点评:This is very local to us, and, having visited very regularly last year, we were planning on taking out the yearly membership this year. However, unfortunately, the Fork Handles tearoom, which was a huge attraction last year, hasn't come up to last year's standard, in my opinion. I realise that when you have a long gap between seasons there is bound to be a continuity problem, and it really shows here. The staff and the system are nowhere near as efficient. It seems absurd that you order a coffee and cake, which are right in front of you, and have to then go and wait for it to be brought to the table. Just let the customer take it with them, rather than wait 20 minutes, even though it wasn't busy. The staff last year were very jolly and engaging, which they aren't this year. The older woman is distracted easily, breaking off 4 times to talk to others while taking my simple order. And, weirdly, said she didn't recognise me as a regular, which I thought was an utterly bizarre comment to make, apropos of nothing. I assume that the extremely pleasant lady from last year (I think she was Eastern European) is no longer there, which is a shame. The coffee, which was really good last year, just isn't this year, and I actually found myself wondering if it was one of these instant ones, as it tasted very ersatz. The lunch selection was very unappealing, with everything being bread based, and fairly pricey, certainly too pricey to visit as often as last year. And the menu was, frankly, pretentious and weird for the venue. My husband always chooses carrot cake, wherever he goes, but it looked like a child had made it. Scones, always my choice, are okay, is somewhat dry.
I know this all seems very negative, but I'm hoping it can be taken as constructive criticism, as I really like the venue and want it to be great.
The gardens are lovely, of course.
翻译:这家店离我们很近,去年我们经常光顾,所以今年也打算办年卡。然而,很遗憾,去年非常吸引人的“叉柄茶室”(Fork Handles tearoom)今年却不如去年了。我知道如果两个季节之间间隔太久,难免会出现一些衔接上的问题,而这个问题在这里表现得尤为明显。员工和服务效率都大不如前。比如,咖啡和蛋糕明明就在眼前,点完之后却要自己去等服务员端上来,这简直太荒谬了。明明不忙,为什么不让顾客自己带走,反而要等上二十分钟呢?去年的服务员热情友好,今年却完全不一样。那位年纪稍长的女士很容易分心,在我点餐的时候,她竟然四次停下来和别人聊天。奇怪的是,她居然说没认出我是常客,我觉得这话莫名其妙,莫名其妙。我猜去年那位非常和蔼的女士(我记得她好像是东欧人)已经不在了,真是可惜。去年的咖啡很好喝,但今年却不行了,我甚至怀疑是不是速溶咖啡,因为味道很假。午餐的选择也让人提不起兴趣,全是面包之类的,而且价格不菲,肯定比去年贵太多了,没法像去年那样经常来。坦白说,菜单在这个地段显得矫揉造作又怪异。我丈夫无论去哪儿都喜欢点胡萝卜蛋糕,但今年的看起来像是小孩子做的。司康饼我一直都点,味道还可以,就是有点干。
我知道这些评价听起来很负面,但我希望大家能把这些当成建设性的批评,因为我真的很喜欢这家店,希望它能做得更好。
当然,花园很漂亮。