We’re starting our list with the Author’s Lounge at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the oldest hotel in Thailand. Author’s Lounge is a homage to famous writers who have stayed in the hotel since the late 19th century.

Due to its location’s historical and cultural significance, it’s no wonder why the Author’s Lounge has been and still is the best place to have high tea in Bangkok. 

Going inside somehow feels like time travel back to the 1900s. As expected from the oldest hotel in Thailand, the staff of the Author’s Lounge is very courteous and attentive. 

The tea is excellent; they exclusively use TWG teas for the traditional English afternoon tea. They also carry herbal and Asian teas, as well as coffee. 

You can pair your drink with finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries that can be filled with jams and clotted cream.

The serving size is more than enough; however, we would have liked it better if the paired finger food had more savory options.

The Author’s Lounge has white wicker chairs, hand-painted throw pillows, low coffee tables, and ample spacing. If you’re lucky, you’ll even catch live piano music.

We couldn’t help but feel very posh — almost like royalty during our visit.

With this level of elegance, expect that having your afternoon tea in the Author’s Lounge is expensive. We think this is just fair because of the one-of-a-kind experience you’d have in this tea room.

Remember to follow the dress code to enter the Author’s Lounge. Visitors, including children, are required to dress smartly (nothing short!) in closed shoes.

Sathorn Mansion is a cultural and historical landmark best known as the site of the Russian Embassy for 50 years before being turned into a restaurant called The House on Sathorn. This restaurant offers lunch, afternoon tea, and event spaces.

W Hotels currently manages The House on Sathorn, and the Paii restaurant makes its food. Paii also provides the restaurant’s afternoon tea service, complete with two pots of choice TWG teas and Thai-inspired savory and sweet tea pairings.

You can get the afternoon tea service every day from 2:30 to 5:30 PM. You can also have your afternoon tea delivered at home.

During our visit, we loved the tea and food. Do note that because of the quality and status of this establishment, its afternoon tea services start at THB 1450 and can go upwards of THB 4000 (with champagne!).

We also appreciate the conscientiousness of the staff in asking about our food allergies and other dietary restrictions. Customers we talked to attest to the restaurant’s willingness to tailor its meals to the needs of its clients.

With all of these, we understand why Tripadvisor gave The House on Sathorn a Traveller’s Choice Award for 2021. However, a possible deal breaker for going to this tea place is its lack of smoking areas; they’ll send away customers who would try to smoke on the premises.

Siam Tea Room is in the lobby of the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queens Park Hotel. It features a mixture of modern and traditional Thai interior design, which is pleasing to the eye.

It’s open from eight in the morning until ten in the evening. Offerings include breakfast, lunch, coffee, and tea, with bread and cakes from its in-house bakery.

You can order tea and desserts for your afternoon or high tea habit from its menu, but we’re not a fan of its minimal choice of teas under the Dilmah brand. We hope that it will add more selections for customers to choose from.

The servings are ample for the price, so we were satisfied during our visit. You can even ask for a refill of your teapot!

The Siam Tea Room staff offers excellent service. They ask each customer for any dietary restrictions and easily recommend special options. 

However, some customers noted that service could be very slow sometimes, so it’s best to be a bit more patient during your visit. 

If you manage to finish your tea by 6:00 PM, you can avail of the bread and pastries that go for half the price around that time. What a score!

Ronnefeldt is one of the oldest international brands of high-quality tea. Over the years, the German brand seemed to have sat into relative obscurity for the layman and wasn’t commercially popular; however, it still stands strong today. 

It’s a pleasant surprise for us to learn that it has a tea lounge, of all places, in Bangkok.

1823 Tea Lounge by Ronnefeldt is in the Pathumwan shopping district, near BTS Siam station. The lounge is simple and elegant with a modern European tea room aesthetic.

It offers brunch and tea, with cakes and pastries to pair. Afternoon tea sets are available from noon to six in the evening.

Being a showcase of the Ronnefeldt company, 1823 Tea Lounge has a massive collection of great teas for your afternoon or high tea. It also means that 1823’s tea sets are on the expensive side.

High tea would start at THB 750 for one and can go on to around THB 1400 for two persons. Its afternoon tea delivery costs around THB 900.

Unfortunately, according to other customers, some of its food items need improvement. This leads to minus points on our rating.

1823’s staff is also top-notch, each with knowledge and utmost care in serving customers.

Chan and Yupa Tearoom is one of the unique options on our list that’s pretty young, having opened only in 2015. It’s in a two-story building with a very homey feel, complete with greenery rare in that area of Watthana.

The Tearoom’s high tea set is the most economical option on this list, costing around THB 300 a person. Although this tea set is delicious, we couldn’t compare it to the level of ones in tea rooms at the top hotels in Bangkok.

Given this price point, we understand why the tea it uses, though good, isn’t considered one of the luxury brands and comes from tea bags. Some cakes could also use an improved recipe, and the plates they come served in don’t look that special.

Yet our high tea experience’s saving grace is the ambiance and surroundings. We love the quiet, alfresco seating in the garden because it makes the high tea a lot more refreshing than if it were indoors.

The staff of this small tea room is also very friendly and can speak English well. 

The owners of this tea room also operate a spa next door, so we suggest you get a spa session there and have high tea in the Tearoom afterward for the ultimate relaxing day.