C
Christine
Yorkshire1 review
- Overall 3
- Food 3
- Service 1
- Ambience 4
We went for afternoon tea at the Milner for my husband’s birthday. It was ok - but is that really what you should expect from a 4 star hotel?
It was described (and the reason I booked it) as a chocolate-themed afternoon tea. The only chocolate in evidence on the day that we went was an over-baked chocolate brownie. When I queried this, I was told that they change the cakes every 2 weeks!!! The sandwiches were very fresh but a little bland. The quiche was disappointing - the onion was swimming in brown liquid which meant that the quiche disintegrated and the vinegary taste over-whelmed the cheese. My husband described the scone as a brick. It was huge, but again over-baked. It crumbled completely when cut and then trying to put jam and cream on it. It was very tasty, fruity and lightly spiced though. The cakes are ok - the strawberry cheesecake is lovely but again disintegrates when you try to pick it up. Avoid the lemon (?) fondant fancy as it is sickeningly sweet with synthetic tasting cream.
The absolute worst aspect however was the service. No-one to greet us on arrival. We weren’t offered any additional tea until we were standing up to put our coats on (there was no-one around to ask). During the time we were there, other people were standing at the counter and walking and then when a member of staff did appear everyone was rushing to the bar to place orders. I heard a number of people complain. There was one poor guy working on his own most of the time and I did feel sorry for him. Another lady came to help but stood staring into space instead of walking round asking guests if everything was ok or if they needed more drinks. A 12.5% service charge was added to the bill but as I wasn’t given a copy until after I had paid I didn’t realise this. I must admit that if I had known I would have asked for it to be removed - and I have never done that anywhere.
So overall, the afternoon tea is ok, but there are far better experiences at other hotels in York.