London: Fortnum & Mason
 

A friend told me this was a good store and we might also want to have lunch here.

Anybody have any rants or raves about the place? Is it easy to locate? Famous for anything in particular? Are there other stores of similiar type we might want to visit?

Haven't been to the store, but Fortnum & Mason teas are the best!
Annette

It is a very elegant department store. The food department is outstanding. I've eaten in the two restaurants and had excellent meals in each (one overlooks the food department).
Fortnum and Mason's is not a place to find bargains. In the clothing departments, the selections are limited but high quality.

Degas:-
Go here-> http://www.fortnumandmason.com/cgi-b...jects/Fortnums

Its on Picadilly and can't be missed.Opposite the Royal Accademy Of Arts (worth a visit by the way) near the bottom of Old Bond Street. Its like the spinsterish great aunt to Harrods, Selfridges & Harvey Nix.

Must admit I love it... not sure when you're over but at Christmastide they have the best department of decorations (far, far, far, far, far better than Harrods!) with exquisite glass balls and figurines hand blown in Eastern Europe. Not cheap but a family heirloom in the making.

Otherwise a diverting hour to be had browsing the food hall and the kitchenware downstairs.

Afternoon tea is overrated and the restaurants are all overpriced IMO. You'd do better eating elsewhere to be honest but it is a quintessentially British Institution and you'll see lots of Godparents taking their godchildren for tea, and busy daughters showing off to their mothers over tea and a scone that moving to London and working in the City has been the making of them (now if only they could land an eligible young man....)

I love the place for its idiosyncrocies, but I'm not sure I could advise a visitor who may already have a pretty full itinery to drop something else inorder to make time for F&M

Regards
Dr D.

F&M is a "must do" stop for me when I'm in London, mainly because I order gifts for friends from the food hall, they pack it up and have it delivered before I arrive home! No need to carry souviniers during your trip. Harrods will do the same thing, but I love Fortnum & Mason for some reason.

Try the honeys, Christmas puddings, fish sauces, candy and, of course, teas!

Fortnum & Mason is a place that I really enjoy. It is definitely worth a visit to look around their food hall. You may want to stop outside the store to watch the clock chime the hour. Mr. Fortnum & Mr. Mason pop out and bow to each other.

I'd pick F&M over Harrod's any day (not that you asked about Harrod's, but you did invite a "rant or rave."

There are 3 restaurants in Fortnum and Mason:

--The Fountain, which is on the ground floor in the rear of the store. It is the least formal, but still nice. Has a separate entrance and is open until 7.45 pm.

--The Patio, overlooks the main floor food hall of F&M. A less formal tea is served here, along with other food.

--The St. James's, the most formal, is upstairs. High tea here is fairly fancy (and expensive).

Fortnum and Mason is a terrific place to pick up teas and upscale specialty foods. The store also has clothing, household goods, etc....most of which is expensive and conservative.

Mayfair and St. James's areas are full of high-end shops. You might stroll through Burlington Arcade, which is just down the street from F&M. There you'll discover that a shopping mall is not a new concept.

F&M is located on the south side of Picadilly (street) just a couple of blocks east of Green Park Underground stop.

David White
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Degas

Please go to F&M for tea and write a trip report about it! Will you be taking the "little wife"?

BTW...we haven't laughed in quite awhile! Hint. Hint.

p.s. F&M makes delicious ice cream sundaes.

Thanks for all the replies - great stuff. Its now on my list for a visit and perhaps lunch or tea.

Should we have tea at the Patio or the St. James? Guess that will have to be a non-fanny pack and white tennis shoe day!

In a word, F+M is as much an "institution" in London as is Harrods albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. Wonderful store to browse through, especially the specialty foods. I've had good meals there, including breakfast, even though it isn't the cheapest place to eat in town. But if you want a glimpse of at least one aspect of "local culture" then the place is certainly worth a look.

David mentioned the Burlington Arcade which was opened in 1819 and is well worth a visit when in the area for the superb specialty shops. Does anyone know of an arcade which preceded it? The Galleria in Milan was completed in 1877.

