Upwey Wishing Well Tearooms & Water Gardens — Attraction in Weymouth

Best cream tea in Dorset? I wouldn't think so, we only came for a cream tea and I wouldn't hurry back. Let's start with the 'venue' itself. They advertise that it's perfect for weddings, if you want your wedding in an unmanaged garden that looks abandoned like nobody had lived here for a century then yes, but for most sane people then no.

Someone reviewed this as a hidden gem 💎, the cafe itself is grubby, in fact I felt dirty sat there. The windows need a really good clean, there's dust on all the sills and picture frames. Cobwebs in any available corner. The rear door out to the garden is so stiff people assumed it was locked.

Now to the cream tea: it's the best in Dorset. No. It isn't. The fruit scones were warm which is nice, but because they are warm you get a smell with them, the smell took a while to identify but it is definitely custard. I imagine it's some quirky flavour experiment that they are doing. I'm 100% sure it's birds custard powder they have added (other brands available) The cream and jam portions are tiny but they do stick an 8th of a strawberry in the cream for you 🤦‍♂️🤔🤣

We travel to a lot of local British places. Usually in seaside towns, we have experienced a lot of cream teas too. Most places ask what jam you'd like with a few choices, most places come back to offer more if needed and check if it's all okay. This place does none of the above.

In summary: I could beat this cream tea by heading to Morrisons and grabbing some cheap scones (oh, by the way most places offer a choice of fruit or plain scones, not this place) and then some rhoddas cream and some cheap own brand jam as I'm almost certain that's what's used here jam wise. Don't go, it's dirty and massively overrated. If this is Dorset's best, which it isn't, I feel sorry for Dorset.

Just a quick note at the end, a latte deserves to have a thick layer of foam, not as thick as the cappuccino but thick enough to not look like the flat white I was served. 🤯 The local church lends it's parking, which is a very Christian thing to do, it's a pound donation in an honesty box. God is watching I guess. It's the only thing this well hole (pun) has going for it. The dirty shed is what they should...

I had been looking forward to visiting a teahouse with my mother for years, and I finally got the chance today (we live in different countries and I don’t see her often). We drove 6 hours from Manchester to see my parents this weekend. After reading several glowing reviews, I chose this teahouse and made an online reservation for 3 p.m. Unfortunately, our experience did not live up to expectations.

Upon arrival, we were informed that we needed a separate reservation specifically for the high tea service, which includes a deposit and dietary information. While this may have been mentioned on their website, I missed it. This led to confusion and disappointment as almost all of the food options were also unavailable.

The staff's response to our confusion was disheartening. They seemed very busy, which we understood, but their demeanor towards us felt cold and unwelcoming. While other guests were greeted warmly, my wife and I, who are visibly gay, felt distinctly out of place. When we inquired if they could make an exception for the high tea service, we were met with a firm "no" and a pointed reminder that the information was available online. There was no empathy or willingness to accommodate us, which made us feel like we were a burden. They seemed very keen to make it known it was our fault we didn’t know about the policy. We weren’t claiming it was not online, just that we hadn’t see it. I’ve been to many tea houses and if I’ve made a reservation, this was good for high tea or anything on the menu. It would take them 5 minutes to send out an email or text to upcoming reservations to inform people of this policy to avoid this in the future.

The overall service was very subpar, the tea was okay, and the scone was quite basic. Although we did enjoy walking around the garden, the experience was marred by the lack of inclusivity and understanding from the staff.

I would caution future visitors to be aware of the reservation requirements for high tea. Additionally, I hope the teahouse will consider providing a more welcoming atmosphere for all guests, regardless of their background. We left feeling unwelcome and...

We'd been looking forward to visiting the tearooms for some time so we were happy to be able to visit with the family as part of birthday plans.

The welcome on arrival (with three well behaved children under 8yrs) was quite abrupt and sadly lacking in any warmth or smiles and despite there being at least six empty tables inside incl. a table of six - where we said we would like to sit - we were directed outside to the furthest away area by the staff door, where the team were eating perched on some steps right next to us. The inside tables remained empty for the duration of our visit.

I went to the counter to place our order and ended up baffled as was charged a few £ more than the items stated on the menu. I asked for the till receipt but was given a card receipt.

The birthday girl chose a slice of pavlova (we are a half Australian family and love pavlova!) but what came out was a small glass (see photo) with ice cream, cream, fruit and a couple of bites of meringue (just under £9). It was more like an Eton Mess or a sundae but was definitely not a pavlova so was disappointing.

After spending £40 at the tearooms our son asked to use the toilet a minute after we'd walked out the door (20 mins before closing time) and we were met with the same brusqueness as when we arrived.

The gardens were nice and overall the food & drink were decent (other than a bit overpriced and incorrectly described) but the service was sadly disappointing and...