19 Fourteas TeaRoom — Restaurant in Havant

I booked a birthday celebration for my Mother who is in her 90's as it looked like it would be the perfect venue. I viewed the reviews ahead of the booking and saw photos of the afternoon teas which had been posted two months ago which looks quite nice. Sadly the reality of the experience was not as expected. Let me explain. The problem is the food. The cost of the afternoon tea is £19.95 so £80 for the four of us. For our £80 we got to sit in a venue which does look good however this is a list of the food we received for our money was: One sandwich each made from one slice of supermarket bread, we were only permitted one filling. One strawberry each. One extremely flat scone with a tiny portion of jam and cream, however the scone was so thin we were unable to cut the scone in two. The menu said patisserie cakes, the reality of this was one cake each from a packet of Iceland's frozen cake selection which Iceland sell for £6.75 for ten cakes. Also one pot of tea, we were permitted to have one refill. As it was my Mum's birthday celebration I did not want to make a scene at the venue and decided to leave quietly and contact the venue when we got home. I also didn't want to upset other customers. I sent a message to the venue thanking them for taking our booking and explaining that I fully understand that part of the cost goes towards the surroundings and staffing however the food was not as expected or what I had seen in previous reviews. I received a response which stated that they had changed their menu and I quote ' Our former high tea which is the one you sent in the photo was changed to our new afternoon tea now on offer, this was altered to cater to our best of British menu where we use all british produce where possible, ensuring we support other local business & farmers, ensuring the highest quality produce. Our fresh cream cakes are of the best quality and we pride ourselves on our selection, having had no complaints about them since they were introduced so this is something we can take onboard but at this time we will continue to use them. Our scones are freshly baked daily so vairy in size and appearance.'.... Now at this stage the owner did not know that I was aware the cakes were purchased from Iceland... The owner also stated that as I had not complained at the time they would not uphold my complaint. The owner also stated... ' In total we offer eight sandwich fillings and these have been added to since changing over to our best of British afternoon tea, alas we offer one filling per customer and this is standard in afternoon teas in most establishments. Our price of £19.95 is a competitive price and we feel we offer real value for money. Our afternoon tea price has remained unaltered in price even with our latest improvements.'.... As a customer, I have never come across the one filling sandwich offer and certainly not one slice of bread! I am unsure how reducing the offer is an improvement. After I pointed out the fact that the cakes were from Iceland and not a local business or farmer the response was...' Our menu is almost completely British and we stand by that with pride, the cakes we use are of a lovely quality and enjoyed by many, when we cannot source in house we buy externally and this is normal practice. We sometimes source cakes from supermarket chains and this is alongside local sourced products'.... Again the owner reiterated that as 'we left' before making our complaint, they were not prepared to discuss our complaint. My advice is avoid at all costs or you will be paying extremely over the odds for what you could purchase yourself in Iceland for around £3.00 per person. War time rationing is alive and well within this...

Originally posted Sept: We went here last weekend for my Gran's 92nd Birthday, as the reviews were very good and the afternoon tea (from the business' FB & IG posts) looked good. On entering the premises, it looked as though we were going to be in for a good experience, as the tea room is decorated very well in 1940's decor. However, we quickly found out that we were paying for the decor and not the food itself. As a party of 4 and at a cost of £19.95 each, therefore almost £80 in total. This is what we received. 1 pot of tea (enough for 1 cup of tea each, 3 tiny finger sandwiches each (where were the advertised penny sandwiches?), 1 strawberry each, 1 scone each and 1 cake each.

Now onto the quality of the above food. The finger sandwiches were obviously filled with ready made sandwich filling from the supermarket and the bread tasted stale. The scones were homebaked, however they were as flat as rock cakes (and nothing like what we saw as advertised) and one of the scones was significantly smaller than the already small scones. And then onto my biggest gripe of all. The patisserie cakes that were from the frozen section of Iceland! I read a past review which brought up the fact that the cakes were from Iceland, which the owner flatly refused, stating that their cakes aren't from Iceland. So, why is it, that the cakes that we had are the exact same product (10 patisserie cakes selection for £6.95) that can be found in the frozen section of Iceland?

We left still feeling hungry (though not wishing to complain at the time, as we didn't want to stress my 92 year old Gran) and wondering how that cost us £80. We honestly could've done that ourselves back home for a fraction of the cost!

We complained to the owner on Facebook and in their response to us, they tried hiding behind statements such as "Best of British" and " supporting other local businesses and farmers" when sourcing their ingredients and 'fresh' cream cakes. How exactly is sourcing ready made sandwich filling and frozen multipack cakes from Iceland showcasing the Best of British and supporting other local businesses and farmers? The only truth to that statement is that they used a local business. The Iceland supermarket that is around the corner from their teahouse!

The owner also tried justifying the price and experience, saying that it's comparable to other teahouse experiences. I am sorry, but that is not true at all. I have been to other teahouses that have cost a similar price, and the sandwiches and cakes have always been fresh and plentiful.

We won't ever be returning to this local business and whilst I often tell my family and friends to support local businesses, I have already told them to not waste their time or money on this place. And I would strongly recommend potential patrons to read this review and avoid spending on a business that buys their products from Iceland to then charge a premium. Spend your money on another local tearoom which puts effort and pride into their food rather than just the decor.

-- Update: After posting my review on here and also on the tearoom's Facebook page, the owner's son started getting verbally abusive towards myself and my Mother in the comments on my review on FB. This should be another red flag on this business. How is it acceptable to get family members to insult someone who has left a bad review on...

Had to pop into Havant to grab something, so stopped for lunch. I’ve got a blue light card so I went on and put places around me. This establishment popped up with 20% off so great! We decided to go here! Shame when we went to order, they’re not longer accepting. Blue light have said they haven’t had any notification of this. If I’m being honest, the main reason we chose here was because of good reviews and the discount. So even though we couldn’t get the 20% we still stayed. Unfortunately, when the food arrived it was very basic (we did only order a toastie and kids bag so there isn’t much you can do with that anyway) but the toastie bread was very thin! I also expected when it said “cupcake” on the children’s meal that it would have been something nicer than the pre made asap dot iced cupcakes. Especially with the lovely looking cakes they have?! Her crisps were also missing from her bag which I went to ask for but was left waiting whilst drinks and food was still being served. The worst bit for me was the realisation of how close I was eating next to the bathroom. I moved spaces but watching people come in and out and hearing the toilet flush really put me off eating me food. And no way was I paying £5.55 for a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows?! The positives are that the staff are polite and the idea/ look of the place is...