Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon

Street view

I love Afternoon Tea. I even had Afternoon Tea at the Ritz for my London Hen party some years ago. And a holiday in London is not complete without Afternoon Tea hence our reservation at Fortnum and Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon (formerly St James’s Restaurant) on the 4th floor. Of course we arrived early enough to do a spot of shopping first and reminisced past visits especially their Christmas shopping event nights. The restaurant however was renovated last year and on the 1st March 2012 HM The Queen accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge re-opened the salon.

Food Hall 1

Food Hall 2

Stepping out of the lift the sound of a piano being played wafted around us and we were warmly greeted by staff. After a few minutes we were seated at our table absorbing the elegant ambience of the room. I loved the blue colour theme they have, similar to Tiffany’s and Co and a tea set I bought from Buckingham Palace when I worked there. But that’s another story. Being mid-week it wasn’t too busy and we were under no time limit pressure.

Pianist

Inside View

Between the 4 of us we ordered 2 Afternoon Teas £40 , 1 Savoury Afternoon Tea £42 and a Children’s Afternoon Tea £20. (Click on each to see the full menu) The Savoury Afternoon Tea is a great idea for those who prefer savoury treats and would normally shy away from High Tea events. The 20 page Tea menu comprises of 81 different tea choices which is rather overwhelming at first but a brief summary of each makes choosing easier.

Before too long our table was graced by tiered trays and pots of tea. After oohing and aahing each others stand we debated what we were going to eat first. For me, high tea always begins from the bottom up. So I dined on finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and delicate cakes that adorned my top tier. Our sandwiches and scones were replenished and we were offered cakes from the cake trolley which we all declined feeling rather full at this stage. Our pots of tea were also replenished and I am a fan of their ‘Royal Blend’ which I can fortunately purchase from the David Jones Perth City store. Their bottled water states it is ‘delightfully still’