Marianne Blenkinsopp
User's reviews
-
Lady Mendl's
My English husband and I went to a 5PM tea on Sunday, March 16th. After researching Lady Mendl's, we anticipated an elegant tea. Our observations are as follows: The setting was beautiful; the flowers were magnificent; the food was OK, the service and atmosphere was severely lacking. We were offered a table for two in the corner of the salon, or a choice of any of four tables in the dining room. We chose the table in the salon. Unfortunately, there was no attempt on the part of the staff to make us comfortable. It would have been appreciated if there was an offer to move the table out of the corner (there was plenty of room to do so) so my husband would not be squeezed between the table and a very lovely lamp. As we sat down on wobbly chairs, the floor-length tablecloth clung to our legs. A smaller, lacy tablecloth would have been more appropriate. We were stuck to the tablecloth, squeezed into the corner -- not elegant! On to the service: a waiter who speaks English as a second language is not the best choice to be a server in an English tearoom, but there he was. Immediately, there was miscommunication when I attempted to change my tea order. Next, the salad landed between my husband's feet, and the aforementioned long tablecloth didn't facilitate cleaning it up. There is no excuse for anyone to pour tea from a height of more than a few inches, and certainly not in an English tearoom. It's just not done. Staff shouldn't attempt to 'top it off' (like coffee) until the cup is empty. We requested that we be left to pour our own tea. The waiter then appeared with 4 scones on a tray, mumbling something about a 'selection'. We each received two. The devonshire cream was presented in a dish much too tiny to be scooped out easily. Unfortunately, after two bites my husband removed the scone from my hand -- he spotted a hair that was baked into it! Overall, the food was good, except for the scones. Not just because of the hair, but because it crumbled to bits when I broke off a piece. Sad to say, the feeling of being in an elegant tearoom was lacking. If you took away the beautiful surroundings you might have been in a diner. There should have been more of an effort made regarding the service.