Mariage Freres

Mariage Frères Brings Paris Tea Emporium to Covent Garden London | Eater London

"A five-storey Covent Garden flagship at 38 King Street that blends gilded tea ware and an aspirant haute-couture, 19th-century apothecary aesthetic with a tea museum, tea room and a restaurant in which every dish features tea. It boasts the world’s longest tea wall — a 1,200 sq m, weight-sold display of over 1,000 jewel-coloured loose-leaf teas from 36 countries — and highlights the proprietary 'Marco Polo' blend and a seafaring-inspired approach to tea discovery; the museum and period advertising underscore an unapologetically colonial brand history. The restaurant foregrounds classical Parisian café dining with tea-seasoned set breakfasts (scrambled eggs with matcha salt, smoked salmon with matcha fromage frais), pastries (a pink praline tartlet with tea-seasoned redcurrant confit), and mains such as a chicken supreme with a 'Smoky Leopard' black tea jus and the trademarked 'Snob Salad' — mesclun dressed with black tea, smoked salmon and toasts marbled with matcha and turmeric. The townhouse interior reads like a luxury French fashion store, with high ceilings, extravagant cornicing, island displays and pink lighting, and pricing to match (the 'Snob Salad' £28; a seasonal open sandwich £19)." - James Hansen