This is Hands-down the Best Afternoon Tea in London

I have always struggled to feel fulfilled with afternoon teas in London when paying such a high price, yet finding it doesn't meet the finest quality to match. But Fortnum and Mason has sealed the top spot, with every pound worth it in my opinion.

Experience

The afternoon tea is located on the top floor, as it is a floor purely exclusive to this experience - it feels separated from the rest of the shop which I enjoyed. I made sure to get there early to admire each floor's goods, and I loved how the excitement built up as we got closer and closer to the top floor.

We were greeted with a live pianist, and the host was friendly and warm, not making us wait after giving the names for our reservation. The classic Fortnum and Mason blue paint on the walls and accents made it feel very luxurious. Our Waiter brought us our menus and reminded us of our option to either opt for the sweet or the savoury treats with our afternoon tea. The range of teas was incredible, and I cannot emphasis enough how delicious the Fort-mason tea was, with orange blossom that had a perfectly subtle, floral flavour that paired so well with the scones and tart desserts. 

We never had to wait long for our drinks, being served our glasses of champagne very soon after being seated and less than a 5 minute wait before receiving the food, they came in a flash. 

The finger sandwiches included the flavours: coronation chicken, cotswold legbar egg mayonnaise, Suffolk cured ham with mustard, cucumber with minted pea, and one with a smoked trout with paprika cream cheese . I think they nailed it with flavours, they provided variety whilst perfecting the classics and also offering more unique tastes. The bread wasn’t dry, instead it was perfectly cut and very soft. The fillings tasted very fresh and high quality.

The scones weren’t too big, they were the perfect size to be able to get to the top desserts plate whilst remaining not too full. You get a plain and fruit scone, which are accompanied by Fortnum’s strawberry preserve and lemon curd. These are in jars that you can take home, and are the perfect level of sweet, especially when paired with the Somerset clotted cream.

The pâtisseries included a dainty rose éclair, raspberry and vanilla tart, strawberry mousse with mint jelly, lemon and lime loaf and a apricot delice. I love how each was small, but the perfect amount to pack a punch of flavour, each offering a different texture (whether very moussey to a firmer lemon loaf). Having each one was intense on my palette with the range of flavours, but I enjoyed how it didn't feel too heavy. If you do not like fruity flavours, I recommend going for the savoury treats instead (includes a scotch egg, trout and dill eclair with fennel and goat's curd, pea and black pepper mousse with caramelised onion, oeufs drumkilbo and Portland crab with compressed cucumber).

I love how they asked us if we would like more of anything, I didn’t have to feel awkward or nervous to ask. Once finishing, they asked us if we would like any refills on tea and this became an opportunity to try out new ones on the menu. We got the peppermint tea, settling our stomachs after the experience perfectly. They also gave us complimentary macaroons that came in an array of different flavours. 

Pricing

We purchased this experience via Virgin experience days, which you can find here (not sponsored). It came to £160 for two, including very good quality champagne. Although pricey, you get what you pay for, a luxurious experience and even more to take home to share (or not share!).

It is available to book Monday to Friday from 14.30 to 16.30, subject to availability. We didn't have a difficult time booking, but if you work a 9-5 Monday to Friday you may have an issue trying to find time unless you go at lunch.

It is an experience that you would want to share with your family and friends, named the ‘Most Instagrammable Restaurant in London’ by the Evening Standard. It was certainly memorable and worth every penny for me.