popular central and east London spots are taking the caffeinated tradition to new realms.

In London's foodie enclave, Soho, Dean Street Townhouse has pioneered the modern tea experience, available from three p.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Pastry cooks present refined versions of typical English fare like sausage rolls & Morecambe Bay potted shrimps with sweet grainy breads. It is a treat to sit in the dining room, whose original 18th-century woodwork gets a bold kick from furnishings in saturated color -- a cardinal-red leather booth here, a soft seafoam-green high-back chair there.

An established tea spot, The Wolseley, got a funkier brother restaurant over in Covent Garden, with the opening of the Art Deco Delaunay in 2011 -- bringing afternoon tea culture to a neighborhood that badly needed it. Legions of sparkling glassware glow beneath low lighting in a room furnished with deep banquettes, mahogany wood, & antique wall clocks.


The Delaunay champagne tea ($46) persuades lots of locals to splurge. Every day service is from three:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and highlights include house-made strawberry jams and clotted cream, served with an cold flute of Pommery Brut Royal NV.
But the largest splash comes from Modern Pantry, whose head chef, Anna Hanson, trained under culinary stars like London's Fergus Henderson and Peter Gordon. Her light and simple afternoon tea menu, offered between three and five p.m., features not only a retinue of organic teas, but also inventive cocktails like tamarillo caipirinhas and galangal-infused vodka with apple lemonade. Crustless cheese sandwiches are replaced with roasted tomato and herb-marinated feta squares.