Such a beautiful house, gardens and restaurant room. Food was nice, but the portions were small, so we had to order more sides to beef up the volume (and we aren't huge eaters). Ophelia mocktail very nice, daiquiri good but expensive. Only one non-alcoholic beer (Becks Blue) - in 2023 there should be a range of AF IPAs on offer. Mains of Halibut, Chicken Supreme were good. Desserts nice also. But the service: (i) beautiful fresh bread was served - but the starters came immediately, without any chance to enjoy the bread beforehand, (ii) a starter was missed by accidentally keying as a main so it arrived late, (iii) one main arrived as we were finishing our starters so that diner had to sit and watch us eating our mains, (iv) waitresses didn't really keep attentive on the table so dishes were cleared somewhat randomly. Such a top-end and pricy dining experience should be better.
Charlotte Greer
Tasty food and well presented - definitely recommend getting a table if you’re staying at the hotelGracjan was a joy and so helpful, as well as constantly smiling!
14carolina89
Tasty, attractive food served by helpful pleasant staff. Interesting oak panelled room, which may have benefitted by a proper fire in the ingle nook fireplace
186400Caroline
Booked on line which was very easy and were seated in a room on our own. The afternoon tea was very good from the food perspective, nice sandwiches and bread was fresh. Scones were nice as were the cakes. Thought the portions were very small, a party of 6 and we had just 2 cake stands. The staff were very poor, the stands were dumped on the table no explanation of what the cakes were or the sandwiches. We had to go at one point and find someone to get more coffee and tea. We felt we were put in the room and forgotten about, we had to go find someone to pay. Paid the bill then saw the £15.75 service charge a lot of money for appalling service
866Daisy
We went for lunch here just before Christmas with 6 guests as it was our wedding day, we did not book a 'wedding' as this was a low key event and we just wanted to enjoy the beautiful venue, which it is. Lunch was dreadful! Firstly we were seated in an empty dining room with two tables be hastily prepared, we had to ask for them to be put together, we assume our booking had been missed. We were then given bar menus! When we enquired about the full lunch menu we were told they had a limited choice and verbally quoted what was still available. The food arrived, and oh dear, it was on the whole not good at all. A few of our guests had chosen burgers (due to limited choice) the burger buns fell apart as it was obvious they had been frozen. The guests who had chosen the roast turkey were in for a treat...chicken breast slices, 2 Brussel sprouts each and a floret of cauliflower, which were so hard it was not possible to cut them with a knife, 3 very small quarters of a roast potato, the only item that was nice was a tiny portion of red cabbage. After the 'meal' we went to the lounge area for a coffee.... the lattes arrived after 15 minutes (there was no one at the bar) and they were cold and had to be returned, the Irish coffees took 1/2 and hour and although we had requested that some sugar be added before the cream this was absent so defeated the concept of a floater coffee. We were also overcharged on drinks that we had during 'lunch' and pre lunch. After writing a complaint I had to phone them as I had not received a reply after nearly 2 weeks, I was told they had been very busy and not had time to read the complaint! I then received an email from the deputy manager which was the worst response I could have expected. I was totally 'fobbed off' and was told my complaint would be passed to the relevant department so that the situation did not re-occur. There was no offer of refunding the overcharges or any real apology. I did email again to say I was disappointed in the response and felt it could have been addressed in a more professional manner, I never heard back from them. The venue is lovely but the we felt like total add on's on the day and that they really could not care less if we returned or not. Don't go here for lunch! We won't return again which is a shame.
Paul T
Will start with the good points. Hotel is nice and had a really nice room. Bar and surroundings very pleasant We were there for the NYE gala dinner, 3 course meal and band The band was OK apart for drummer who was trying to drowned out the singer. The food, first of all it was all well cooked but the portions were ridiculously small. The starter , Gin infused Salmon , this salmon was no more than 50 mm long , 20 mm wide and 10 mm thick with a tea spoon of Asian salad. Whole table had this and were shocked at size . It broke the ice as the 4 couples had not met before. The main course, I had the Halibut . This was probably 4 mouth fulls using a tiny fork. It was on a thin layer of spinach and 2 mussels. That’s was it . The wife had the venison. Max 3 oz of meat and small potato portion ( about a table spoon worth and half roasted carrot. The deserts we slighter better, waitress gave a few extra out as think she was embarrassed serving what we had. The drinks were expensive but that’s to be expected and typical of the type of venue so this is not a complaint. Only thing on drinks , asked for wine list and told to go to bar , really at a sit down dinner. For a night out for two with drinks this was over £750 . Do not expect to leave table starving Whole table thought it was a joke. (at least we laughed about it) Enjoyed the evening but why would they need to serve such small portions. Spent and extra £10 per person on ingredients and would have a good meal and a good review. Would I go back, Yes to hotel and maybe bar food as did see some of that it looked far superior to the main meal but no to an event like this as felt cheated. So , Dear Manager , Why did you think it was a good idea to be so mean on the portions when charging so much.
