Review: Wizard afternoon tea London, with kids

What’s better than afternoon tea in London for families? Obviously a Wizard afternoon tea in London with kids, where you can concoct potions, whip out your wand to try some magic, and eat lots of cake at the same time.

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This wasn’t the first time we’d visited the Wizard Exploratorium in Soho – a few years back, my daughter had gone along for the wand making, shortly after it opened, but it didn’t take much to tempt us back for a magical afternoon tea.

There’s also a Potions Making Experience (for kids aged 5+) on offer, but with a busy day out planned during the summer holidays, this beat a boring lunch hands down – here’s what we thought, in my review of the wizard afternoon tea, London.

London’s Wizard afternoon tea: the experience

Arriving shortly before our booking, we had a chance to play with a few of the working magic wands on display, turning on lightbulbs and debating if unicorn or dragon would be better as the magical core.

There’s also a range of enchanting sweets – or possibly enchanted sweets – with everything from unicorn poo to mind snakes and imitation mice (warning, may make you crave cheese).

Having been introduced to unicorn bartender Artemis, and checking through our dietary requirements, it was time to climb the rickety stairs for afternoon tea – watch out for the pixies along the way.

There are two rooms set aside for afternoon tea, and around half a dozen tables in each, so at peak times they can squeeze in seatings every hour.

Our own afternoon tea was arranged for 1.45pm; a bit earlier than traditional, but just right instead of lunch. Despite the name, you can find slots as early as 9.15am, and they run until mid afternoon most days – times do vary each day though.

It was tempting to stop and have a good look at everything decorating the walls before sitting down – handblown glass bottles, piles of books, empty picture frames (some with butterflies resting on them), peacock feathers, candles, intriguing bottles, chests, boxes with odd dials on and who knows what else.

But happily there’s time to eye it all up later, when you’re ready for a break between treats, as well as finding a few interactive spots to wave your wand.

Our own table was set up ready with a tree to hold all the plates, topped with a glowing dragon’s egg, a glass teapot and glasses on the bottom and a menu tucked between the sandtimers.

If a laminated list doesn’t feel particularly magical, I was very happy to pretend it was parchment with inky flourishes when I read the list of cocktails and mocktails.

Some come served in a mini cauldron, but in the end a Serum of Loose Lips (a mix of peach, citrus, Aperol, vodka and milk, designed to reveal one’s deepest truths) got my vote, while my daughter set her sights on Endless Summer, a fruity mocktail.

But first there was work to be done. The most responsible person at the table was told to take the wand – needless to say, my 11-year-old daughter was put in charge – and to carefully tap out the sequence which would open our tea chest.

Lights illuminated and locks unlocked, and we discovered a small pestle and mortar plus a string of cork topped bottles, all with different teas inside, plus tea bags to fill to make your own perfect concoction, including fruit and herbal blends.

I decided to stick with peppermint, although we couldn’t resist eyeing up the others and crushing a few rosebuds in an attempt to make something new and unusual.

A word of advice: the wand also comes in very handy for summoning charms – including hot water, and later for extra jam.

And before long, tea arrived: not house elves (this is very firmly a non-branded wizard’s afternoon tea) but tray after tray delivered to each table with sandwiches (sorry, sand-witches) and savouries, cakes, scones and other desserts laid out in front of us.

There are several different menus you can choose between, including vegan and vegetarian – there is a supplement of £3 if you choose either of these or the gluten-free option – but beyond that, you can’t make any other changes.

If you have picky eaters, it’s worth knowing that while nothing is wildly outrageous, there’s also nothing particularly simple – cucumber comes with minty cream cheese, for example, while there’s mustard mayo on the turkey ham and cheese sandwich.

This meant I did also get to eat my daughter’s leftovers, including some of her mushroom quiche (delicious!)

Even the pickiest eater will love the cakes though: an orange and poppyseed cupcake with a shimmering swirl of icing, an individual lemon meringue tart, an Elven scone (very similar to a classic one) with jam and cream.

Plus a few more unexpected treats, including a passion fruit panna cotta plus a chocolate macaron with an added pipette of dragon’s blood.

Squeeze it into the macaron, we were advised, or drizzle it on top – or simply squirt it into your mouth. But please don’t put it in anyone’s hair (apparently that has been done). It’s definitely far too good to waste – who knew dragon’s blood tastes fruity?

With our macaron oozing temptingly, unlimited jam and cream, and my potion in front of me, only one thing could drag us away from the table: Artemis the unicorn bartender.

