Reviews The Parlour

Such a cute cafe in the mall. Must get a hot drink here as it comes with a cute little baby ice cream cone. Look at how adorable it is! Also order their signature tea blends. So calming and aromatic.

Vegan ice cream and sorbet...SCORE!!! I had a scoop of banana and a scoop of the beetroot with ginger sorbet...Yummy!! It is on par with my own!! My only fault is that the scoops were small for the price. But the beetroot sorbet was especially cooling and pleasant on a hot sticky day.

Tea is very nice (and the cups are too cute), the Fortnum's Favourites afternoon tea set also has great combination of flavours, latte is okay but the baby ice cream that comes with it gives it an additional plus point; and the chocolate cake is the best.

While the English say that there is nothing that a good cup of tea can’t fix, I’m a firm believer that ice cream has even more magical powers than a cup of tea (especially if there a million and one sprinkles on top). After a busy working week I was in London on Friday afternoon so I thought I would take the opportunity to do a little bit of gluten free research and check out what gluten free dining options are available at Fortnum & Mason at their Ice Cream Parlour.  I’ve tried their gluten free afternoon tea many moons ago if you fancy reading my review.

My friend and I went to The Parlour Restaurant at Fortnum and Mason for an afternoon treat, courtesy of the lovely people at Zomato. I haven’t eaten there before, so I was very excited to visit.

I love Fortnum and Mason. I mean, how can you not? It’s one of those places that is a real delight to visit because it is the epitome of luxury – from the food they serve, to all the wonderful things they sell.

I really liked the relaxed and welcoming feel. The ice cream parlour decor was perfect for the setting. I also liked that it was full of pastel colours, yet still bright with bold prints.

As we scanned the extensive menu, we found it so tough to choose what we wanted to eat. We had a nosey at what others around us were eating and it still didn’t help us choose as it all looked so good!
I couldn’t resist taking photos of some of the orders on the counter ready to be served. I was also quite impressed by the size of these, at which point I decided I must come back even before trying anything!

Choosing an ice cream flavour for our sundae was one of the most difficult decisions we had to make on our visit. It made me think that maybe we should just order scoops of every single ice cream they sold… but then the lovely waiter helped us narrow down our options. He kindly offered us a few samples of the flavours.

I got to try the Salted Caramel (obviously) and Fortnum’s Florentines, which was the waiter’s recommendation. And my friend tried Fortnum’s Mint Chocolate (delicious) and the White Chocolate.

The Salted Caramel was delicious! I have a slight obsession with anything Salted Caramel as my friends will know, so I have tried a lot of ice creams claiming to be ‘Salted Caramel’ and I’ve ended up being rather disappointed. But this was actually one of the best ones I’ve tried, so I was quite impressed.

In the end, we decided to go for the ‘Pick of the Parlour’, which was a little bit like an afternoon tea option. It came with a Spinach & Gruyere Tart, 2 scones – one plain, one with fruit, served with clotted cream and jam as well as a Mini Parlour Sundae. Also a pot of Fortnum’s famous tea blends. We thought it was such a great deal; all of that for £19.50 per person.

The peppermint tea was by far one of the nicest minty teas I have ever tried. An amazing intense flavour, yet so refreshing. I don’t usually drink hot drinks at home, but even I was tempted to go downstairs to the shop and buy some myself. I didn’t want our pot of tea to end!

I thought the Spinach & Gruyere Tart was rather nice, and just the right level of savoury needed before we indulge on the sweet stuff!

To be totally honest with you, the scones were ok, but not my favourite. Obviously everything tastes amazing with a spot of jam and clotted cream, but they were a little bit on the crunchier side for my liking. But to be fair, I’ve had the pleasure of trying some of the best scones around London in my time (which isn’t really that long) so it’s hard to compare. But I’m sure this would be a different experience if I were to go for the proper Fortnum & Mason afternoon tea experience (totally going on my list).

I decided to stick with the minty theme as I was enjoying it so much, and went for Fortnum’s Mint Chocolate ice cream for my mini parlour sundae which was everything I dreamed of. Especially with the little bits of honeycomb and the tasty waffle cone-cup! My friend went for the Pistachio flavoured sundae and enjoyed it a lot.

At first we were both hoping these would be as big and beautiful as the ones we’d seen on the counter, but later on, we were glad this wasn’t the case. I didn’t realise how full I was going to be by the end of it. After our mini ice cream samples, the savoury tart, 2 scones and 2 huge pots of delicious peppermint tea… we didn’t have that much space left in our stomachs!

It was the perfect ending to a delightful afternoon treat and we left with full stomachs and a big smile on our faces. The staff were lovely, the ice cream was genuinely tasty and worth a visit for that alone, so I already feel like I can’t wait to go back.

It was one of those rare days 'off', when we dropped the kids at school, watched the eclipse (or not, thank you, clouds) over a hot chocolate, then wandered into Piccadilly for an early lunch and a browse around the shops. We popped into Fortnum & Mason, as you do, to admire (and sample ) the amazing Easter chocolate displays, managing - just - to resist the amazing beehive one for £250...

