G & Tea Leaf in Harborough

I seldom bother writing reviews of places that I have been to that have been poor as I prefer to be positive - but we go to Foxton Locks regularly and this place annoyed me. First up, the coffee is poor. They have a push button coffee machine. Really guys? Everywhere on the high street has an expresso machine. All the other local places have one too. So why not you? Better coffee and at £2.50 for an Americano I expect an expresso machine made coffee. They can’t do hot milk with the coffee. What? No microwave, no milk chafing machine, no steam wand, nothing. Cold milk only. Guys, it’s 2020. If we can put man on the moon we can get hot milk in Foxton. “Sorry it’s a busy time”. So put the menus on each table so that customers don’t have to ask for one and it saves staff time. Get the staff to carry a tray when they go into the restaurant so that they can clear crockery from tables before they return to the counter. Pop a small damp cloth on that tray so staff can immediately wipe clean the table that they have just cleared. Get the staff in for 60 mins training very soon so that they have a clue about what they are trying to do. They are lovely, they are willing but they need a small amount of training and shown what “good staff” look like and do.

Popped in with my Mother, Wife and Small daughter to have a light lunch. The menu is very limited, we opted to have paninis which were OK- but expected a wee bit more for the price paid. The layout is extremely cramped and given that the establishment was fairly busy when we visited it made it quite uncomfortably cosy- seated wedged back to back with other customers and against a radiator! In addition- if you try and pass yourself off as a sort of gourmet tea shop and present tea in glass pots with an infuser for tea leaves- it does look rather daft just chucking a standard teabag in....... Overall I would describe the experience as dissapointing- we certainly won't be hurrying back.

Neither of the two staff were interested in taking our order, so we left after 10 mins. The tearoom was only 1/3 full, so they had plenty of opportunity to serve us, but spent their time slowly clearing tables and preparing drinks at a snail’s pace. They didn’t care that we left and I think that they were happy that they had one less table to serve.

Called in for tea and cakes whilst walking the dog at Foxton locks. Wonderful place with veranda overlooking the water, dog friendly with biscuits, blankets and water there for all to use. Tea and cakes were fabulous, staff friendly, smiling and happy. A must if you want a lovely place to stop with your pet.

Just across from the Foxton Locks canal system was this very pleasant tea rooms. The service and tea etc. was of a very good standard, would recommend it.

Thank you G&Tea Leaf for the totally different experience from our previous encounter. We were greeted on arrival, the staff were happy, pleasant and helpful, couldn't do enough for us. The food was lovely, the tea was free flowing and the homemade cakes were delicious. Worth a second visit, clearly having a bad day first time round. Thank you for your hospitality.

We call here for drinks after canal walks, of which there are many near Foxton. Tables right by the canal and good choice of soft drinks

Looking for somewhere to get a bite early but nothing open until 10.00 so went in for a meeting. Nice spacious tea room with table service, dogs allowed that was good as we had a small pup with us. Wanted some toast and coffee but they only do tea, coffee and cake disappointingly but the cake was good anyway. A group of about 12 pensioner's came in and saw our pup, they all wanted to hold and make a fuss of her, that was nice.

Visited with my baby daughter and Dad for lunch. The menu is limited but it is a tearoom so you wouldn't expect a really long list of options. I had the coronation chicken flatbread and my Dad had the chicken and bacon salad. Both arrived quickly and were very tasty. We followed this with a cake each and a cup of their special blend tea. Very tasty! There are no baby changing facilities but you can use the one at the pub next door.

This is a lovely place to stop and relax watching the boats and swans and ducks. You can sit in or out and dogs are welcome. Had a boathouse blend tea and a generous slice of chocolate cake. I couldn’t finish it so the lovely waiter boxed it for me to take home. I really enjoyed our visit in the middle of our walk. Will return

My wife and I recently visited G&Tea Leaf whilst at Foxton Locks. Located next door to the Foxton Locks Inn, G&T Leaf is nicely decorated, very comfortable and offers an attractive outdoor terrace down to the canal. The tea's served here are proper leaf tea and we also indulged in a slice of homemade cake. Prices are fairly average for this type of venue (around £10 for 2 tea's and 2 slices of cake), but the service was good and location excellent.

It was quiet by 3pm on bank holiday Monday, but they had been busy; you could tell the staff were fed up but they mustered niceness even though their fuses were short. The food was served quickly, and the prices were high, but this reflected in the standard of the food. Two adults and a child ate for £34.

After a long walk nothing better to pick you up than a fresh pot of tea for two. Great location great tea what more do you need.

