Orchid Tea Room — Restaurant in Borough of Runnymede

Beautiful hotel and tea room, very aesthetically pleasing, but the actual afternoon tea was below average. The chicken sandwich was nice but apart from that the rest of the sandwiches were quite disgusting if I'm honest. The deserts were not very tasty at all and my tea was lukewarm when it came. The waiter was lovely and his service was very good, I was slightly disappointed that he didn't pour my tea, he only poured water but it's not central london and you get what you pay for. There was live music with a girl singing and playing piano and guitar which you would think was nice but she was putting me to sleep and we were sat right next to the speaker so I couldn't have a converstaion with my table. I asked them to turn it down, but it was still too loud. The scones were the highlight and we packed the rest to take home as by that time we just wanted to leave. Overall, we all concluded (party of 6) that it was a beautiful place but the afternoon tea was not very nice and we won't be returning. A bit of a let down really as I drove 1 and a half hours to...

Amazing afternoon tea. Second time I’ve come here and the service is exceptional. Our server I can’t remember her name but I believe she was from Slovakia, she didn’t rush us at all, was very attentive and made the experience. She recommended a tea which was similar to the English breakfast but more fragrant, superb recommendation. The pianist is fantastic and is an integral part of the service. This is the first afternoon tea I’ve been to which offers additional sandwiches without a surcharge and doesn’t give you a time limit. I’ll be returning for their winter one to see the different...

I was surprised that upon requesting more scones and a new pot of tea, I was told this would usually incur an additional charge. I have frequented many of London's esteemed afternoon tea hotels inc Claridge's, F&M, The Dorchester etc but have never been told these basics would cost more. Sandwiches were okay. Service was also a bit hit and miss. Also, upon requesting a high chair, initially I was told the place was so busy that they could not guarantee finding one but my booking clearly included a 2yr old so this should never have been an issue. I...