National Trust Tea-room — Restaurant in England

National Trust, what have you done with your beautiful tea rooms? We have been coming for years and years, the view of Corfe Castle is simply divine BUT…… There’s a sign apologising for staff shortages and a basic menu, we came this time last year with the same basic menu. You have your specials board in one place but the till is closed inside with orders being taken in the ice cream kiosk. The queue is crazy with just one person serving with so many things sold out. Are you actually running it into the ground on purpose? So many people walking out as far too slow to serve, why would you join a huge slow queue for an ice cream? Then food orders stop at 2pm, so if you join the queue at 1.45 and finally get served at 2.01 what happens then? We have given you 3 stars for the view and the food once it finally arrived. But the rest is a shambles. Credit to the staff for having to explain so many times patiently on how and where customers should order. The overall management of the tea room IS the problem. We are so sad and disappointed that you have ruined such a special place to so many. In these times, if you can’t get your customer service right then you are doing something very wrong, you need to hand it over to someone else to bring back up to scratch and to become a much loved...

So. I get that the National Trust plays an important role in maintaining our heritage and I know this is supported by the efforts of volunteers, I am a member, this is how much I understand. However, if you only serve prepared sandwiches and scones - I don't get why it takes 30 minutes to get a simple order out that just needs to be put on a tray? But you know - I can be patient, but then the order is given to a different table? It was rectified, after a request to replace the items that were held by the table that claimed our order, but with none of the charisma required or an apology. I would assume that the cafe is not run by volunteers, so this is basically just bad service. Oh, there is a nice view...

Cosy establishment outside Corfe Castle. The cream tea was very reasonably priced at £6.55 and consisted of a choice of plain or fruit scone, a hot drink, ready made jam and cream. You have to order at the front desk and the tea took around 7 minutes to arrive. We also ordered a cheese scone which was delicious and I would highly recommend it to combat the sweetness of the jam and fruit scone. Hot and cold sandwiches are also available after 12pm as well as gluten free options. The tea room had a homely vibe with a wood burning fire perfect to quell a brisk winters day. Note that seating is limited so it’s best to arrive early to avoid waiting.

Dress code: casual Cost: £ Service: very...