We visited on Good Friday and with the beautiful weather, predicted that it would be busy so therefore pre-booked a table for lunch. My daughter and partner were visiting from Amsterdam and we were taking her grandmother too, I was raving how lovely this place had been last year when I visited. Our table was available as requested outside, in a beautiful position overlooking the canal, we were informed that there was about an half hour wait for the food as it was so busy, we didn't mind at that point. However when the Spring menu was given to us it was extremely limited. Last year the menu had a much better choice and included being able to have an afternoon tea. I asked if it was possible if a plain ham or cheese sandwich could be provided for my mother-in-law as the only 3 options available, curried chicken, minted lamb and Mediterranean vegetable were not really suitable for her. We were advised that it wouldn't be possible so she ended up with a scone. It was busy but they only had 3 members of staff on which was nowhere near enough to cater for how busy it was. The lady in charge was apologetic but the young waitress left a lot to be desired. She took our order and came back 20 minutes later to say 'a colleague had picked it up and lost it' so she had to take it again. We waited over an hour for a couple of sandwiches. We had ordered some cake and this did not appear, I went in to ask if I could take a piece but was told it would be bought to us, after 30 minutes we decided to leave. We had asked for glasses for water and had to go and ask for them again after waiting a long time. We were given a piece of cake for free but we were very disappointed by the poor service and very poor menu choice, which is a shame as last year it was our place to visit for lunch.

Looked very inviting from the outside and started off promising as we were greeted and shown to a table, provided with menus and left to choose. Admittedly it was busy as it’s Good Friday and warm sunshine, however the good service stopped there. We ordered drinks which arrived promptly but our salad and flat bread took over an hour to reach us. We weren’t alone in being kept waiting and several people were complaining. A real shame as there seemed to be plenty of staff, just very poorly organised! Cutlery was having to be requested by everyone and to be kept waiting this long for basically a wrap and salad is not good, especially when charged £25 for the privilege. Foxton Lakes is a wonderful day out ... best take a picnic next time!

A huge thank you to Sandy and her staff for providing such a relaxed, intimate and wonderful venue for Andrew and Terri’s wedding reception. The G and T Leaf looked lovely, the food was wonderful and the attentiveness and friendliness of the staff made it a very happy day. A special mention to the waitress who led us all in Whigfield’s Saturday Night!

I pre-booked an afternoon tea and whilst on the phone was told that no one else had pre-booked. When arriving, a table not overlooking the canal had been reserved for me. I was disappointed that walk-ins would take priority over someone who had made the effort to pre-book. Besides the placement, I was happy with the food and the staff were very friendly.

We arrived on a sunny afternoon in March and the place was not very busy. We were able to sit outside and watch the boats. The pot of green tea with spice apple was very refreshing and our pots were refilled with hot water - which was a nice touch. We did not eat here so can't comment on the food.

Dreadful experience today at G & Tea Leaf would advise anyone not to go to the expense of having an afternoon tea there. Bread like cardboard as it had been left out all day, not even enough to have one each of each filling - and there was only 4 of us! The Prosecco was served in a fish tank. The cakes were clearly cut up Mr Kipling's. At least the scones were homemade, we knew this because of the very long hair retrieved from one of them! No apology just an explanation that the cook must have forgotten her hair net today!

We arrived after a walk down the canal, and were not sure whether to take seat or to wait to be seated. The sign outside said they catered for gluten free and vegan, which was very appealing to me as a gluten intolerant veggie! We took a seat, and i went over to the cake selection, none of which was labelled. I then asked a member of staff who was unsure which were gluten free (this for coeliacs, would be very alarming). They had run out of gluten free brownies, and the usual gluten free lemon cake was made with gluten that day, which I understand was out of their control as its an out-sourced bakery. It would have been good had things been labelled however. I then returned to our seats and despite having flagged ourselves to the waitresses, were ignored for well over 15 minutes when the cafe was not that busy. The manager behind the bar eventually pointed us out and we eventually had our order taken.

We came here for coffee this morning!!! The cakes were amazing - so fresh and lots of vegan options too. We had the ( vegan) mincemeat frangipan and lemon drizzle cake - definite 5/5!! The staff were lovely service excellent and the little cafe was really pretty!!

Popped in here today with a friend for some tea and cake. This was my first visit, but it was chosen by my friend as he had been before and really rated it. I ordered the Appel Strudel tea, which was none of your cheap tea bag muck, but rather proper loose leaf tea, which was served up in a glass tea pot, which strained it as it was poured into the glass cup. The tea was so good that I bought a tin to bring home. I also had a large fruit scone, which was served up warm, with real clotted cream and a small pot of jam. Everything about this establishment smacked of class and decorum. The view was great and the two members of staff on duty were cheerful and attentive. When we had finished our tea, I went up to get more, which I was quite willing to pay for, but it was suggested that we try some more hot water in the pots first to see if that would suffice, which it did – a suggestion that saved us money and showed how lovely the staff were. I’ll definitely be returning as this was such a nice experience.

A lovely tea room at the bottom lock of Foxton locks

Perfect for fresh cup of tea and baked cakes, if I was not driving then the G would of been on the menu. Quirky place with friendly staff and good service.

After lunch at the neighbouring pub followed by a walk up the locks and a visit to the museum we took tea (and cake) here before departure and very pleasant too. Enjoyed the photos and the friendly service.

A family meet up on a cool October day (4 adults & 2 children) at Foxton Locks. Watched the boats go up and down the flight, visiting the museum with great information about the history of the boat lift from the museum host and then for something to eat.

