Established in 1707, Fortnum & Mason is the place for luxury hampers, tea, coffee and perfect gifts. It is also home to the Traditional Afternoon Tea that can be enjoyed in The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. They are currently running a “Together for Tea” offer (very rare), where you get a free afternoon tea when you pay for one. Here is my review of Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason.

I have longed for their hampers but haven’t quite treated myself to one as yet. As for their condiments, every so often, especially over the festive period I love to treat myself to their unusual yet delicious variety. 

Once we got to the store, we then headed to the 4th floor, home of the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, where we were welcomed by staff. There was a pianist as we walked in and that created a nice ambiance. 

Hand sanitised, we headed to our table. We got two menus, one with the tea collection and one for the afternoon tea. I loved the extra touches on the menu like this one from Tom Parker Bowles cook book, – it’s ‘scone, like gone...not scone, like stone.

Gabriel was our server and he ensured we had a smooth, enjoyable time. He was a great Tearista, knowledgeable and able to recommend tea to me based on what I liked.

Teas & more

I started with the Wedding Breakfast Tea (created to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. )which was strong and went down perfectly with the sandwiches. I followed this with Rose Puchong which was light delicate and made with rose petals.

F&M have a great unique selection of teas. It was one of the first products they sold back in 1720. For those who don’t like tea of coffee( my husband), you can indulge in unlimited rich hot chocolate.

If you fancy something extra you can opt for their High Tea and enjoy a bottle of their special bubbly with your afternoon tea.

For the main event, we chose a Classic and Savoury Afternoon Tea. I have never had a savoury one and was excited especially when I read devilled eggs and sausage roll on the menu.

The grand stands came and we couldn’t wait to dig in (photos first though)! The staff member went through what was on the plate and said everything was unlimited..yup even the Top Tier. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach. 

Classic Afternoon Tea:

You cannot go wrong with a classic version. Traditional sandwiches, warm scones and perfect sweet treats at the end. Here is what we had:

Finger Sandwiches: Norfolk Cured Ham with English Mustard Cucumber with Mint Cream Cheese, Rare Breed Hen’s Egg Mayonnaise with Cress Fortnum’s Smoked Salmon with Tartare Sauce and Coronation Chicken (1953 recipe).
Scones: A plain & fruit scone can with clotted cream, Fortnum & Mason Strawberry Preserve & Lemon Curd (reasonably sized jars).
Top Tier: 5 individual patisseries came beautifully placed no the top tier. There was a selection of fruit and chocolate mini patisseries each with great texture and flavour.

Savoury Afternoon Tea:

I don’t know about you but I always find there is more sweet than savoury in an afternoon tea and it was perfect to have this as an option. Also, the fact we could have a different selection each on the offer was amazing.

Finger Sandwiches: These were the same as those on the classic one. Soft and well filled.
Scones: We received a pea & mint scone served with smoked salmon cream cheese and a scone lorraine served with Fortnum’s Mustard butter. We found these a bit dry and not as soft as the traditional ones.
Top Tier:  This was just the best layer. Deviled Eggs with Caviar, Apple & Pork Sausage Roll, Duck Mousse with Rhubarb Glaze, Wild Mushroom & Truffle Pâté Rabbit Ballotine with Pickled Carrot. Each item was beautifully made. It was so good we ordered seconds and a third of the Deviled Eggs.

At the end, we were offered a slice of either battenberg, rich chocolate cake or  Victoria sponge. Despite being totally full I couldn’t resist the battenberg. Kev went for the chocolate cake. We couldn’t finish it however the staff have takeaway boxes which they can bring over to you.

For more information on Fortnum & Mason and to take advantage of their great offer running until the end of August, visit their  https://www.fortnumandmason.com/.

Fortnum & Mason
Address: 181 Piccadilly, London, W1A 1ER
Telephone: 020 7734 8040

Neha