181 Piccadilly

For many months, furrylittlegnome scoured the internet to find the perfect place to have afternoon tea in London. The most obvious and most popular choice would have been The Ritz or even The Dorchester. Then, furrylittlegnome saw this news item: The Queen Visits Fortnum & Mason.  Gnome’s decision was made and a reservation on Open Table was complete!

Fortnum & Mason is a deparment store in Piccadilly that opened in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. It has held royal appointments for many years. One of its first items ever for sale was tea, and the store seems to know a lot about it.

While the ground floor is home to pastries, teas, coffees and baked items, the first floor is known as kitchen central – it is full of glass and numerous china pieces. There is even a little ice cream parlor located here! The second floor is dedicated womenswear that includes perfume and jewelry. The third floor houses menswear on one side and a fabulous stationery/gifts section on the other.

The fourth floor is now home to the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon that her Majesty opened (alongside the Duchesses of Cornwall and Cambridge) in March of 2012.

The calming noise of a piano player is inviting as you enter and the color of the room is a shade of robin’s egg blue against a light cream wall. The furnishings are exquisite and tasteful.

Furrylittlegnome enjoyed her royal tea selection while waiting for her three tiered plate. It started with tea sandwiches (gnome loved the cucumber and cream cheese) that moved up to scones which, added with clotted cream, prevented furrylittlegnome from eating all of her tea cakes!

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