Heading back downstairs to the entrance, my daughter was given a wand and glass, we made our courtesies to Artemis (a pat on the nose and a flourishing bow respectively) before conjuring up a drink of Endless Summer.

Our incantation led to a slightly enthusiastic delivery from Artemis, who snorted some of it over the floor, but apparently the mocktail was well worth a few splashes.

Once you’ve worked through all the plates of treats, there’s time for a bit more wand-waving – this wouldn’t be a magical afternoon tea otherwise, right?

First up, there’s transfiguration: no-one gets turned into a frog unless you’re particularly unlucky, but having started your tea brewing, a few taps with the wand illuminates the area to put your teapot, and you can watch it slowly change colour.

Then keep your ears open for the clue to solve a riddle, and unveil a hidden drawer containing three additional ingredients – add those in, and each glass takes on a whole new look.

Having done that, you can rummage through the extra ingredients and add further extracts to create the perfect potion for you – the maple syrup came in very handy when I sourly discovered I’d been somewhat heavy-handed with lemon juice.

And then there’s one final fabulous foaming frothing cup to complete the meal – although this one you definitely don’t drink!

Imitation mice in hand, we headed back out into the real world.

For more enchanting places to visit in London with kids, check out my pick of the most magical Harry Potter locations in London, from the studio tour to House of MinaLima

Wizard afternoon tea with kids: the verdict

I’ve rarely taken my daughter to afternoon tea before – I know that she has very strong likes and dislikes, and while I love the whole indulgence and elegance of a classic afternoon tea, there doesn’t seem much point splashing out if you have kids who won’t eat half of it.

But while she did pick and choose between the food here, it was easily worth it for the tea experience.

A big fan of all things magic, she loved waving the wand to turn on lights and unlock puzzles, while making the colour-changing interactive teas was huge fun – even if she didn’t particularly want to drink it afterwards.

The staff were great at bringing the whole magical atmosphere to life as well, even the practical information gets an added fun twist to lead you ever further into this particular wizarding world.

And it’s hard to top a drink served by a combination of unicorn and magic wand, after all.

From an adult point of view, I loved the food – and the cocktail – so if you and your kids are looking forward to the food as much as the interactive parts of a themed afternoon tea, you shouldn’t go home disappointed.

If you’re looking to conjure up a great experience for wannabe witches and wizards, this definitely has to be on the list.

It’s also a great option to combine with a visit to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is playing in London only a few minutes from the Wizard Exploratorium

Wizard afternoon tea London: Need to know

The Arcane Wizard’s Afternoon tea costs £42 per person, while the Little Wizard’s Afternoon tea costs £32 per person.

Children aged 11 and under can order the Little Wizard Afternoon tea for smaller portions, or can get the full Arcane Wizard Afternoon tea if they prefer. While we didn’t go home hungry, an 11-year-old could easily finish everything in the adult version (unlike some afternoon teas which seem to have ridiculous amounts of food)

If you’d like more than tea, you can also pre-order drinks to get 10% off, as long as you do it up to 24 hours before your booking, including Bubbling Shot of Death, Signature Potion or molecular mocktail. Gift vouchers are also available.

The timings vary from day to day, with the last booking at 3.30pm on Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, at 5.30pm on Wednesday, at 4pm on Friday, at 1.30pm on Saturday, and 4.30pm on Sunday.

The whole experience lasts around 1 hour 45 minutes. Ours was closer to 1 hour 30 minutes, although there was no rush to leave and we never felt hurried eating our food or whipping up our potions.

The Wands & Wizard Exploratorium is at 26 Greek Street in London’s Soho – if you’re looking for more wizard afternoon teas in London, it’s worth knowing that the previous option at the Potion Room at Cutter & Squidge is no longer available.

The Wizard Exploratorium is in an old building, over five storeys (wand-making is on the top floors) and the rickety stairs mean it isn’t wheelchair accessible.

If you visit in summer, it’s also worth knowing that there’s no air conditioning – during our visit, the windows were open and fans on, but if you’re at one of the tables at the back of the room, it’s pretty hot. If you’re looking for somewhere cosy in winter, it’s almost certainly ideal!

You can bring younger kids to the Wizard Afternoon tea, but under-fives are not allowed in the potion room for the Potions Experience. The Wand Making Experience is for age 8+ only. There are toilets on the first floor, but no baby changing.

There is also Wizard Afternoon Tea in Edinburgh, as well as Potion Making in Brighton,

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission. Our experience at the Wizard Afternoon Tea London was free for review – all opinions are mine (and my daughter’s)

Images copyright MummyTravels

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