You need a jacket and tie to have lunch in The Ritz Restaurant. You do not need one to have breakfast in the same room.
The hotel’s dress code is set by occasion rather than by room, and it catches people out in both directions.
The dress code, zone by zone
Jacket and tie required for gentlemen for Afternoon Tea, and for lunch and dinner in The Ritz Restaurant. Jeans and sportswear are not permitted for either ladies or gentlemen in those areas.
Smart casual is acceptable everywhere else: The Ritz breakfast service, The Rivoli Bar, The Secret Garden and the Cigar Shop.
Sportswear is not permitted in any of the hotel’s restaurants or bars, whatever the occasion.
So the tie is tied to the meal, not the room. Breakfast in The Ritz Restaurant is smart casual. Lunch in that same restaurant is jacket and tie. Same tables, same chairs, three hours apart.
And the Rivoli Bar, one of the great hotel bars in London, is smart casual all day. If you want The Ritz without the tie, that is where to go.
Non-residents get half an hour less breakfast
A small distinction with a real consequence.
Breakfast for residents: 7.30am to 10.30am.
Breakfast for non-residents: 7.30am to 10.00am.
Thirty minutes shorter if you are not staying. So a 10.15am breakfast booking is available to guests and not to you, which is worth knowing before you plan a lazy morning.
Lunch is a ninety minute window
Lunch: Monday to Sunday, 12.30pm to 2.00pm.
Dinner: Monday to Sunday, 6.30pm to 9.00pm.
Ninety minutes for lunch service is tight for a two Michelin star restaurant, and it means the last lunch booking is early. Dinner gives you two and a half hours of service, with the last table at nine.
Both run seven days a week, which not every restaurant at this level does.
Two Michelin stars and Restaurant of the Year
The Ritz Restaurant holds two Michelin stars and was named Restaurant of the Year by The National Restaurant Awards 2025.
Holding two stars and a national restaurant-of-the-year title at once is unusual, because those awards usually point in different directions.
Live entertainment runs on Friday and Saturday. Bookings on 020 7300 2370.
The six places to eat and drink
The Ritz Restaurant for lunch and dinner, jacket and tie.
Afternoon Tea in the Palm Court, jacket and tie. Covered in full on the afternoon tea page.
Breakfast at The Ritz, smart casual, in the restaurant.
The Rivoli Bar, smart casual.
The Secret Garden, smart casual.
The Cigar Shop at The Ritz, smart casual, and one of very few places in central London where smoking is still part of the offer.
Four of the six are smart casual. Only the tea and the restaurant proper require the tie.
Three services most hotels do not publish
Special treats for children has its own page, which is unexpected at a hotel with this reputation for formality.
The Ritz Chauffeur Service runs a Rolls-Royce.
The Ritz Butler Service is published as a named service rather than being an assumed part of a suite.
The rooms and suites
Rooms run Deluxe and Grand Deluxe. Suites start at the Junior Suite.
Four signature suites are named: The Arlington, The Burlington, The Prince of Wales, and The Royal Suite, which has a two-floor layout.
Where it is
150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR, overlooking Green Park. Green Park station is directly outside, on the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines.
The hotel sells its own Monopoly set, cookbook and Top Trumps, which is a more playful gift shop than the dress code would suggest.
How to plan it
Jacket and tie: Afternoon Tea, and lunch or dinner in the restaurant.
No tie needed: breakfast, the Rivoli Bar, the Secret Garden, the Cigar Shop.
No jeans and no sportswear for the tea or the restaurant, and no sportswear anywhere.
Not staying the night: breakfast ends at 10am, half an hour earlier than for residents.
Lunch: book between 12.30pm and 2pm, which is the whole service.
Live music: Friday or Saturday.
The Ritz on a budget: the Rivoli Bar, smart casual and no set meal required.
The Ritz London
- Address
- 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR, overlooking Green Park
- Nearest
- Green Park, on the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines, directly outside
- Hours
- Restaurant breakfast 7.30am to 10.30am for residents and 7.30am to 10am for non-residents. Lunch 12.30pm to 2pm and dinner 6.30pm to 9pm, Monday to Sunday. Live entertainment Friday and Saturday
- Booking
- Online or on 020 7300 2370
- Price
- Five-star hotel rates. The Ritz Restaurant holds two Michelin stars and was National Restaurant Awards Restaurant of the Year 2025
- Standing
- An iconic Piccadilly hotel with two Michelin stars, a Rolls-Royce chauffeur service and a cigar shop
How to get in
Jacket and tie are required for gentlemen for Afternoon Tea and for lunch and dinner in The Ritz Restaurant, with no jeans or sportswear for anyone. Breakfast in that same restaurant, the Rivoli Bar, the Secret Garden and the Cigar Shop are all smart casual. Non-residents must finish breakfast by 10am, half an hour earlier than guests, and lunch service is only 12.30pm to 2pm.
Where to go next
Afternoon tea at The Ritz covers the tea in full, and Claridge’s is the one with a festive blackout to plan around.
The hotels page compares the rest, and London dress codes cover the other doors with rules.
Questions we get asked
What is the dress code at The Ritz London?
Gentlemen need a jacket and tie for Afternoon Tea and for lunch and dinner in The Ritz Restaurant, and jeans and sportswear are not permitted for anyone in those areas. Everywhere else, including breakfast, the Rivoli Bar, the Secret Garden and the Cigar Shop, smart casual is acceptable. Sportswear is banned in all the hotel's restaurants and bars.
Do you need a tie for breakfast at The Ritz?
No. Breakfast in The Ritz Restaurant is smart casual, even though lunch and dinner in the same room require a jacket and tie for gentlemen.
What time is breakfast at The Ritz?
7.30am to 10.30am for residents, and 7.30am to 10.00am for non-residents, so guests staying at the hotel get half an hour longer.
What time is lunch and dinner at The Ritz Restaurant?
Lunch runs 12.30pm to 2.00pm and dinner 6.30pm to 9.00pm, Monday to Sunday. The ninety-minute lunch window means the last booking is early.
How many Michelin stars does The Ritz have?
The Ritz Restaurant holds two Michelin stars, and was also named Restaurant of the Year by The National Restaurant Awards 2025. Live entertainment runs on Friday and Saturday.
Can you visit The Ritz without a reservation for tea?
The Rivoli Bar, the Secret Garden and the Cigar Shop are all smart casual and do not require the jacket and tie that Afternoon Tea and the restaurant do, which makes the bar the least formal way into the hotel.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 307 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