Carol Brunell
The Billesley Manor Hotel and Spa. A wonderful building and setting, attentive staff especially the lovely Viviene. There was a small limited menu for Sunday lunch with a choice of two deserts an ice cream choice was there too.The beef was a bit rare for me but was nice, I was unaware it would be served like this, do like mine with no red showing.The food was well presented and tasty if small portions 3 small potatoes, then they are my favorite. Two adequate slices of Beef.Small portion of tasty cauliflower cheese yummy, £6.80 for a glass of Rose wine.The brownie dessert was very tasty and small.Fantastic experience overall, larger portions would of been lovely due to the cost for four of us at £125.However that did include discretionary extra charge for service of £11.
marinalU6289ZQ
Very beautiful setting welcoming staff and amazing food. Very good wine list with wines from many country and some not too expensive
Kevin Beecher
Fantastic breakfast friendly staff.
BETH9292
Very nice room and decoration. Food was ok, not the best afternoon tea I’ve had but the main problem was that we were neglected for the duration of our tea, over an hour. We were seated behind a large central pillar and nobody checked on us about our food/more tea etc. I had to get up and wander down a corridor twice to ask for a tea refill. When we needed more milk I didn’t even bother because I knew it wouldn’t happen. Normally it’s easy to get a staff members attention to request more tea or coffee etc but this was impossible. The staff just weren’t around/ weren’t checking. Wouldn’t go there again. We were so disappointed as if had been a gift from family for my 30th birthday.
We visited for an afternoon tea for a birthday celebration, one vegan and one vegetarian tea. The food was really poor especially for the price - the cakes had a cheap shop bought feel to them and the scones were rock hard on the outside. I’ve had far better afternoon teas for half the price so it really a very disappointing experience. Nothing felt fresh , the food arrived less than 5 minutes after we had ordered it! I also had to brush crumbs off my chair when I was seated, was given a stained napkin and a teapot that was chipped. The manor itself is so lovely , it’s a real shame that the afternoon tea is so poor. We won’t return.
JackieLovesFood
Afternoon tea at Billesley Manor is as good as any I have had at 5 Star London hotels! Deliciously filled, freshly made sandwiches and scrumptious, beautiful little cakes – pavlova, choux bun, brownie and macaron. The scones were a triumph – they were freshly baked, wrapped in a napkin to keep warm and yet crisp on the outside. Probably to best scones I have ever had. I still have a smile on my face thinking about it all !
toppigglet
My partner and I received a voucher for afternoon tea so booked to go on a Monday afternoon. We were very excited to go as we love afternoon tea (especially in a setting like this) and hadn’t been here before. Unfortunately we were severely disappointed. There wasn’t much food (3 finger sandwiches and a bit of quiche, 2 small scones and some small cakes). This wasn’t the issue though as I know what you receive in an afternoon tea varies greatly. The issue was the quality of the food we received. The bread on the sandwiches was stale, the scones were stale and hard, the choux pastry was solid and the macarons were also hard. It felt like the food we were given had been left over from the day before. We’ve been for many afternoon teas and this was definitely the worst and not what we expected from such a beautiful hotel. On the plus side, the surroundings were beautiful and the staff were friendly. We don’t usually complain about anything but we were very shocked by what we were given!
marion c
Visited for afternoon tea. Beautiful building and grounds. Our waitress was delightful. Pleasant and professional. Though the restaurant was light and airy, the carpet was badly stained and grubby. The afternoon tea was fresh and tasty and reasonably priced. As we arrived early we waited in the bar and ordered 2 half glasses of orange juice and tonics. Very overpriced at £12. 65p for the two.
