A Quirky Afternoon Tea At Mr Foggs Gin Parlour
A Quirky Afternoon Tea At Mr Foggs Gin Parlour
Afternoon tea with Victorian-themed eccentricity (and very good sandwiches)
I know what you’re thinking. There are a thousand places to have afternoon tea in London and do I really need to be telling you about another one? I hear you. But afternoon tea at Mr Foggs Gin Parlour was so nice that I thought I’d spill the tea.
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What is it?
Mr Foggs, which is primarily a bar but also serves afternoon tea, is pretty much a London institution.
The first Mr Foggs opened in Mayfair a few years ago and quickly became a favourite.
It’s super quirky, and has gotten so popular that it’s almost impossible to get in.
Since then, Mr Foggs have opened up a few more bars in London, and the Gin Parlour is the Covent Garden branch.
Why should you care about afternoon tea at Mr Foggs Gin Parlour?
You know you’re in for a treat when afternoon tea is hosted in a ‘parlour’.
The bar is themed around a character called Phileas Fogg, the protagonist in the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.
And Mr Foggs take their theme seriously, which is all part of the fun.
The barmen don top-hats and waistcoats, and the room is filled with Victorian eccentricities and trinkets of years gone by. If a lady of a certain age had a smoking room it might look like this.
It begins with a refreshing welcome drink and sandwiches
I love when someone hands you a refreshing tea as soon as you sit down. So that’s a big tick.
Then, once we’re seated, the afternoon tea tray whizzes out, filled with scrumptious bits and bobs.
We start with ‘spiffing sandwiches’, and what’s nice about them is the buttery, spongy focaccia bread.
They’re so much nicer than just ordinary finger sandwiches – although there’s room in my heart for those too. And, they’re filled to the brim with delicious morsels, like cucumber and creme fraiche, chicken and roast vegetable, and smoked salmon. Om nom.
Then we have crumbly scones and the thickest clotted cream
And lovely creatures they are too – crumbly, excitable things, that just about hold together.
We pry them carefully open and butter them with clotted cream, and lashings of good jam.
Victoria sponges and chocolate brownies
Mmm the dessert tier of an afternoon tea is so lovely to look at – filled with miniature puddings just waiting to be snatched up. Yum.
At Mr Foggs Gin Parlour, my favourite is the Victoria Sponge. Weirdly the texture is a bit more like a biscuit than a sponge, although I actually quite like it. It’s a firm old thing, make no mistake. But it’s got this lovely bite to it.
Hmm, it’s an oddity and that’s for sure.
There are also double chocolate brownies, which never did anyone any harm. Having filled up and with full bellies and spirits, we head back out into the blistering weather, and look forward to more times at Mr Foggs.
Is the food at Mr Foggs Gin Parlour halal?
Mr Foggs Gin Parlour don’t serve any halal food.
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The Details
Mr Foggs Gin Parlour
Address – 1 New Row, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4EA
Website – Mr Foggs Gin Parlour, Covent Garden
Phone – 020 7590 3605
Nearest Tube – Leicester Square
Disclaimer – the halal food status note for Shackfuyu is true at the time of writing. Please phone or email the restaurant before you make a booking to double check the halal food status and anything around cross contamination.
We dined as guests of Mr Foggs Gin Parlour.
