High Tea in Delhi: Comparing The Imperial & The Claridges

Two of Delhi’s most luxurious 5 star hotels, the Claridges and the Imperial offer afternoon high tea, and I had to try them both! I was not comped by either hotel, so this is my honest review of the best high tea in Delhi.

High Tea in Delhi: The Imperial vs The Claridges

Both the Imperial and the Claridges are very prestigious hotels and steeped in history. The Imperial has always been considered THE place for high tea in Delhi, but then Claridges started offering their own high tea in 2024.

The high tea in both of these hotels is buffet style.

The Imperial used to offer a traditional three-tiered service, but switched a couple of years ago. A lot of people were sorry to see the traditional service go, including me. I was very curious to see if the high tea buffet was as good.

I recently learned that afternoon tea and high tea are different. I apologise in advance if you are from the UK (and if not, just ignore this bit), but these teas are technically afternoon teas, even though they are referred to as ‘high tea.’

High Tea at the Imperial New Delhi

I was a bit skeptical of a high tea ‘buffet’, but I ended up really enjoying it.

After I was seated, my server took my tea order. There were an extensive tea selection, but he recommended the hibiscus tea as a caffeine free choice. It was a great suggestion. The tea was very nice and a beautiful pink! Fresh juices and coffees were also available.

The buffet was set out in the middle of the room, with sweet and savoury items. Warm items were separate at the side of the room. Warm foods included samosas, chicken tikka puffs, pizza breads and scones.

There were lots of different mini sandwiches made with petite brioche, buns, rolls with a variety of fillings. Plenty of options for meat eaters and vegetarians. As for the cakes – lots of choice! Petite pastries, tea cakes, cookies, squares, pudding, layered cakes, and pies.

I noticed the servers were constantly replenishing everything and bringing out fresh items. Nothing was left out too long.

The Imperial has an in-house bakery, so everything is made on site and super fresh. By Delhi standards the high tea was a little expensive, but considering it was all you can eat and the quality and service were so good, I think it was worth it.

High Tea at the Claridges New Delhi

The Claridges just recently started offering a high tea buffet. It’s in Lutyens Deli which is the luxurious all day dining restaurant. This high tea had a more Indian vibe, between the food offerings, the louder music, and masala chai on offer.

I was a little disappointed there was no tea menu, but there were several standard choices and I opted for the jasmine tea (no caffeine for me that late in the day). Coffees and cold drinks were also available.

The buffet was set up in an alcove off to one side of the dining room. The food choices were impressive. Besides quite a few hot savoury items, there were 8 different types of finger sandwiches and small bites. All were vegetarian except for a couple.

There was even a separate chaat station where you could get Delhi street food specialties like papdi chaat and golgappa.

Claridges has one of the best bakeries in Delhi, so the high tea pastries were excellent. Again, there was a big selection: banana breads, cookies, chocolate truffles, cakes, petite pastries and Indian sweets.

After my third plate of food I discovered the soft serve ice cream station. Unfortunately I was too full by then to try it!

Service could have been a bit better, but considering the amount of food on the buffet and variety (you could easily make this dinner), I think it was good value.

The Verdict – Which High Tea was Better?

Personally, I enjoyed the Imperial high tea more. Everything about it was exceptional. The peaceful and beautiful restaurant, the food and the service were all top notch. It was just a lovely, relaxing afternoon.

High tea at the Claridges was very good, but the service was not as attentive, they were late putting out the buffet, the music was loud enough that it impacted carrying on a conversation, and the quality of the sandwiches could have been better.

In summary, the Claridges was very good and had more variety (particularly hot items and Indian foods), but the Imperial was just a higher standard of everything and more relaxing.

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