Fortnum & Mason at Heathrow T5 — Restaurant in London

[Sept. 21 update: We returned to Fortnum & Mason on our return trip. It was just as phenomenal as the first time. Bravo!] After reading glowing reviews, we searched out Fornum & Mason on a recent trip through Heathrow. I'll be candid: when we saw that it was a kiosk, bar-style spot and not a tables-and-chairs restaurant, we debated passing by F&M. What a terrible mistake that would have been! This was without a doubt among the very best food and service we received, from London to the Shetlands. Valentina is an absolute jewel in the F&M crown: professional, warm, engaging, and just a delight. While we had less direct interactions with the rest of the staff, they deserve huge praise for operating such a flawlessly operated spot in the middle of a busy airport...or anywhere. The food is fantastic, and we sampled Welsh rarebit with tomato chutney, smoked salmon, chicken-mango salad with sesame dressing, and strawberry tart for dessert. (And truffles. Swoon!) The wine selection and zero-proof cocktail lists were very good, and there were many options we wished we had time to try. A gentleman next to us ordered golden caviar and champagne, and it was a shame he chugged it down and ran off to a flight. Beautiful presentation with all the trimmings. You'll be sitting either at the bar or at little diner-style attached tables that provide a surprising amount of privacy. Not sure how they manage such an upscale experience in the middle of T5, but they do it with style....

Cashiers inside the store went around asking other customers if they needed help, were looking for something, etc., but didn't approach me despite being in there for a while. Up to that point, fine, hardly the first time I've been profiled by people in the service industry. I'm happy to get my goods and get out.

But when ringing me up, the cashier started chatting up another worker, and then neglected to bag everything I bought. I bought a small bottle of marmalade and 5 biscuit tins—when I checked my luggage at the gate, only the biscuits had been put in my bag, and the marmalade forgotten. Seriously? Even McDonald's workers don't forget things in orders nowadays, and Fortnum & Mason can't hire people who can ring up 6 items correctly? Because they can't chat and bag items at the same time, or stop chatting while ringing up a customer? I don't think I'm very picky with customer service (like I said, I was happy to just get my goods even while the workers ignored me in favor of other customers), but just ripping off 10 pounds out of pure negligence and incompetence is ridiculous. I've loved stuff from Fortnum & Mason for over 10 years now, but this has really left a sour taste...

A very blunt review: When I pay upwards of $200 per person, I expect exceptional service - What I received is the absolute opposite. I had reservations for 2:00 pm and was not seated until 2:45 pm. We informed the waiter and staff this was our first time at 'high tea' (a joke in and of itself) We then did not see nor hear from our waiter until 3:45 and at which point informed our waiter we had 15 minutes left (as per the reservation which indicated you had 1:45 for a table of 2) - we had made bookings for a tour, which we would have had ample time to make should we have been seated on time. If you are looking for an enjoyable, upscale, and memorable tea experience - I would STRONGLY recommend you do NOT choose Fortnum and Mason as your tea experience. You are better off trying any other tea house or buying the tea yourself and recreating the experience. As foreigners at this experience we felt looked down upon. This reservation was made out to be an experience and introduction into British tea time - but what we experienced was a textbook example of British classism; where old ladies scoff at anyone who appears...