Every now and then, the Lady M Presents team are lucky enough to attend an event which leaves us with an inner glow of profound happiness. It’s with this in mind that I have the pleasure of telling you all about the launch of Fortnum & Mason’s new Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.
Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon
Stepping over the threshold into the cosy embrace of Fortnum & Mason’s is an experience I’ve been enchanted by since my parents took me there when I was small. I’m afraid to say I was much more bewitched by the rows of flavoured teas in pretty tins than I had been by the Royal Academy of Arts, which my parents had also taken me to. Many years on, I still have a little surge of excitement as I step through the door, my eyes eagerly taking in the soft lighting and rows of jewel-like boxes. Fortnum’s is to me what Tiffany’s was to Holly Golightly. The comforting place you tuck yourself away in when the stresses and strains of life are a little too much. It’s a gleaming bastion of Englishness and soothing to the soul.
Now, there’s an exciting new addition to Fortnum’s: the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Tucked up on the fourth floor, the salon was designed by David Collins studio, and is a wonderland of marble surfaces, warm lighting, and the particular style of elegance unique to Fortnum’s. The set of rooms have been designed in a Georgian manner, reminiscent of Fortnum’s origins in the 1700s. The salon isn’t just a celebration of the Diamond Jubilee, but an extraordinary homage to tea.
To say that Fortnum’s take tea seriously is a glaring understatement. The new tea salon offers over 150 different kinds of tea, all of which are also available to buy on the shop floor. Sand timers are used, with different coloured sands to match type of tea – black, white, green – and these run out when the tea is brewed. The tea salon encompasses not only a restaurant, but also a tea tasting room. If you’re obsessively into tea, this would be an absolutely perfect place to learn more about it. You can hire the room for private events for up to ten people.
On a personal level, I can’t remember the last time I felt quite that level of comfort and happiness purely caused by my surroundings. Despite being a shining beacon of Englishness, it also went some way to fulfilling my Marie Antoinette fantasies; all excessive amounts of pink cakes and champagne saucers, replete with eau-de-nil plates and stiff white napkins. I loved the marble cake trolley, and the delicious over-sized macaroons. The cakes I tried were absolutely unbelievable: the moistest cherry and almond cake I’ve ever tasted, with perfect marzipan cherries on top; the re-imagined Peach Melba cheesecake with a disc of peach jelly and fresh raspberries…absolutely out of this world.
I truly believe that going to the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon is something that everyone should experience. The service we had was charming: friendly and helpful, the surroundings were sublime, and obviously the food was spectacular. I will definitely be going back for the full afternoon experience, and I love the idea of the extensive tea menu. I also wasn’t aware until Thursday that Fortnum’s actually run a series of events throughout the year. You can do everything from learning how to decorate animal biscuits, to seeing the beehives on the Fortnum’s roof, to wine and tea tasting. All in all, I was extremely impressed, and reminded of why I fell in love with Fortnum & Mason in the first place. Go here to find out about upcoming events.
The tea salon opens from 12pm, Monday to Saturday, with last bookings at 7pm. On Sundays, it opens at 12pm with last bookings at 6pm, and tea menus start from £38.00. Visit this link to view the menu and to make reservations:
