Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason (afternoon tea)

Lovely setting, great afternoon tea with gimmicks.

Still the best afternoon tea for old school service - really love it.

Although expensive at £42 per person the Savoury Afternoon Tea was delicious and it was possible to ask for refills of sandwiches, savouries and scones which made it feel better value for money. Nice setting and good service.

We didn't have a lot of time for lunch yesterday, and remembered a similar situation a year or two back when we enjoyed a tasty but quick-ish savoury lunch in this restaurant up on the 4th floor , my wife booked us in again . When we arrived at 12 sharp, there were just a few people scattered around, and even when we left at 1.15 it wasn't full, so we expected good service and got it. Your food options begin with afternoon tea, pass along to a savoury afternoon tea, and end with a shortish series of plated savoury dishes that I imagine could be described as “three quarter plates”- so not as large as a main course ( and with no sides available) but certainly bigger than a starter or “small plate”. We both settled for a warm salad of Halibut and Asparagus, with sufficient fava beans, peas, fresh mint and bacon to make you understand that this was a proper dish rather than just a lump of well-cooked fish. I'd have been happy to eat this in just about any restaurant, perfectly cooked and nicely presented as it was. I did precede my Halibut with a dish of salmon fishcakes with Tartar butter sauce, which was pleasant enough and nicely cooked although the salmon was not exactly brimming with flavour. I enjoyed the spoonful of a tasty salsa verde that came with it. With a half litre carafe of their house white Bordeaux, the bill came to £73 with service which we were happy to pay given the quality of the halibut dish . We'll come back here I'm sure, but I do perhaps need to stress that this isn't the place to come for a three course meal with sides etc. There re other places within Fortnums that do that, but this is an exceptionally pleasant and comfortable place to be for a fairly rapid course of two at a good standard.

There's afternoon teas and then there's the fortnum and mason afternoon tea. A friend and I indulged in this age old treat in celebration of motherhood, both new and impending. So this was a rather special occasion and one for F&M to really deliver on its reputation. Which I'm glad to say it did, with dollops of cream and lashings of cake to boot. Rather than scoff only cakes galore, we decided to have the best of both savoury and sweet and opted for high tea, ordering the ham hock scotch egg with pea purée and Lobster Omelette Victoria with Lobster Bisque and Shaved Truffle. Well we were at The F&M so we thought we'd really go out to town! Both dishes were the right balance of indulgence and melt in your mouth goodness. The cake selection and vast range of teas really do make it a lengthy decision but our waiter come tea sommelier was kind enough to guide us and even let my friend have a slice of two cakes rather than a large slice of one. The smokey earl grey was unusual and divine. The only quibble if you can call it that, is after the initial gloss and novelty of the pistachio green surroundings you do start to feel like you are sitting in an old hotel ballroom but that's a minor and quickly irrelevant point as soon as you take another mouthful of light and airy orange cake.