F&M isn't exactly the local corner shop, so it was amusing to wander round, watching tourists and actual rich people shop. The staff were super - I guess you can't really tell by looking at someone how rich they actually are, so we sampled and haggled with the best of them, without ever feeling obliged. Without actually buying anything...

On the first floor was The Parlour Restaurant. With a little voucher from Zomato (thanks, guys) we were able to splash out on a cream tea and an ice cream. They serve a whole range of different teas. At £5.95 a pot. Yikes! But hey, with a cream tea, you can have a delicious spinach and gruyere tart, two scones with cream and jam and a little teeny ice cream. Though small, everything tasted delicious, and was served warm and fresh. After, we had an Original Dusty Road Sundae - Coffee & Chocolate Ice Creams, drizzled with Butterscotch Sauce & topped with Whipped Cream & Chocolate Flakes, accompanied with Coffee Macarons. Now that was lush. I don't eat a lot of dessert, but if you were a fan of such, this would be £12 well spent. The macaron, in particular, was exquisite, and you can't go wrong with butterscotch sauce. At 11.30am...

A quiet, peaceful yet slightly formal atmosphere, with super-polite staff. An array of tempting confectionery, not least the selection of pastel-coloured ice creams. The decor was trademark F&M green, playful yet genteel. This would be a great place to meet for an indulgent coffee meeting, impressive yet welcoming. 'A truly decadent ice cream experience, the Parlour offers both much-loved classics and innovative new flavours, many found nowhere else in the world. Add artisan coffee, hot chocolate, open sandwiches and perhaps a glass of wine.' Fortnum and Mason is, after all, the grocer to the Queen.

Miles Better Then Harrods!. Great restaurant, Great food, in one of London's top quality food stores.

Fortnum & Mason must be on any foodie's itinerary while visiting London. It is like the Neiman Marcus of foods of London, in that it is pretentious, overpriced...and TOTALLY irresistible. It is housed in the most beautiful building and features wonderful food that you cannot get in the USA...come take a tour with me, won't you? The window displays are laden with antique and ornate banquet tables. And recreate famous paintings in 3D form. These are simply exquisite window displays. Just like the ones at you

The Parlour restaurant is one of my favorite places to go for tea and scones in London. First of all, I love the fact that to get to the Parlour you have to go through the first floor of Fortnum and Mason where you can delight over all the wonderful fancy teas and candy and jams they carry. On top of that, the Parlour itself is adorable. It is painted in pastel blue and other light pastel colors and the walls are decorated with humorous drawings of monarchs happily eating delicious looking cakes and ice creams and dancing around with a white unicorn.

The whole place looks adorable and all the dishes are served in beautiful porcelain tea cups and plates. Everything I've tried here I've loved, the scones are served with delicious jam and their carrot cake is really tasty.

Didn't think cheese on toast and a scotch egg could taste so good. Scones were lovely too. Service was good and staff were very polite and friendly. Definitely will be back

We had reservations for The Experience high tea at Diamond Jubilee at 330 pm, but had just had lunch at Bancone Covent Garden at 130 pm. So we decided to cancel that but to have a lighter meal at the Parlour. There was a queue, but we managed to snag a table after 15 minutes. A shutout to the elderly female staff who wore a face mask. She was lovely and friendly when taking our order and serving the dishes. Anyway, we had the avocado sourdough with chilli, with duo of scones and a pot of Queen Anne tea. We also had a rose and pistachio cake, which was delish if a little sweet. The disappointment was the iced peach tea - for the price of 4.96 GBP, it was a miserable portion. The food was nice, otherwise.

This is one of my favourite places in London for a guilty treat! Although it is relatively expensive with sundaes costing approximately £14, the offerings are delicious and the Parlour is quirky and attractive. Staff are polite and welcoming and the service is generally efficient. There are a number of sundaes on the menu, along with the option to have single scoops of ice cream or to build your own sundae, choosing the ice creams and toppings. We also tried breakfast items this time; Welsh rarebit and pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. Both were delicious. Whilst The Parlour usually operates an online booking system we were told this is not the case in the winter and were indeed seated within two minutes of arrival. It is a suitable dessert restaurant for all the family, and a great place to celebrate a birthday if you love ice cream. On your way out, it is well worth a trip downstairs to purchase an exceptional scotch egg or sausage roll (both of which can be heated up). I highly recommend the caramelised onion or streaky bacon scotch eggs and the classic sausage roll.

Not too bad not too bad...very good service from the staff. Delicious ice cream and food. I booked online and was recognized easily when arriving. Quick service. Nice decors

Such a lovely place for a break! Icecream was lovely and the cake was fresh. Excellect customer service, a must if shopping at fortnum and masons!

This place was good fun. You can build your own sundaes or stick to a comprehensive menu. There’s something for everyone here with indulgent choices including candy floss and Eton mess ice cream to a range of vegan sundaes. I opted for a vegan banana split which has nuts and 3 different scoops of ice cream and I wasn’t disappointed. We booked ahead of visiting but many people turned up and waited a little while to get seated. A perfect retreat for the hot weather.