Harrods Tea Room, the long-awaited British luxury tea room and restaurant, has finally opened its doors in Bangkok.

LME Co, a distributor of lifestyle fashion brands including Espada, F Fashion, Von Dutch, ESP and Rock Express, bought the sublicensing rights from Mitsubishi Corporation, the franchisee of Harrods Tea Room in Japan, to operate the chain in Thailand. The first tea room opened last month in Siam Paragon.

“We’re branching out into food because we realize it is part of a lifestyle, and Thais like dining out,” said LME chief executive Boonchai Kongpukpaisarn.

He ran a restaurant in Bangkok with the Chirathivat and Bhirombhakdi families almost 20 years ago, but it went out of business during the financial crisis in 1997. Food is all about lifestyle, and it can augment our lifestyle fashions perfectly,” said Mr Boonchai.

The company plans to open two more outlets _ one in The Groove at CentralWorld and the other at The Embassy project at the Phloenchit intersection.

The first tea room opened in a classic British style, decorated in hues of green and cream and with seating for 80. Inspired by Harrods beginning as a small tea merchant in 1849, the food and tea on offer will make customers feel like they are sipping tea at Harrods in London.

The menu offers traditional yet inventive dishes as well as classic afternoon tea sets such as The Chelsea and The Mayfair, which can be complemented with Harrods raisin scones, butter and assorted fruit jams. Gift items will also be available including the famous Harrods teddy bear.