The Orangery

The Orangery, well the setting is quite nice, but it goes downhill quickly from here, the waiter wanted to take our order almost as soon as we browsed the menu, the place was fairly empty, we politely said we’re still looking, the waiter then ignored us for 10 minutes, the prices are expensive – we ordered finger sandwiches with coffee, the coffee came out after about 10 minutes but no sign of the sandwiches for about 15 minutes after, I kept looking forlornly at the food that came from the kitchen which was left sitting on the counter, eventually ours arrived – very small portions. The waiter bumped my seat twice as he went about serving other tables, the service charge is added to your bill so most people PAY for this poor service, we mentioned about the poor service/waiting to their manager who then wanted to disputed this? We left never to return.
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steve36james
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, October 15, 2011

We went to The Orangery at Kensington Palace recently and were very disappointed with the the food and the service. The coffees came out after about seven or eight minutes but the afternoon tea did not come for about another fifteen minutes!.Of course we had finished our drinks. When I complained that we would have preferred our drinks with our food, the extremely RUDE MANAGER said it was physically impossible to serve food and drinks together. ??? I told the manager that we had waited fifteen minutes for the food and he disputed this with me! He implied I was lying and walked off! I hope whoever is his manager reads this because this man needs some customer service skills training! The Orangery is greatly overpriced and I would not recommend it to anyone.
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Rebecca Brown - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

we went to the london orangery and i was deeply disapopinted!

we went at around 3.30pm. we had to wait at a 'queuing' point to be seated for a minimum of 40 mins! it was absolutely freezing outside so we asked if we could have a table inside, however they refused and said they wanted to fill up the outside area. so we sat down and asked if we could order as we already looked at the menu from the 40min we spent queing. the waiter told us he would be with us in a 'sec' . after another hour of sitting around watching the waiter walk around blind to the fact that we had already asked him a minimum of 5 times and he repeated the same line 'i'll be with you in a sec'

finally we got our orders taken and had to wait another 20 min for our tea and shortbread to be taken to our table. when i had just taken a sip of the tea i was constantly rushed as they were closing in a few minutes!

the service was terrible. in all fairness the food was good but the decor was bland considering that it was an orangery! the staff were very rude to us and i think that it was a bit pricey! a cup of tea cost me around £5.80!

i dont recommend going there, and as ive told people this they dismissed my view then came back to work complaining about the staff!

very deeply disappointed, will never go back again!
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3 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, May 03, 2011

We visited the Orangery at Kensington Palace in the height of Summer last year and with it being such as glorious experience we cannot wait to do it again this year!

I really liked the fact that the restaurant was so child friendly allowing my friends and I to indulge in afternoon tea in the most heavenly surroundings with our children in tow.

The service was very friendly and attentive but at the same time really relaxed and unlike other tea establishments we did not feel hurried despite the restaurant being extremely busy.

The cakes were delectable and all in allwe cannot wait to go there again!
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Valerie
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Beautiful building, shame about everything else. Not sure where to start. Unfriendly service, lukewarm watery tea, needed a microscope to find salmon in the sandwiches, and the cakes were of poor quality. We felt ashamed that this is what we are offering to visitors to our country.

The outside toilets, which we had to approach in the dark via unlit steps, were not particularly clean and there was no water in my cubicle to wash my hands.

The final insult was the walk back to Kensington in the dark with no lights and therefore no directions could be seen.

We strongly advise ladies not to take tea here and leave after dark.

Suggest tea at the Ritz where you will be comfortable, safe and treated with respect.
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Mrs. V. M. Burton and Mrs. L.M. Breading
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, November 21, 2009

We enjoyed a lovely bowl of delicious mushroom soup (2) the smoked fish tray and my husband had two small chicken legs on a small bed of lettuce.. 2 glasses of average wine and 2 colas. Just a little brunch to the sound of the hedge trimmer and lawn mower blasting away. Although the sevice was just ok, the soup was some of the best we have had ever. HOWEVER the total cost in US 124.00. Way too much for the deal we got. we won't go back.
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7 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, August 12, 2009