So after a not-so-good first impression of Fortnum and Mason last month (read my review here), we decided to give it another try a couple of weeks later. It really was a spur of a moment thing – I was standing at the corner of The Dubai Mall LG level, flicking through my handy Entertainer app trying to find somewhere to go for lunch. We must have eaten at every 241 restaurant in the mall by now (someone recommend me something nice and new there!) when I remembered that there was a deal for the afternoon tea in F&M which we haven’t used, yet. AED 245 for two people, unlimited refills of food and coffee/tea if you wish – alright! I gave them a call and the lovely lady said there’s lots of seats, so off we went, pushing the pram across the mall 🙂

So, how was service this time round? 

Better…..much better. Note that this was literally a walk-in so they wouldn’t have known I was that person who wrote about them just a few weeks ago, plus we were in the restaurant and not the parlour this time round 🙂 Staff were friendly, checking in on us every now and then, stayed on for a chat or two when we asked them a few things about the place, and as always the little girl got all the attention. We asked to move outside towards the later part of the afternoon and they were fine with it as well, and got us more tea/coffee and sandwiches to nibble whilst we snapped away. It was a fantastic afternoon spent.

And what about the food and drinks? 

The scones at Fortnum and Mason topped the ones at Al Samar Lounge just the week before (and mum agreed with me). It seems like they get better at each lounge that we go to – from Lotus Lounge (click here), to Al Samar Lounge, to Fortnum and Mason! It would’ve been nicer if the jams were home-made and placed on bowls, but hey, they do their own – packaged in fancy lil F&M jars (which you can take home later, which makes up for it)! I didn’t find the sweets (top tier) to be anything special. Note that you can choose another slice of cake from the ones displayed in the centre table in the tea salon or, from the parlour above – and we opted for their carrot cake (Lime Tree still does it better, sorry) and one other which was not very memorable (we took it home as we couldn’t finish it..). So, I don’t know…… I think “afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason” is more so for the whole experience – sitting in the tea salon, taking a lot of photos, going out to the terrace and snapping another million more, and dare I say – great service, this time round 🙂 The spread itself was average. What I did like was, similar to the Al Samar Lounge afternoon tea – you can ask for refills of your coffee and tea, so more lattes, cappuccinos for the entire afternoon (till 10pm… if you could stay that long!) 😉

Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason is typically AED 245 per person, which makes it much more expensive than afternoon tea at all the Jumeirah properties ( Al Samar Lounge – AED185, Al Fayrooz Lounge – AED 225 ). To compare for an overall experience, I would recommend the Jumeirah (or Anantara) ones over F&M. Yes you get a different ‘view’ here in F&M, so if that’s what you’re looking for, go ahead and splurge 🙂 Otherwise, you could get the Burj Khalifa view as well from The Palace Downtown Dubai afternoon tea at Al Bayt which retails at AED 160 (and is also in the Entertainer).

Price aside, we had a superb time – the staff were friendly, and we all had a fabulous afternoon – thanks to the team, and cheers to the Entertainer, really! 🙂

Definitely a great spot to consider for baby showers if the setting is what you’re looking for – conveniently located by The Dubai Mall, overlooking the fountains and Burj Khalifa – the best spot for photos!

• Afternoon Tea at Fortnum and Mason 
• AED 245 per person (or 241 in the Entertainer) – All food and drinks is refillable!
• Runs from 11am till 10pm at night ? (Link on website is broken so can’t double check…. please recheck with the restaurant)
• Next to Dubai Mall 

Disclaimer : We paid for our meals. All thoughts are our own 🙂