xoffeehalo
21 de agosto de 2024
First the good: the waitresses were some of the friendliest I've come across in recent years, and were very attentive – they definitely elevated the experience and deserve high praise. Unfortunately, the tea itself was a let down. Four of us attended, and we'd pre-booked months in advance (during which we'd stated two of the party were vegan, one of which had an avocado allergy). The hotel had noted the two vegans, but not the allergy, and this caused quite a delay as then both vegan teas needed to be remade (as apparently avocado featured heavily?) We weren't sure why both teas had to be remade when only one person had the allergy, until we were finally served. The teas arrived in pairs (one normal, one vegan), and as such both vegan teas were absent of any avocado, though I'm intrigued to know how the portions would have been split if only one of our party had been vegan – would they have been allowed their own sandwiches then? The portions themselves were ridiculous. None of us are particularly big eaters, and all four of us have been to several afternoon teas, from high-end to budget, and this is the first time any of us have been served just one small scone and half a sandwich (cut into four narrow strips) each. The four of us were essentially served two cream teas with a couple of extra cakes. (My photo shows the serve for two people.) You're also given one small teapot, which we drank during the delay, and when we asked for a refill we just received more hot water poured over the same teabag (which, any tea drinker will know, simply results in incredibly weak hot water if you're not using loose leaf!) The hotel seems to have a decent vegan offering in its main restaurant and bars, so we'd been hopeful the vegan teas would be great (as we've visited many other places that have been able to produce fantastic results). However, we were very disappointed that the scones only came with a small jar of jam – no attempt at any kind of cream, even though dairy-free cream is incredibly easy to either buy or make these days – and not even any butter! Most astonishing of all was when we realised one of the mini cakes was just a pre-packaged one you can buy in any supermarket (Oggs, FYI) which aren't that great. Considering the restaurant has a vegan cheesecake on its menu, I'm not sure why a small portion of that couldn't be offered instead. Overall, we all left hungry and disappointed. The staff were great, but I wouldn't recommend the afternoon tea – there are better options pretty much anywhere else.
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