Fortnum and Mason in London is a British Royal Household Warranted gourmet lifestyle powerhouse with a few specialty dining outlets. One of its highlights is the St James Restaurant which offers mainly traditional British fare. The English afternoon tea is the most popular choice here and those who adore gourmet living should make it a point to experience this when in London.

My wife ordered the Champagne set while I chose the rare tea selection. Both came with an offering of savoury bites, sweet pastries and most importantly, freshly baked scones with clotted cream and home made fruit preserves.

My wife's tea set started off with a glass of Brut Reserve Theophile Roderer Champagne as a palate refresher. For teas, I choose an Earl Grey blend while she opted for Darjeeling Broken Orange Pekoe, a medium leaf Darjeeling tea with a light muscatel flavour.

For the savouries, I had a selection of traditional English finger sandwiches with selections like Cucumber and Cream Cheese, Free Range Egg Mayo, Ham and English Mustard and and Poached Loch Duart Salmon with Mayonnaise. All ingredients were top notch, especially the Loch Duart Salmon which is premium salmon from the pristine waters of Sunderland in Scotland.

My wife got a Welsh rarebit, which is the British version of a Croque Monsieur. It consists of a thick slice of toast drizzled with melted cheddar cheese, cooked with beer and Worcestershire sauce and topped with grilled back bacon. It's a very classic British dish and is favoured as a tea snack.

Once you are done with the savouries, its time to move on to the delicious piping hot scones which are served with clotted cream. Break open the fluffy scones, spread on the butter, add a small dollop of strawberry preserve and bite into a mouthful of fruity jam sweetness accented by a buttery fragrance.

The mini pastries selection were also very good, comparable to the standard of French pastries. The range includes classic fruit tarts, opera, eclairs and chocolate fudge cakes, Paris Brest, etc.

St James Restaurant
Level 4, Fortnum and Mason Place
181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 8040,
Fax: +44 (0)20 7437 3278