The Olive Tree — Restaurant in Mole Valley

1 Star Review: Utterly Disappointing Experience and Unacceptable Customer Service

This review reflects my personal experience and opinion based on my visit to The Olive Tree.

Our visit to The Olive Tree at Ashtead Park Garden Centre on 28th July 2024, intended to celebrate my mother's birthday, was nothing short of a disaster. We paid £74.95 for an afternoon tea that failed to meet even the most basic expectations. The food was simply unacceptable—stale bread, hard scones, and a poor selection of sandwiches. These were not consumed in full.

Despite the advertised options, we were only offered a single cup of tea or coffee, with no mention of additional beverages such as prosecco or soft drinks, which we would have gladly paid for if they had been offered. The hot starters were equally unappealing, further adding to the disappointment.

I initially raised these concerns via email with the server, as I did not want to disrupt our celebration at the time.

However, my request for a refund was flatly denied on the grounds that no complaints were made during our visit. The implication that I should have made a scene during the celebration is absurd—I chose to handle the matter respectfully afterward. My follow-up emails were met with delays and inadequate responses, which only compounded my frustration.

The Olive Tree did offer a replacement meal free of charge, but when I raised practical concerns—such as not living nearby and the difficulty of coordinating schedules for three people—there was no further attempt to provide a reasonable alternative solution.

When I attempted to escalate my complaint, I was instructed—after a month of waiting—to contact the Olive Tree manager directly. On 20th August 2024, I spoke with the manager, who responded in a shockingly unprofessional and aggressive manner. She dismissed my concerns outright, insisting that I should have complained on the day, despite the fact that I wanted to avoid causing a scene during my mother's birthday celebration. Her suggestion that I should travel back to the restaurant for a replacement meal, incurring additional expenses, was entirely impractical and out of touch with reality.

During our call, the owner repeatedly interrupted me, raised her voice, and even went so far as to call me "ridiculous" multiple times. Her extremely aggressive behaviour was not only unprofessional and immature but alarming, making it clear that she had no intention of addressing my concerns. When I requested to escalate the matter further, she claimed to be the sole owner of The Olive Tree and that there was no one else I could speak to. She then abruptly ended the call and blocked any further attempts to contact her, demonstrating a complete lack of respect for customer feedback.

I later contacted the garden centre directly, where a helpful staff member provided me with owners contact details that the manager had claimed did not exist. In my opinion, this deceitful behaviour raises serious concerns about the integrity of the management at The Olive Tree.

Despite my efforts to resolve this matter amicably and professionally, I have been met with hostility, dismissiveness, and a total disregard for the principles of good customer service. The suggestion that I should have refused to pay the bill on the day and walked out, which would have been illegal, further demonstrates the lack of understanding of basic consumer rights. Additionally, the managers claim that this was an isolated incident is contradicted by numerous recent reviews highlighting similar issues with food quality and customer service.

This experience was deeply disappointing, with poor food and even worse customer service. The Olive Tree showed a clear disregard for its customers, and I strongly urge others to avoid this establishment.

You would have expected the owner to be more receptive and helpful, but instead, they jumped to conclusions without taking the time to consult or discuss the issue with me directly.

Save yourself the trouble and find somewhere that actually values...

We visit this area every six months, so wasted no time going back to hopefully have the same experience as before. Umm? Not quite what I expected. No longer is there table service but now you have to order at the till. Not the end of the world, but one of the ladies working at the coffee machine obviously thought it was. The customer in front of myself pointed out that the teaspoons were dirty, (certainly they were grubby), to which she replied, ‘no they aren’t, they are just stained’. What! Take a tip from me, get some Milton and soak them for 10 minutes! According to a card on the table it was by popular request that till service was introduced. Judging by how few staff there were I would suggest it is for the benefit of the management. However the cakes were delicious, and the coffee was good. Not sure I will go back, its lost its personal touch and now feels more like a department store...

Very bad customer service today, by two different members of staff. Before you order you have to get a table number, we saw one over the back was free so we gave the number with the order of two hot chocolates. Walking over to our table we were very abruptly and rudely told that the area was closed and we’d have to go back and let the counter now we have to move tables One hot chocolate was brought to our table but not the other, I had to go back to the counter again to ask for the second, again I was firmly and rudely told that we only paid for one because that’s what it said on the till and that was that!! The lady at the till kept arguing with me that we couldn’t have another until we paid again, eventually she checked the card machine and realised we had paid. We got it eventually by which time the other drink was cold. It was a place we often walked to. We will not be...