The Tiffany Blue Box Cafe at Harrods in London

Mediocre experience! My daughter booked the afternoon tea for us as part of my 50th birthday present. The atmosphere was lovely, the food was delicious but the service was well below par, especially considering the cost. Was asked as we'd finished eating if we wanted a tea or coffee refill despite my coffee cup having sat empty for almost an hour. Other parties had pictures taken by the staff, not once were we asked if we wanted our picture taken despite seeing that we were taking pictures. Attention to detail was definitely lacking, one member of staff in particular was very off after we asked for the service charge to be removed. As we walked out she completely ignored us. Not what we'd expect!!

Monday morning we went for Breakfast and I must say it was very nice however, I asked for a glass of champagne for my wife and the gentleman was very polite and said yes , well needless to say she never received it and when we asked for the bill it came WITH 2 glasses of champagne on it, he did remove them but it did put a little damper on the event for my wife (this was a birthday present from her daughter). Yes we could have reminded them but we didn’t expect to have to and by the time you would expect to have received it she decided not to have a glass.

This is a really difficult review to write because part of the issue wasn't Tiffany's, is what we were told. Prior to booking afternoon tea, I checked 2 times on the phone and via email that they cater for Gluten-free diets, and my partner also checked and received confirmation from 3 people during the booking of the afternoon tea that it is offered and they can offer alternatives. I have an allergy to wheat and when we sat down shortly after we were told that they do not offer gluten-free alternatives. The restaurant manager was apologetic, offered to try and make accommodations where possible but ultimately they could not deliver what we were promised. This was booked by my partner as an anniversary treat and this caused a significant drop in our enjoyment of the day. I made a conscious decision to persevere through the normal menu and deal with my issues afterwards, in order to try and salvage the experience as much as possible. For me the initial impressions were good, it looked pleasant, staff appeared friendly and the settings seemed to reflect the brand. We were sat at a table and for an establishment carrying the name "Tiffany's" I'd expect exceptional standards. The first thing I noticed was water stained champagne flutes, and scratched water glasses. This was then followed by the news above. Which really was the nail in the coffin of this experience. The first course, the raspberry granita was nice, pleasant and refreshing. I started with a hot chocolate they accommodated me and made it with oat milk. It was a nice hot chocolate, but that's as far as I'd go. The "main course" came out and all items were delicious. The flavours were great and the textures great..I especially loved that I could have more and even though I know I shouldn't, I was hungry and it tasted good. The cucumber sandwich, the chicken sandwich, the egg and sweet brioche roll and all really tasty. The salmon was my least favourite. The sweet treats that came out, the scones were warm, soft and delicious, the best part of the sweet treats for certain. The strawberry jam and clotted cream were tasty. I think more clotted cream would have been great. The mini desserts to be honest, I didn't really like them. The chocolate profiterole was nice, but it was quite overwhelming. I had a strawberry and kiwi tea which was as you'd expect. All in all, the whole experience was just okay. It was majorly tainted by the misinformation we were given. Whether that was from Harrods or Tiffany's I don't know, but when 4+ individual people tell you, you can enjoy a gluten-free option at Tiffany's and when you're sat down excited to have an afternoon tea which caters for your allergies, to be brought crashing back down really left a sour taste and bad impression. I'm grateful that our bill for the additional items like the bottle of coke was complimentary and the service charge was not enforced. The likelihood is even if I could eat the food, for the price of a champagne afternoon te...