The Milanese pastry house that has been making cornetti since 1824, now with a quiet London presence worth a deliberate detour.
Marchesi opened in Milan in 1824 and has not changed its understanding of what a cornetti should be in the 200 years since. The London outpost is inside Fortnum & Mason — not the main floors, but a tucked-away room. The cornetti are the thing.
Buttery, filled properly, the kind of Milanese breakfast pastry that makes the British croissant seem like a placeholder. The hot chocolate in winter is serious. The almond cake does not disappoint.
The cornetti alle mandorle. The hot chocolate, which is thick and made without shortcuts. The almond cake when it is out. The seasonal pastries that rotate without fanfare.
Marchesi opened in Milan in 1824 and has not changed its understanding of what a cornetti should be in the 200 years since. The London outpost is inside Fortnum & Mason — not the main floors, but a tucked-away room. The cornetti are the thing.
Go late morning when the rush has passed. Small room. Worth the deliberate detour from Bond Street, which is where you probably already are.
What to order — the cornetti; the hot chocolate in any weather; whatever the pastry case suggests.