fortnum & mason

Wasn’t it cold and wintery this weekend?

Can you think of anywhere better to have tea and shop for quintessential british delicacies than in the womb of the delectable fortnum & mason? No? Nor can i. When i look at what goes on in piccadilly, it’s refreshing to know that they’ve been there since 1707. Wow!

Ashamedly, i must admit i haven’t had tea at fortnum & mason for years and years. When in the area, you’ll more likely than not find me at the wolseley instead. However, when it comes to buying food delicacies as presents for clients, friends and family i have never gone wrong with a quick visit to fortnum & mason.

What surprised me on this visit was the amount of restaurants and eating spaces there are. I’m not quite sure how many are new but i certainly didn’t know of some of them. As the weather is changing and daylight is getting shorter, it is imperative to be prepared when seeking shelter and craving breakfast, lunch or some afternoon tea.

So here i’ve listed the various eating places within fortnum & mason for you: the diamond jubilee tea salon. This is the refurbished st james’s restaurant that was opened by HM the Queen accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge in march 2012, and renamed the diamond jubilee tea salon. 

Then there is the fountain restaurant. From business breakfast to early dinner.

The gallery is a place for a quick lunch while you’re shopping in the food halls.

The parlour restaurant is a childrens heaven. Ice creams galore, with many flavours not found anywhere else in the world. What’s there not to like?

1707 wine bar. Named 1707 in honour of fornum & mason’s foundation year, the wine bar allows you to order a bottle of almost any wine from the adjacent wine department for only a £10 corkage fee, as well as offering an extensive selection of wines by the glass. This surely appeals to a lot of you!

Phew, one could spend an entire day shopping, eating and drinking at this lavish department store. Let’s have a look what else they offer in store.

As a designer, the sheer pleasure of seeing exquisite packaging design is enough for me to drool and want everything they offer. I find that buying food presents from fortnum & mason goes down a treat every single time. You get superb quality in the produce, great packaging, fantastic gift wrapping on the first floor, proper customer service and all of this at a fair price. What else does one need?

Today i thought of enticing you with some wonderful packaging and some of the products for sale you’ll find on the ground floor.

This biscuit tin is worth buying with or without biscuits. Look at that beautiful raised clock in sublime copper.

And what about this? Their attention to detail is exquisite. I love the brown tin cover against the turquoise rest of the tin. The typography is stunning and everything just works here.

Seriously, i would have the packaging on it’s own and it would still be worth the money. One could store spaghetti in these ones below.

The colours, the embossing. Marvellous stuff!

The magnificent merry-go-round musical tin is just delightful. When you turn it, it does what it says on the tin (yes, people, i do have a sense of humour) While i was there, tons of people were playing with them and it was like being at a concert of musical tins:) I know for sure that this beauty is on my wish list, with or without the biscuits inside. It would entertain small people coming to visit me for hours!

Simple, elegant and hopefully tasty! I think coco chanel would give it the thumbs up.

We must not forget the tea related ephemera that you’ll find here. Talking about tea and related ephemera. For those who haven’t yet stumbled across nicola’s lovely teeandgee site, go and treat yourselves!

Oh, that coffee aroma as you wonder through that department. I personally don’t have the need to drink coffee but do love the aroma. It’s often better than the real thing.

Proper chocolate. Yay!

I probably could have gone on a lavish holiday, for all the money i’ve spent buying these champagne truffles as presents. There is something unique about them and you will never go wrong with surprising someone with one of these beauties. Of course, if your budget stretches, go the full monty and add the champagne.

Am i the only sucker for beautiful packaging???

For the little ones.

I’m not a fan of blue stilton but i ask you, would you say no to that pot?

A honey house. It was difficult to photograph but i think you get the gist.

I want one of these cardboard replicas of the front of the store as an advent calendar. Can anyone organise it for me? Ta.

Of course, we must not forget the most wanted gift for christmas. A fortnum & mason hamper. This is the ultimate gift. 

An for those of you celebrating halloween, why not join them on their peerless pumpkin carving competitions this coming wednesday?

I know that some of my christmas shopping will be sorted. How about you? Any plans yet of where to shop? Have you got your wish list ready? Happy halloween. I hope this injection of colour will brighten up your week.