Lark Bar Restaurant

I went for afternoon tea yesterday and it was a terrible experience. We asked for Redbush tea but they didn't have it, so we settled for green tea and mint tea. However, they later informed us that they were out of those as well, leaving us with only ordinary tea. We requested for someone to go to the nearby shop to get the tea we wanted, but when it finally arrived, we were given only mint tea. The sandwiches were fine, but the scone was rock hard and the cakes were unappetizing. We asked for two glasses of Prosecco from the general manager and were charged £10 for it. Needless to say, I will not be returning to this restaurant.

The hotel is stunning, but it's easy to get lost with its many rooms. We opted to dine at the restaurant. The food was tasty, but the noise from the waiter's shoes was distracting as he walked around. Furthermore, we felt hurried to finish our meal as it was nearing 11 o'clock and the staff appeared ready to shut down for the night.

We made a reservation for three people for the Sunday Carvery. Our table was reserved for 12 noon, but we informed them that we may arrive slightly later. When we arrived at 11:55, our first impression was not great as there were dirty glasses piled up on the bar near the entrance. The only visible staff member was occupied with taking a payment from another family for over five minutes. After noticing that the restaurant was dark and empty with no carvery set up or tables laid, we informed the staff that we had a reservation. They then went to set up a table for us. We inquired about the carvery's readiness at 12:10, as we needed to leave by 1:15pm. We were told that it was ready and the chef would be informed of our arrival. We were seated in the restaurant where only two tables were set up. Our table had dirty marks on the tablecloth and the cutlery was not clean. We watched the chef bring out single plates of food from the kitchen. At 12:30, we asked when the food would be ready, and we were told we could serve ourselves. We were given plates, some of which needed to be wiped clean. The portions of meat we received were very small. The vegetables were average, but there were no sauces, condiments, or salt and pepper on the tables. The food was lukewarm, but we needed to eat quickly as we had another event to attend. Other guests who had also ordered the carvery asked for refunds due to the quality of the food. When we mentioned the temperature of the food to a staff member, they said they would inform the chef. We did not receive any dessert as there were none on offer, and there was no offer of dessert from the staff as we left. The overall experience was disappointing, as the restaurant felt tired, the food was subpar, and the staff seemed disinterested. There was a lack of customer service and care. We do not plan on returning in the near future.

The Afternoon Tea was a gift via a Groupon Voucher, I had pre booked and asked for 1 savoury and 1 sweet tea this request made no difference to what I know is probably a standard 'package '. Our stay was a total of 40 minutes, the general atmosphere was quiet and the place a little dated . We were sat in the bay of conservatory which was a little on the stuffy side, the window seal that surrounded the table had clearly not seen a duster in a good few days. I concur with a previous comment that people standing outside smoking nearby isn 't a great nearby view so perhaps the fact the windows were shut was a good thing. Staff were friendly and we we were promptly seated and a glass of 'bubbly ' served , the bubbly wasn 't great a cheap sparkling wine I imagine neither glass was finished . Then a 2 tier cake stand arrived with 2 very large scones and 2 iced chocolate cakes , the bottom tier had a pot of jam , pot of cream and 8 tiny finger sandwiches , 4 brown (2 egg mayonnaise and 2 fish paste of some sort , 4 white (2 cucumber and 2 ham and mustard , we had to ask for tea and along came one pot that was just enough for one cup of tea each , the tea was a tea bag but none the less the tea was ok. The sandwiches were small and rather tasteless we left the 'fish paste ones ' . The scones were ok though out of proportion to the 'savoury ' sandwich side , the iced cakes were hard even perhaps a little stale so again most of it was left plus i discovered one had a small hair on it !. We decided to leave and left the table when a more Senior Lady (it would seem indicated there was more cake (gateaux to come ? she was very nice and we did explain it was quite a let down and very disappointing and therefore we would rather just leave , she said she understood. So to conclude in my view Afternoon Tea here is a waste of money , a Groupon/voucher may seem a good deal but the price probably reflects the quality , quality and standard of what you get and that is being generous. I would not return unfortunately and certainly would not gift a voucher to someone else , I am now in the position that IF asked how my 'gift experience ' went I would have to be honest as I certainly wouldn 't want anyone to waste their time or money as I could not recommend the afternoon tea unfortunately . I would lastly add I do not serially or frequently post negative reviews , on this occasion there was no other option.

We had a reservation for 10 people at 12:30, but some of us arrived a bit late, so we did not sit down until 12:45. It took until 1:15 for us to receive our food. We had informed the waitress that we all wanted tea, no coffee, but we did not receive our tea until much later. By the time we finally got our tea, we had already finished our sandwiches, scones, and cake. In our previous experiences, the tea has always been served first, so we were surprised by this delay. Additionally, this was the first time we had finished our tea and were still hungry. The portions were very small, and we were disappointed by the overall experience. We have decided that we will not be returning to this place for our future Afternoon Tea gatherings.