The Wallace — Restaurant in London

I had been given a voucher for afternoon tea for two with fizz as a birthday present from colleagues at work. I followed the instructions to redeem the voucher and emailed my requested date about 4 weeks ago. It took a week to get a response that there was only one table available on that date, and I was asked for details of the voucher to secure the booking. We arrived early to look around the gallery first and then proceeded to the courtyard cafe for our booking. We were about 5 minutes early after getting to the front of the queue and were told we were too early and to go away and come back later. When we returned at the exact time of the booking the queue was huge again and we had to wait as only one member of staff seemed to be allowed to greet customers, not a particularly welcoming start. Once we were seated at our table (wonky and a very low seat), I showed my voucher and was asked to write my details on the back, no pen was offered, luckily I had one in my bag. If I’d been informed of the need to do this in advance then I could have prepared it beforehand. The service was then quite slow. The food was ok, but not particularly generous, I’ve had much better quality and sizeable afternoon teas. The sandwiches were really small and barely contained any filling. The scones were ok, but small portions of cream and jam, which when shared between two only offered a small scraping. The cakes fine, but nothing special. As the cafe was close to closing we were then brought the bill (we had only just finished eating and drinking) by a different member of staff, so I explained that I’d had a voucher and already given it to the host who seated us. This was then met with some confusion, but as we were finished and the gallery was closing, we left without waiting for them to resolve the issue. I note that the bill was around £70, I hope my colleagues didn’t spend as much as that on the voucher as the whole experience was not worthy of that price tag. The reason I award 2 stars is that the gallery itself is lovely and as this was a gift I didn’t spend any of my own...

Unfortunately, a disappointing experience at The Wallace Restaurant. Although our server was very nice and attentive (and clearly juggling far too many tables), the food did not deliver; I booked for an afternoon tea for myself and my Mum a month or so in advance, informing the booker of my allergies (main one being peanuts and nuts), to which she said there would be no problem and they could cater for me. The day before the booking, I had a very pleasant confirmation call where the booker (a different one) once again reassured me that my allergies could be catered for, however, on the day, their interpretation of catering for a nut allergy when it came to the cakes was some sliced up fruit (2 strawberries and some apple and pear), which I found quite offensive. I didn't sign up to pay for fruit as a substitute and quite rightly assumed I would receive allergen-friendly alternative cakes (as I have in other establishments previously). I didn't bother to bring it up at the time to the servers, as they were (as aforementioned) clearly rushed off their feet and I didn't want to feel anymore anxious/stressed/upset than I already was. The sandwich contents and scones were fine, but the quantity was pretty poor - 2 tiny triangle sandwiches each - not really substantial. Also worth noting that the website stated £19.50 pp, yet the bill stated £22.50 pp and so the total came to £50 inc. service charge; unfortunately, I didn't get an opportunity to contest this, as my Mum unexpectedly paid and left while I was in the bathroom. I'd be very happy to pay £50 for a standard afternoon tea for 2 if they delivered to a satisfactory level, but I feel this just didn't hit the mark. I always get anxious when it comes to afternoon tea and my allergies, but I was so looking forward to this day after being reassured twice on the phone AND by our server on the day. What a shame. Would not recommend for allergies or for a filling...

Dreadful. Embodied the all worst aspects of what used , years ago, to be thought of as traditional British eating out plus a few extras that have crept in more recently . To whit, it was pretentious, skimping, inadequate and well over priced (for what you actually get).

We had Afternoon Tea which arrived in the tradition 3 tier cake stand. On the bottom tier there four micro sandwiches each perhaps 2 inches square. The first sandwich was soggy egg prepared some considerable time before. The second purported to be Coronation chicken (no doubt to chime with the coming Jubilee) but if so the chicken was keeping a low profile. Actually it just tasted like the egg sandwich plus curry. I wasn't sure about the third sandwich . It just might have been cheese. The last sandwich was smoked salmon in which such salmon as it contained had obviously been excised using the latest techniques of micro surgery. So much for the bottom tier.

The second tier was presumably supposed to be scones with cream and jam. Except it wasn't actually a scone but it was most definitely stale. The jam, for two people, was insufficient even for a single person who didn't go a bundle on jam.

The third tier consisted of small cakes. I tried one thinking from the colour that it might have been lemon but it didn't taste much of anything but it too was stale. I gave up at this point.

The 'service' such as it was managed to be both slow and peremptory.

The tea (to drink) was actually OK. It came, presumably as a nod towards inclusivity, in Chinese iron pots. Pretentious ? Surely not!

The experience as a whole was awful. Looking at all those poor tourists being rooked I felt embarrassed to be English. However maybe I misjudged them and , with the Jubilee coming, they were enjoying some sort of faux nostalgia for the 1950s and post wartime rationing

These days there are some truly wonderful restaurants in London. However this...