Charlotte's Tea House — Restaurant in Great Britain

I have used charlottes for many years with my children and then grandchildren. Since losing my husband and suffering recent illness myself, it is been quite a while since my last visit. I have noted the backbone of charlottes being the staff have all gone replaced by children who have no clue of what charlottes tearoom stood for i.e. the past, quality and an the experience. The quality of the food was below par, The service of one particular young waitress who’s Stoneface looked like it had been through a pencil sharpener, her attitude was far worse. After receiving a VERY green jacket potato which proves old stock is being used (Googled it), I respectfully sent it back to be replaced with.... another green potato... my granddaughter who didn’t want to make a fuss ate the cheese on the potato and left the rest. The “staff stood staring and made it obvious they were talking about us negatively throughout the duration which was awkward for my guests. Our high tea sandwiches were a little stale and the scones were hard. Eventually The nasty waitress reluctantly came over because we were not eating, I pointed out to her politely that the sandwiches were not very nice because the bread was hard and the scones were stale she said “they can’t be they were made today” IMPOSSIBLE.. how can you have a fresh stale scone? She continued “The bread was delivered today from the market”... we asked her to feel the bread and she refused saying “there’s nothing wrong with it” We were called liars in every way but the word! I said I would pay for the six of us but I’m not happy with the standard of food... as we got up from the table she stood in the doorway blocking it as if we were going to walk out without paying, she made it very obvious and I was furious... I paid my bill and left telling the owner we wouldn’t come back, then he asked “why’s that” and I said that I’d already explained it to the rude waitress, I did not want to make a scene and I did not feel well enough, I just needed to get out of there. The standard has dropped way below par. For lunchtime it was practically empty which proves they’ve lost their clientele? Living in Truro this was a place we would always go to, I will never go back to charlottes tea room...

After six years in Australia, my husband and I were looking forward to return to Charlottes Tea House. Despite the bustling atmosphere, with one young server expertly managing the flow of orders, our visit took an unexpected turn.

Opting for a gluten-free Cornish Ploughman's, I found myself facing a rather disheartening encounter with one of the older kitchen staff. The kitchen assistance/cook came from the kitchen with the docket in her hand,glanced at the docket and grunted at me "What can't you eat?" Naturally, I replied, "Wheat." Her response? Another dismissive grunt followed by, "Can you eat coleslaw?" To which I affirmed, "As long as it's wheat-free." With an eye-roll, she trotted off without a word.

When my meal arrived, without coleslaw, it became apparent that confusion had prevailed in the kitchen leaving her stumped, leaving my plate looking as though the food had been haphazardly thrown together. No explanation or any attempt rectify the meal only compounded the disappointment. It's disheartening to encounter such lapses, especially for someone like myself, whose gluten intolerance isn't a matter of choice but a dietary necessity also eating out is now a treat due to the cost of living.

While the service from the delightful young server was exceptional, the discourtesy displayed by the older kitchen staff member cast a shadow over our visit. It's concerning when those responsible for food preparation lack essential knowledge about dietary requirements. In the end, it's these small yet significant details that can leave a lasting impact and overshadow an otherwise...

What can I say?!

Absolutely dreadful customer service as a local I’ve always liked this tearoom and thought we’d introduce our granddaughter to it.

I specifically checked the opening times on the website and seeing as it was supposedly open until 4.00pm we popped in at just gone 3.00pm today.

We were greeted on arrival by being told the kitchen had just closed so they were doing just drinks which was fine.

On sitting down we were then told that the place shut at 3.30pm! We queried this as it said 4.00pm on the website to which the response was they were not busy enough in January to pay the staff to stay open!

Then we asked for two cappuccinos and an iced coffee for our granddaughter and the waitress said that was a problem as she had no ice! We then said ok make it three cappuccinos and she said that was a problem as she only had enough coffee for two and she didn’t want to open a new bag of coffee!

Absolutely ridiculous, so with that we left!

With that attitude you’re lucky you’re still open at all and we certainly won’t be going back again!

We quite easily found another place that actually...