"The Beadles
To protect the customers and keep out the ruffians of Regency London, Lord George Cavendish founded a corps of Burlington Arcade Beadles, all recruited from his regiment of the 10th Hussars.

The Beadles enforced the Regency laws which prohibited singing, humming and hurrying in Burlington Arcade and, true to this tradition, today's Beadles - resplendent in their Edwardian frock coats, gold buttons and gold-braided top hats -continue to ensure that shoppers uphold standards of courtesy, quiet and decorum."

The website gives a list of the shops.

http://www.burlington-arcade.co.uk/home.htm

My daughter and I loved our visit to F and M in July. Definitely better than Harrods for selection of teas, prices, and atmosphere. It's a great place to buy gifts to bring back for friends. Next time, we'll skip Harrods completely (we had only wanted to go there for the teas, honeys, etc. and were very disappointed.)

Degas

St James would be my vote. You can wear your fanny pack as long as you do not refer to it as a "fanny" pack. They may think you are referring to female genitalia. Not a good faux pas to make at the St. James. Just thought I would share.

Calamari, are you pulling my huge, hairy leg? Fanny pack is really English slang?

I get in anough bizare altercations during my european travels without entering one by innocent mistake!

Never had tea at F&M but my folks got me hooked on their Royal Blend years ago. The only F&M goods I can find here is tea and the ocasional bottle of jam, so it's always a necessary stop. Now if they only had a duty-free shop at the airport... ;)

Degas,

Yes, fanny is slang for vagina. Also, pissed = drunk and fag = cigarette. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a thread on British slang around here somewhere.

I suppose you could say the food hall at Harrods is legendary as is the food hall in the Ka-De-We in Berlin...both great and both seem to be JAMMED. It seems like the whole F+M main floor is FOOD although not quite the jammo "hall" atmosphere...more of a quieter "reserved" kind of experience IMO...and wear what ever you want to....they'll smile and treat you politely, especially when you hand over YOUR MONEY or plastic..who wouldn't..these folks know how to be merchants....with typically understated STYLE...Target (which I personally like) it isn't!
And as to which venue to eat in...take a look at all of them and then decide...whatever, enjoy your visit.

Degas,
Oh, yes, if you can find time for Fortnum Mason go and ogle the selection of condiments, teas, and confections.
(I'm partial to the Lover's Leap tea and to the chocolate wafers w/ bits of crystallized violets. )

After you have your Fortnum Mason fix you might enjoy walking 'round to Floris on Jermyn Street, the street just behind F& M.
The shop is fitted with mahogany cases and has a aura of civility that I , when I was a child, imagined all English shops would have.
Floris makes wonderful fragrances for gentleman and ladies and those alone make the shop worth a visit, but I know that you're interested in the historical tidbits so...
The shop has been on Jermyn Street for more than 200 years and it was a haunt of Beau Brummell .
One of the Floris saleswomen told me this : once upon a time, the Floris clerks would wash the all the coins and press the notes before they were given to the customer as change. Don't you just love it? :-)

Hi Degas,

I had tea at the Patio a couple of years ago and it's very nice but not as memorable as tea at one of the big old hotels (I love Browns or Claridge's -- more expensive but so indulgent).

The main floor, as everyone has said, is filled with F&M's version of the food halls. Wonderful teas and jams, lots of great English Christmas favorites if you're there in the fall -- plum pudding, whiskey-soaked cakes, that kind of thing. You can make up some fabulous gift baskets there and they'll ship them anywhere. Do what I did and ship one to yourself!

Fortnum & Mason is one of the places I wouldn't dream of missing any time I am in London. I stock up on tea. I love the food hall and the china/crystal department. Nothing is cheap there, but excellent quality.
Have a great time in London. And at F&M!!

Cleland didn't title his novel about a prostitute "Fanny Hill" for nuthin . . .

Years ago it used to shock Brits no end when Americans used the word fanny all the time - when they really meant "bum" (bottom). But they are pretty used to us now, and except for sly grins no one will react or say anything. Yanks thought they were being exceedingly polite saying fanny instead of some of the options - and Brits thought we were being REALLY rude.

Nowadays it is a worse faux pas to wear a fanny pack than to say fanny pack :-)