A Picnic With Mercure at Somerset House

Last night was spent in the best possible way - a summertime #PicnicWithMercure at Somerset House!  After getting absolutely drenched on the journey there, the weather remembered it needed to be on its best behaviour and dried up just in time for me to be able to bring down my umbrella before arriving.  Mercure Hotels is a name I'm already familiar with having stayed at a few of the Accor Group hotels, though one that stands out was my food-loaded stay at the Queens Hotel Cheltenham (now MGallery) last summer - mmm, still dreaming of that afternoon tea!  For yesterday's picnic extravaganza, they truly picked the best location for the event; each and every step you took was watched from above by towering architecture.      

With the temperamental weather in mind, I wore a fairly simple outfit with a black fur-collared jacket at hand ready for any potential drop in temperature - I mean, this is England we're talking about!  One of my recent loves is buying shirts three sizes larger than needed to achieve the oversized look, without opting for the ready-made oversized shirts that tend to drape to the point of being unflattering.  Anyway, to my relief it was entirely weather appropriate as the sun came out, and stayed out.



The VIP tent had great vibes and a brilliantly cheerful crowd, though with a delicious Tom's Kitchen picnic basket filled with treats in hand - and after enjoying a glass of prosecco, of course - I headed back out into the main Picnic area with my guest to soak up the chilled ambience.  Ah, surrounded by architecture and moving crowds once more.  I walked about to discover the various sources of entertainment the #PicnicWithMercure offered.  Some were making their own fresh smoothies on a Smoothie Bike while others were playing giant board games.  Personally, I was busy folding my body into a giant teapot ready for a snap by Fujifilm Instax UK - oh, what it is to be British...


I've always been a bit of an 'observer' and so for a while I grasped the opportunity to simply sit and watch - this is far less creepy than it sounds, promise.  Happy guests meeting and greeting each other as they sat down underneath the sun to drink some of Mercure's Perfect Picnic Prosecco, and staff working the 5-8pm evening session with smiles on their faces. Everyone was so upbeat and cheerful, which kind of does the talking with regard to just how well the #PicnicWithMercure was received!

So, the question is - what did I think of the Tom's Kitchen picnic hamper?  Incredible, totally incredible.  The variety was fab and featured a whole range of treats, including toffee popcorn and generous desserts, as well as healthy baguettes and salad options.  Put it down to my British heart, but there really is something very special about sitting down and cherry-picking from a picnic hamper - it resembles that feeling of opening your packed lunch box up as a kid.  What will you find? Who knows.  Seriously though, super impressed.

Out of all the delicious options found in my Tom's Kitchen hamper c/o, my favourite item was most definitely the scotch egg. I've got a bit of a 'thing' for them this summer and so the enormous breadcrumb-covered scotch egg ticked all of the right boxes - as did the toffee popcorn!  I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a bag of popcorn, so it was a really nice treat to find a bag in the hamper waiting to be indulged in.

This event definitely helped start the weekend in just the right way - amazing food at an amazing location, which come to think of it is pretty much the Mercure way!

The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court
Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 1LA

With love,

Gabrielle x