Tea Box

I've been to the Tea Box many times and every time have found the service to be disappointing. Today, the tea timer broke and when we reported this to the manager he didn't believe us! We were offered hot water and no new tea. The service is always slow. However, we did enjoy the quality of the tea and scones.
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5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

What a shame!

I have just got engaged and my future mum-in-law came up to Richmond to see us. I thought I'd take her to The Tea Box and we'd celebrate with a glass of champagne and the afternoon tea. What a huge disapointment this place was! Gorgous deco, lots of people, so all the signs were good. Unfortunately we were seated and nobody came to take an order for ages. Then the teas turned up and we waited 25 minutes and still no sandwiches! I complained twice and finally they were brought to the table but the were wrong. The waitresses were polite but clueless. We were then brought our scones (before the replacement sandwiches) but we were so hungry by this point (45 mins after we arrived) that we ate them. I then complained and only agreed to pay for the tea and the scones as we had not received anything else. The owner/manager was very rude and I left very angry and promising myself never to return.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

We got married in Richmond last November and chose to have our reception at The Tea Box. It was PERFECT. Just what we wanted: intimate, cozy,unique and fun! Gemma and Mike were so supportive of our ideas and worked hard on making our day truly special---they even prepared a special tea for us inspired on our personality characteristics. We then gave it to all our guests as a treat and they could take a little box with them as well. In one word: AMAZING!

The food is yummy and their selection of tea is first class!!!!
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Jimena and Martin
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, January 04, 2011

I stumbled upon this great little place by accident one Friday night with a friend, and am now a regular visitor to their poetry and story telling events as well as enjoy just popping in for a quick cuppa. I must say, I find it quite surprising to read the negative reviews....my experiences have only been positive. I popped in this Sunday just gone and found it difficult to find somewhere to sit, it was packed with what seemed like a tea room full of happy customers.

I found 'The Tea Box' to be a charming, cosy tea house with great interior decor, an interesting menu and a superb collection of adventurous tea blends. I love the way each tea is served in it's own unique style of pot, and how they pay attention to extras like tea timers and beautiful little tea spoons.

I found the staff to be friendly, and they all have excellent knowledge about the food and teas that they serve. I also really appreciate the owners' efforts to support the arts, and admire their efforts to always try something new. They are clearly passionate about what they do!

'The Tea Box' is highly recommended!
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Janine
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, November 30, 2010

We went to the Tea Box, Richmond, to take part in one of their monthly poetry reading open mic events and were very pleasantly surprised by the restaurant's food and atmosphere. The owners are very welcoming and the service in general was excellent.A good range of specialist teas and some excellent wine as well. The food was delicious There are music and arts performances there quite often - the next poetry event is the 11th June and we shall be attending that. I wish this restaurant was local to where I live (Guildford) but it's worth the drive to visit such a stylish yet welcoming place
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Jan Windle
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, June 04, 2010

I can not believe what the above reader said. I am 100% sure they have the wrong restaurant.

The owner is a very charming woman who is always welcoming and firendly.

I love the Tea Box so much so that I'll make special trips to Richmond just to go there... the only time i am ever disappointed is when it is just too full of happy customers for me to be able to get a seat.

The happiest trip there I've had was on my birthday when i took 3 friends and when we first got there it was too busy but they took my number and called me 10 minutes later saying a seat was ready, we enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea and of course and the legendary scones. Which are quite simply to die for!

This is a wonderful experience, the beautful green vintage room feel homely, the service if friendly and very fast.

I always go there with my friends and have never had anything to complain about.
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C.Johnson
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 03, 2010

A really unhappy time was had by our party. We went for high tea and were served by sweet but incompetent waiters and waitresses. The high tea came a long time after our actual drinks, which were cold by then. Five cakes were missing from the order.

The worst problem was the very argumentative owner who would not take our unhappiness as important. She obviously did not care about her customers. The most interesting point of the afternoon, was when I stepped outside to get away from her unfriendly stance, I met a group of three men with their children who had just gone through the same experience as us, had complained and been treated as badly.

Don't go - it was a terrible time.
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N Redman
3 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Shockingly poor. My experience mirrors the review below. Very bad service. Our order was served in drabs and remained incomplete despite our attempts to correct it. Food served ages after the tea so it was cold. Of course we were told that we were making it up. Incredible! The manager is very rude, sarcastic and argumentative.
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Lee_Reviews
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Our visit to this lovely tea shop had the potential of being a great experience, with the nice surroundings and extensive tea menu but disappointingly, it ended up being the worst experience of our lives due to the very rude and argumentative owner - Gemma.

It concerns me slightly that there seems to be a running theme on this site and others, that "genuine" customers have had such a bad experience namely with the shocking slow service and bad attitude of staff. Every time coincidently that there is a bad review, the owner seems to think she can fool everyone into thinking any different so people BE AWARE of the reviews on these sites.

The staff need extensive training and need to communicate with each other and their customers. What ever happened to "the customer is always right". In this place, the customer is never right due to the owner being so argumentative, rude and dismissive of any negative criticism. Who ever thought it was ok to wait an hour for food to arrive and to serve cold tea is beyond me. Especially as, during this particular visit, we were not the only ones having problems which doesnt surprise me in the slightest.

It really is such a shame and I just hope that those of you that do decide to visit, have a better experience than we did. We will certainly be staying well clear and advising all our friends to do exactly the same.
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Pally
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 01, 2010

Possibly the worst service and attitude I have ever encountered anywhere. The Tea Box itself looks beautiful but the attitude of the waiting staff and in particular the two manager/owners was appalling. Waited 15 minutes to be served, then our tea arrived with no teacups which we eventually had to ask for, one food order did not arrive which we again had to go and ask for and then when it did arrive it was the wrong order. No apologies but a very aggressive attitude from the female manager followed by even more rudeness from the male owner when we commented on the unexpected poor service. The Manager/Owner acted in a most unprofessional way in front of all the customers turning a minor remark about bad service into a huge episode. Other customers were left waiting to be served whilst we were being yelled at by the Manager/Owners basically telling us that we had lied about the poor service because we were part of the "compensation culture", that they had brought our teacups and we had lied about that and that the order (although they admitted was wrong) was only 3 minutes behind everyone elses (it was in fact 15mins). When I pointed out that we had all finished eating by the time the wrong order had arrived, I was informed that we must just be very quick eaters. Such a shame that such a beautiful place and concept is ruined by poor management. Having now logged on to this site and seen all the other negative comments, I realise we are not alone in our experience. Enter at your peril!
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4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Thursday, December 31, 2009