Monday 30 March 2015

The Parlour at Fortnum and Mason

It was one of those rare days 'off', when we dropped the kids at school, watched the eclipse (or not, thank you, clouds) over a hot chocolate, then wandered into Piccadilly for an early lunch and a browse around the shops. We popped into Fortnum & Mason, as you do, to admire (and sample ) the amazing Easter chocolate displays, managing - just - to resist the amazing beehive one for £250...

F&M isn't exactly the local corner shop, so it was amusing to wander round, watching tourists and actual rich people shop. The staff were super - I guess you can't really tell by looking at someone how rich they actually are, so we sampled and haggled with the best of them, without ever feeling obliged. Without actually buying anything...

On the first floor was The Parlour Restaurant. With a little voucher from Zomato (thanks, guys) we were able to splash out on a cream tea and an ice cream. They serve a whole range of different teas. At £5.95 a pot. Yikes! But hey, with a cream tea, you can have a delicious spinach and gruyere tart, two scones with cream and jam and a little teeny ice cream. Though small, everything tasted delicious, and was served warm and fresh. After, we had an Original Dusty Road Sundae - Coffee & Chocolate Ice Creams, drizzled with Butterscotch Sauce & topped with Whipped Cream & Chocolate Flakes, accompanied with Coffee Macarons. Now that was lush. I don't eat a lot of dessert, but if you were a fan of such, this would be £12 well spent. The macaron, in particular, was exquisite, and you can't go wrong with butterscotch sauce. At 11.30am...

Pick of the Parlour Cream Tea
Original Rocky Road Sundae
Flat white with Mini Sundae
Spinach and Gruyere Tart

A quiet, peaceful yet slightly formal atmosphere, with super-polite staff. An array of tempting confectionery, not least the selection of pastel-coloured ice creams. The decor was trademark F&M green, playful yet genteel. This would be a great place to meet for an indulgent coffee meeting, impressive yet welcoming. 'A truly decadent ice cream experience, the Parlour offers both much-loved classics and innovative new flavours, many found nowhere else in the world. Add artisan coffee, hot chocolate, open sandwiches and perhaps a glass of wine.' Fortnum and Mason is, after all, the grocer to the Queen.


The Parlour Restaurant
Fortnum & Mason
181 Piccadilly
W1A 1ER
020 3095 5832






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