Welcome to my second afternoon tea review. This time it is for a small country hotel and restaurant in the little Hertfordshire village of Hertingfordbury...
Name: The White Horse Hotel
Address: Hertingfordbury Road, Hertford, SG14 2LB
Price: We attended this afternoon tea using a groupon voucher that we were given as a gift. However, the website states that a normal afternoon tea would cost £12.95 per person for afternoon tea or £19.95 per person with a glass of champagne (with a minimum of four people).
Dress Code: No strict dress code.
Drink:
A glass of prosecco was included with our groupon voucher, but this is not normally included.
Tea:
There was no choice of tea given, but we asked for english breakfast. This was refilled at our request for no extra cost.
However, the tea was over stewed and undrinkable.
Cake:
There were three types of cake: Lemon drizzle, a nutty carrot cake and a chocolate cake. These were all lovely, however the presentation was poor, as you can see below the chocolate cake was messy and had other types of cake attached to it...
Scones:
Both plain and fruit scones were served. However, they were very small and extremely misshapen. As you can see below, they were knobbly and dry and not very appetising at all.
Sandwiches:
A small range of sandwiches were served: egg mayonnaise, cucumber, and ham. However the cucumber sandwich was only plain cucumber which was very unappetising.
Presentation:
The afternoon tea was presented on a cake stand. However, the overall presentation was poor, with messy cakes, knarled scones and bits of jam in the clotted cream.
Extras:
The only extra was a glass of prosecco each, which was included in the groupon deal but usually would be charged as extra in their afternoon tea.
Service:
The service was good once we were seated in the restaurant. A couple arrived after us and were shown into the restaurant before us. In the end we had to ask to be taken through to the restaurant for our tea. The server was fairly attentive, although we did have to ask for tea refills at points.
Atmosphere:
Quite and subdued on a Sunday morning, but nice and relaxed.
Decore:
Smart and clean. Served in the restaurant which had lovely large doors leading onto a terrace which would be nice in the summer.
Perfect For:
If you happen to drive past and fancy something sweet
Tea Cup Rating:
1/5
Summary:
A lovely little hotel in a pretty village, but the afternoon tea left a lot to be desired. For the price, the tea is meagre and of a low quality, and there were too many faux pas' so we will not be visiting again.