Me, my sister and her baby had such a lovely visit today.

I visited here for lunch with a couple of friends. We weren’t greeted so approached the disinterested staff, behind the counter, to ask where we could sit. We were presented with one menu between us all, with the equally disinterested waitress asking for our orders almost immediately (this was tricky for me, sharing an upside-down menu).

Lovely little place in a beautiful setting but today's visit wasn't up to scratch. Panini was cold...contents (falafal and hallumi) not cooked. As we left, the people behind us were also saying their paninis were stone cold. Young waitress seemed to be working under duress and wasn't very friendly. Hopefully just an off day!

We visited for coffee and a cake when they have a live pianist. This makes such a refreshing change. The decor and surroundings chic. Delicious coffee, gorgeous chocolate shortbread and friendly staff. Our second visit and still very impressed. Well done

Hospitality second to none again, soup definitely homemade it was broccoli and Stilton and so tasty. The brilliant pianist was an added bonus 👌

We had lunch here as a group of 8 ladies on a day out on a narrowboat from Harborough.

A lovely place for tea or coffee and a cake, sit outside and watch the activity. Friendly staff and scrumptious cakes.

The location is ideal. Right on the side of the canal, with great views and nice decor.

We stopped off for a cuppa and a piece of cake and we were very impressed. Would recommend the Bakewell tart!

The coffee shop is gorgeous, beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean. We only had coffee sitting out by the canal today, but will return in future for the food as it looks delicious.

Enjoyed lunch sitting outside by canal basin. Friendly service and good food: between us we sampled the warm host's cheese salad and corned beef sandwiches with salad. Inside looked inviting, too,for cooler days. A more peaceful environment bthan the adjacent, busy pub.

A friend and I visited for lunch and as it was a lovely day sat outside to enjoy the stunning views of the canal. We ordered an alcohol free gin and tonic each and were pleasantly surprised at how nice they were. I had the quiche of the day which came with coleslaw and salad. My friend had the goats cheese. We finished our meals with cappuccinos and chocolate brownies. The service was spot on. All in all a lovely lunch.

This is a good, little cafe with friendly staff and some good tea. The food was nice however it was quite expensive for what you were getting.

Fantastic selection of drinks and confectioners dog friendly lovely service top quality produce. Very clean and comfortable perfect to relax and enjoy the views of the lock area.

We went Foxton Locks for the day .went in G and Tealeaf was really nice could not be more helpful but we didnt have food just drink but the food looked lovely

Nobody seemed to have a clue what they were doing, a complete shambles, however, the tea and cappichino were second to none.

Lovely venue overlooking the basin for the canal barges Tea and cake very tasty Great afternoon in lovely weather

Setting is very nice by the lock, pleasant looking establishment, friendly enough staff. However, food very disappointing. £25 for afternoon tea for two. 1 scone each, maybe 4 miniature small cuts of cake the size a thumb if that. The sandwiches were cut so small it was embarrassing. Put together they wouldn't even make half a normal sandwich. We then ordered a croque monsieur which was basically a ham and cheese panini (admittedly the then rechecked and was under panini section), but a pointless description. Was very bland. They tried to make this a hip trendy modern place, but the food is so off par it's embarrassing.

Took my mother over here for a light lunch on a lovely summers day.Sat outside on the terrace on good tables and chairs in the sunshine overlooking the canal.Terrace was full and bustingly busy .The service was prompt and friendly(we were served by a young chap who told us he had just started but was very confident clearly enjoyed his job).My mother had a panini and I had a ploughman’s complimented by a very good rose.We had two g and t ‘s on arrival which were again excellent.To sum up a fantastic place to al fresco drink and dine,a credit to the area.

Had a lovely lunch here at the weekend,the food was delicious and reasonably priced,the staff were all very friendly and attentive. It was nice to have loose leaf tea and the little teapots it comes in is a nice touch,it was a hot day so we sat outside on the decking,it did get very busy but we didn’t feel rushed. I’m looking forward to our next visit.

This is almost too good for the location. There was obviously a great deal of thought that went into the decorating of this cafe. There are tables in the main room and the large conservatory overlooking the water. The piano is a nice addition and the soft furnishings are very smart, all of which looked great with the pot plants and flower beds.

Went on a sunny Sunday afternoon ,Place looks nice but not enough staff and food took a long time to arrive ,We had the cold meat platter and it wasn't worth the £14.95 that it cost and the 45 min wait to get it ,the place was not busy (how long does it take to put cold meat on a plate -plus they forgot to put the olives it came with on and we had to ask for them )

After cycling 21 miles to the locks I required food and drink

I just celebrated my 60th birthday with my friends at these tea rooms. The staff were very friendly and efficient and the afternoon tea was delicious. I shall definitely be recommending this place to my friends. They even bought me a bunch of flowers for my birthday which was such a nice touch. Check this place out if you already haven’t!

We had table set for 10 Service was excellent , waitress Georgia was outstanding & very polite, