four in the afternoon will not.

Candella stocks more than 50 loose-leaf blends. Three names on the list show the range: Lavender Earl Grey, a black tea scented with flowers; Black Rose; and Cherry Almond Rooibos, a caffeine-free option for children or late-afternoon visitors. If you like a tea, the shop sells it loose: English Breakfast at £11.95, Lavender Earl Grey at £12.95 and Darjeeling at £14.95 a pack.

The sums are simple. Two traditional teas cost £57.90, and adding a shared bottle of Prosecco at £19.95 brings the total to £77.85, before any tip. Two Cream Teas for Me come to £25.90. Compare that with the £80 to £88 per person charged for the Mayfair hotel teas a few Tube stops east, and it is clear why reviewers keep describing Candella as the moderately priced option. Buying a pack of Darjeeling at £14.95 to take home still keeps a visit modest.

Booking is recommended and happens online only: the tea room does not take reservations by phone or email. Indoor tables are kept for people who have booked, while outdoor seats are left for walk-ins. Tables are held for 20 minutes if you are running late, a standard sitting lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, and the maximum group is five. The FAQ states there is no vegan, gluten-free or children's afternoon tea, so check the menu before bringing someone with dietary needs.

The website footer lists opening hours of 11am to 5pm daily, while the FAQ says last dine-in orders are taken at 5pm and the shop closes at 6pm for takeaway. The safe plan is to arrive by 4pm for a full tea. Arriving soon after the 11am opening on a weekday gives the widest choice of tables. If the room is full and you have not booked, try one of the outdoor tables, which are kept for walk-ins.

Inside, the floral mural sets the tone, and every table seems to have a different teacup pattern. The crowd on Tripadvisor is a mix of families, couples, friends and solo travellers, and one reviewer said they chose Candella because it was moderately priced. The travel blogger Candace Abroad took her sister here for her first afternoon tea. Coat space is limited, so travel light.

Not every visit is perfect. A Tripadvisor reviewer in September 2025 rated it three out of five, writing that the pastries seemed a bit stale and lacked robust flavours, and noting the lack of space for coats. Treat the loose-leaf list as the main reason to come. If you are mainly here for cake, order the Cream Tea for Me and a single slice rather than the full stand.

Candella opened in 2012, and its About page describes the business as independent and family-run, with the owner's taste behind the vintage china and the mural. The founder's name is not published. In a part of London where tea usually means a hotel lounge, it has stayed small and affordable for more than a decade, and it features on Candace Abroad's list of affordable London afternoon teas.

Two easy add-ons sit within a fifteen-minute walk. Kensington Palace stands in Kensington Gardens just east of the street; walk down to Kensington High Street and through the park gates. Further west, the Design Museum at 224–238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG, is a fifteen-minute walk west along the High Street and makes a good rainy-day follow-on.

Book online, keep to groups of five or fewer, and plan around the 1 hour 30 minute sitting. Candella suits students, first-time visitors and anyone who wants a real afternoon tea without a three-figure bill. Skip it if you need vegan or gluten-free options, or if you want the ceremony of a hotel room with a pianist.