Gunter's Tea Shop in London's

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Ke ...

had its origins in a food business named "Pot and Pine Apple" started in 1757 by Italian Domenico Negri. Various English, French and Italian wet and dry sweetmeats were made and sold from the business. In 1777 James Gunter became Negri's business partner, and by 1799 he was the sole proprietor. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Gunter's became a fashionable light eatery in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, notable for its ices and sorbets. In 1815, James sent his son Robert (1783–1852) to study the confectionery trade in Paris. Robert assumed sole control of the business following his father's death in 1819, and took on his cousin John as a partner in 1837. Gunter's was located at Nos. 7–8

. When the east side of the square was demolished in 1936–7, it moved to

Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running a ...

. The tea shop closed in 1956, although the catering business continued for another twenty years. Along with Bolland's of Chester and W G Buszard, Gunter's was considered to be the wedding cake makers du jour and in 1889, made the bride cake for the marriage of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's granddaughter, Princess Louise of Wales.The Graphic Royal Wedding issue 2 August 1889 In Georgette Heyer's

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novels, Gunter's were mentioned frequently as the suppliers of refreshments and wines to the main characters' households. In Mary Seacole's autobiography she states that even Gunter would have envied her reputation for the sponge cakes that she provided for the British army besieging Sebastopol in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. The shop is also the setting for a brief scene in

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's novel ''

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'', taking place in 1817. The cafe appears to be referenced in

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’s novel The End of the Affair, in the 2-shilling expense line item that the private eye Parkis submits to Bendrix. “The coffee place was more expensive than I cared for,” Parkis explains, “but it was the least I could take without drawing attention.”

References

1757 establishments in England Companies based in the City of Westminster Gunter family British companies established in 1757 {{England-company-stub