Such a beautiful house, gardens and restaurant room. Food was nice, but the portions were small, so we had to order more sides to beef up the volume (and we aren't huge eaters). Ophelia mocktail very nice, daiquiri good but expensive. Only one non-alcoholic beer (Becks Blue) - in 2023 there should be a range of AF IPAs on offer. Mains of Halibut, Chicken Supreme were good. Desserts nice also. But the service: (i) beautiful fresh bread was served - but the starters came immediately, without any chance to enjoy the bread beforehand, (ii) a starter was missed by accidentally keying as a main so it arrived late, (iii) one main arrived as we were finishing our starters so that diner had to sit and watch us eating our mains, (iv) waitresses didn't really keep attentive on the table so dishes were cleared somewhat randomly. Such a top-end and pricy dining experience should be better.
Tasty food and well presented - definitely recommend getting a table if you’re staying at the hotelGracjan was a joy and so helpful, as well as constantly smiling!
Tasty, attractive food served by helpful pleasant staff. Interesting oak panelled room, which may have benefitted by a proper fire in the ingle nook fireplace
Booked on line which was very easy and were seated in a room on our own. The afternoon tea was very good from the food perspective, nice sandwiches and bread was fresh. Scones were nice as were the cakes. Thought the portions were very small, a party of 6 and we had just 2 cake stands. The staff were very poor, the stands were dumped on the table no explanation of what the cakes were or the sandwiches. We had to go at one point and find someone to get more coffee and tea. We felt we were put in the room and forgotten about, we had to go find someone to pay. Paid the bill then saw the £15.75 service charge a lot of money for appalling service
We went for lunch here just before Christmas with 6 guests as it was our wedding day, we did not book a 'wedding' as this was a low key event and we just wanted to enjoy the beautiful venue, which it is. Lunch was dreadful! Firstly we were seated in an empty dining room with two tables be hastily prepared, we had to ask for them to be put together, we assume our booking had been missed. We were then given bar menus! When we enquired about the full lunch menu we were told they had a limited choice and verbally quoted what was still available. The food arrived, and oh dear, it was on the whole not good at all. A few of our guests had chosen burgers (due to limited choice) the burger buns fell apart as it was obvious they had been frozen. The guests who had chosen the roast turkey were in for a treat...chicken breast slices, 2 Brussel sprouts each and a floret of cauliflower, which were so hard it was not possible to cut them with a knife, 3 very small quarters of a roast potato, the only item that was nice was a tiny portion of red cabbage. After the 'meal' we went to the lounge area for a coffee.... the lattes arrived after 15 minutes (there was no one at the bar) and they were cold and had to be returned, the Irish coffees took 1/2 and hour and although we had requested that some sugar be added before the cream this was absent so defeated the concept of a floater coffee. We were also overcharged on drinks that we had during 'lunch' and pre lunch. After writing a complaint I had to phone them as I had not received a reply after nearly 2 weeks, I was told they had been very busy and not had time to read the complaint! I then received an email from the deputy manager which was the worst response I could have expected. I was totally 'fobbed off' and was told my complaint would be passed to the relevant department so that the situation did not re-occur. There was no offer of refunding the overcharges or any real apology. I did email again to say I was disappointed in the response and felt it could have been addressed in a more professional manner, I never heard back from them. The venue is lovely but the we felt like total add on's on the day and that they really could not care less if we returned or not. Don't go here for lunch! We won't return again which is a shame.
Will start with the good points. Hotel is nice and had a really nice room. Bar and surroundings very pleasant We were there for the NYE gala dinner, 3 course meal and band The band was OK apart for drummer who was trying to drowned out the singer. The food, first of all it was all well cooked but the portions were ridiculously small. The starter , Gin infused Salmon , this salmon was no more than 50 mm long , 20 mm wide and 10 mm thick with a tea spoon of Asian salad. Whole table had this and were shocked at size . It broke the ice as the 4 couples had not met before. The main course, I had the Halibut . This was probably 4 mouth fulls using a tiny fork. It was on a thin layer of spinach and 2 mussels. That’s was it . The wife had the venison. Max 3 oz of meat and small potato portion ( about a table spoon worth and half roasted carrot. The deserts we slighter better, waitress gave a few extra out as think she was embarrassed serving what we had. The drinks were expensive but that’s to be expected and typical of the type of venue so this is not a complaint. Only thing on drinks , asked for wine list and told to go to bar , really at a sit down dinner. For a night out for two with drinks this was over £750 . Do not expect to leave table starving Whole table thought it was a joke. (at least we laughed about it) Enjoyed the evening but why would they need to serve such small portions. Spent and extra £10 per person on ingredients and would have a good meal and a good review. Would I go back, Yes to hotel and maybe bar food as did see some of that it looked far superior to the main meal but no to an event like this as felt cheated. So , Dear Manager , Why did you think it was a good idea to be so mean on the portions when charging so much.
