This historic mansion, built in 1868, offers tours and tea service for groups with advance reservation. It’s a proper spread of sandwiches, chicken salad in pastry puffs, scones, tarts, and more, all made by volunteers. Every party here is a private party, which means guests get the place entirely to themselves. The wait list is long, so be sure to book well in advance — many fans take spots several months out.

Befitting its location in what might be San Francisco’s highest-end hotel, the Fairmont’s Laurel Court does a pricey but fully loaded afternoon tea on Saturdays between 2 to 4 p.m., with tons of tea sandwiches, scones, tarts, chocolates, macarons, and petits fours. Reservations are recommended.

This stunning, historic space serves one of the most expensive tea services on this list (a whopping $90 per person, which only rises higher if you decide to add Champagne and caviar to the mix), but it’s hard to beat the opulent, chandelier-decked space, which feels like a trip back in time. The signature tea service runs from noon to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays only; there is also a special holiday-themed (and even more expensive) tea during the month of December, if you’re so inclined.

Maison Danel, the sparkly patisserie and tea salon, had a rough opening during the pandemic, but it’s now fully open and serving afternoon tea under a big chandelier. Husband-and-husband team Danel and David de Betelu are also boxing up afternoon tea service for takeout, if you prefer to bring the tea experience home or to a park, and it includes petite croissant sandwiches, plus macarons, and other sweets.

Enjoy afternoon tea at the Japantown outpost of this tea room, located inside the New People mall, or at its second location in Ross in Marin County. The affordable tea service is thankfully customizable to your party, such as adding on a crown craft project for kids, or requesting unicorn cakes or a macaron tower for special occasions (just give the shop at least 72 hours notice).

The Proper Hotel is maybe best known as a dining destination for brunch at Villon or rooftop cocktails at Charmaine’s, but the modern hotel would not want any guests to go hungry between meals. Afternoon tea is served on the weekends, and includes a selection of sandwiches, sweets, and scones, with the option to add on a glass of bubbles. For the holidays, they’re doing a Nutcracker theme, which seems particularly appropriate given the proximity to the Opera House.

This tea room in Alameda takes the British afternoon tradition and infuses it with Malaysian flavors, spreading rendang curry and kaya jam on sandwiches, and folding pandan into chiffon cakes. It’s open for sit-down dining, with a special holiday tea for the month of December. There are also to-go tea boxes, with sandwiches, sweets, and yes, tea, all conveniently packed up (you will need to order ahead of time for the tea boxes, however, so be warned).

A historic fixture of Golden Gate Park, this exquisite garden also offers a small tea cafe, which has always been a largely outdoor experience. The green tea or matcha are accompanied by traditional Japanese snacks like dorayaki (red bean pancake), edamame, and arare (savory rice crackers), as well as afternoon tea staples like lemon bars and cookies. Every order comes with a fortune cookie, which was introduced to the U.S. right here (way back in the 1890s).

While it doesn’t offer afternoon tea in the traditional sense, the sleek Stonemill Matcha is a prime place to assemble your own green-tinted version. Meticulously prepared stone-ground matcha tea — served hand-whisked, cold brewed, or even sparkling — can be paired with Japanese and Japanese-inspired treats, such as matcha cream pie, black sesame cream puffs, and pork katsu sandwiches.

This shabby-chic tea room feels like the best version of a grandmother's attic, with mismatched china, hodgepodge furniture, and even hats you can borrow for the full effect. Bottomless tea can be accompanied by two simple scones, jam, and clotted cream all the way up to an all-out Queen's Tea with sandwiches, crumpets, salad, fruit, and petit fours. There’s a parklet on Church, if that’s preferred, and if there are some hungry folks in your party, there ‘s also “pub fare” such as shepherd’s pie (although it should be mentioned these items do not come with tea).

From the same owners at Lovejoy’s in San Francisco, baby sister Lovey’s in Pacifica also offers tea, scones, sandwiches, and mismatched doilies, but with much easier parking just off Highway One. Afternoon tea is offered on certain days, with reservations required, but as the website notes, there is a “more casual walk-up menu” available for an afternoon pick-me-up.