Fortnum & Mason - Downtown Dubai

[caption id="attachment_4975" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4972" align="alignnone" width="470"] Gift hampers at Fortnum & Mason Retail Shop[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4959" align="alignnone" width="470"] Family enjoying their Afternoon tea package - Dhs 245 per person[/caption]

Discovered an interesting treasure next to Dubai Mall. A British classic called Fortnum & Mason, one of the oldest stores in Britain which was established in 1707. This is their second branch after the original one. If you look at the history of Fortnum & Mason, they started this store by selling the remains in the palace like the candles but today it's a full blown setup which comprises of a restaurant, tea salon, an ice cream parlour and a retail shop.

[caption id="attachment_4954" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason - interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4955" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason - balcony with burj khalifa view and dancing fountain view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4974" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum and Mason ice cream parlour floor[/caption]

Fortnum & Mason is located in a dedicated building between Dubai Mall and The Address hotel. They've got 3 floors to the building. Ground floor being their retail shop where you can buy some of their souvenirs, biscuits, jams, tea powder etc.  This retail shop had a grand sale when I was there where some items where upto 70% off their regular price. Second floor comprised of the tea salon where you have tea and their savories. The top most floor was their ice cream parlour which was the best part for me at Fortnum & Mason. Both the floors have a nice balcony which gives you a good view of Burj Khalifa and the dancing fountain.

[caption id="attachment_4957" align="alignnone" width="470"] Milkshake - Dhs 50 - pistachio and coconut icecream[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4977" align="alignnone" width="470"] Beetroot Tatin with Goat’s Cheese - Dhs 70[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4958" align="alignnone" width="470"] Mushroom & Tarragon Soup - Dhs 60[/caption]

The Mushroom & Tarragon Soup was perfect in all ways. The breads came in their signature picnic basket. The Beetroot Tatin was one of a kind presentation and it was pretty interesting even to my son who normally would ignore such items. It's that pastry and lovely beetroot puree that does the trick. Their goat cheese was authentic. The ice cream parlour of Fortnum & Mason is very famous and well know for their quality and taste. So I had a milk shake made from a mix of their ice creams which was a combination of pistachio and coconut. The milk shake was so rich and pure that I couldn't stop sipping it till it finished.

[caption id="attachment_4961" align="alignnone" width="470"] Butternut Squash Risotto, Parmesan shavings - dhs 120[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4964" align="alignnone" width="470"] Roast Rack of Lamb with Provencale Vegetables & Rosemary Jus - Dhs 185[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4965" align="alignnone" width="470"] Salmon Fishcakes with Sautéed Spinach & Lemon Butter Sauce - Dhs 115[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4963" align="alignnone" width="470"] Side dishes -dhs 25 - Mashed Potatoes(left) and Mixed Organic Leaf Salad[/caption]

The rack lamb was very well presented and you definitely wanted to get your hands on that one first! but to be honest I wasn't happy with the amount of fat I came across this lamb. The Butternut Squash Risotto was well made but might not be the one for everyone as it is more on the sweeter side. I felt the rice was a little hard too :( Salmon fish cakes were yummy and that lemon butter sauce gave a nice touch to the fish.

[caption id="attachment_4968" align="alignnone" width="470"] Knickerbocker Glory sundae - dhs 115[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4970" align="alignnone" width="470"] Victoria sponge - dhs 70 - raspberry and vanilla[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4956" align="alignnone" width="470"] Sacher torte - dhs 70 - valrhona chocolate[/caption]

Then came the best part of the day which were their magnificent cakes and sundaes. There was no surprise that everyone had a cake or a sundae on their table. The full cakes were kept on the center table and it was really difficult for me to just pick one. I remember when I was given a show around of the cakes, there was this strong gush of smell from the valrhona chocolate when he opened the covering of Sacher torte. You can truly appreciate the quality in these bakes. At the end, I went with their finest and simple cake which was Victoria sponge.

The sundaes had to be made fresh and the descriptions looked very tempting. Not sure what to order I just asked them to get me the most common sundae I could see around my table which was knickerbocker glory, just so that I don't miss out on the happening sundae. The quality of ice creams at Mason and Fortnum is definitely at a higher grade. They say it's english milk churned in Dubai. By the time we ended our lunch almost everyone surrounding us were having the afternoon tea. The scones looked tempting and so we tried a couple of that one as well. It came warm and was one of the finest scones we've had.

[caption id="attachment_4969" align="alignnone" width="470"] Duo of scones - Dhs 65 - fruit and plain[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4971" align="alignnone" width="470"] Royal blend tea - dhs 40[/caption]

One of their other specialty is the varieties of blended tea they offer. They have a separate menu book just offering different types of tea and blended tea. I am more of a karak chai fan which the english can't offer :(   If you are a serious fan of black tea, then you will appreciate this one and you can even find their tea to take home at their retail store below. During my lunch I've noticed many of them were having their famous afternoon tea package starting at Dhs 245 per person.

Click here to visit their official website. Click here to visit their official Dubai page on facebook.

[caption id="attachment_4973" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason retail shop[/caption]

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