The Billesley Manor Hotel and Spa. A wonderful building and setting, attentive staff especially the lovely Viviene. There was a small limited menu for Sunday lunch with a choice of two deserts an ice cream choice was there too.The beef was a bit rare for me but was nice, I was unaware it would be served like this, do like mine with no red showing.The food was well presented and tasty if small portions 3 small potatoes, then they are my favorite. Two adequate slices of Beef.Small portion of tasty cauliflower cheese yummy, £6.80 for a glass of Rose wine.The brownie dessert was very tasty and small.Fantastic experience overall, larger portions would of been lovely due to the cost for four of us at £125.However that did include discretionary extra charge for service of £11.
Very beautiful setting welcoming staff and amazing food. Very good wine list with wines from many country and some not too expensive
Fantastic breakfast friendly staff.
Very nice room and decoration. Food was ok, not the best afternoon tea I’ve had but the main problem was that we were neglected for the duration of our tea, over an hour. We were seated behind a large central pillar and nobody checked on us about our food/more tea etc. I had to get up and wander down a corridor twice to ask for a tea refill. When we needed more milk I didn’t even bother because I knew it wouldn’t happen. Normally it’s easy to get a staff members attention to request more tea or coffee etc but this was impossible. The staff just weren’t around/ weren’t checking. Wouldn’t go there again. We were so disappointed as if had been a gift from family for my 30th birthday.
Restaurantji Recommends
We visited for an afternoon tea for a birthday celebration, one vegan and one vegetarian tea. The food was really poor especially for the price - the cakes had a cheap shop bought feel to them and the scones were rock hard on the outside. I’ve had far better afternoon teas for half the price so it really a very disappointing experience. Nothing felt fresh , the food arrived less than 5 minutes after we had ordered it! I also had to brush crumbs off my chair when I was seated, was given a stained napkin and a teapot that was chipped. The manor itself is so lovely , it’s a real shame that the afternoon tea is so poor. We won’t return.
Afternoon tea at Billesley Manor is as good as any I have had at 5 Star London hotels! Deliciously filled, freshly made sandwiches and scrumptious, beautiful little cakes – pavlova, choux bun, brownie and macaron. The scones were a triumph – they were freshly baked, wrapped in a napkin to keep warm and yet crisp on the outside. Probably to best scones I have ever had. I still have a smile on my face thinking about it all !
My partner and I received a voucher for afternoon tea so booked to go on a Monday afternoon. We were very excited to go as we love afternoon tea (especially in a setting like this) and hadn’t been here before. Unfortunately we were severely disappointed. There wasn’t much food (3 finger sandwiches and a bit of quiche, 2 small scones and some small cakes). This wasn’t the issue though as I know what you receive in an afternoon tea varies greatly. The issue was the quality of the food we received. The bread on the sandwiches was stale, the scones were stale and hard, the choux pastry was solid and the macarons were also hard. It felt like the food we were given had been left over from the day before. We’ve been for many afternoon teas and this was definitely the worst and not what we expected from such a beautiful hotel. On the plus side, the surroundings were beautiful and the staff were friendly. We don’t usually complain about anything but we were very shocked by what we were given!
Visited for afternoon tea. Beautiful building and grounds. Our waitress was delightful. Pleasant and professional. Though the restaurant was light and airy, the carpet was badly stained and grubby. The afternoon tea was fresh and tasty and reasonably priced. As we arrived early we waited in the bar and ordered 2 half glasses of orange juice and tonics. Very overpriced at £12. 65p for the two.
Lovely afternoon tea and lovely staff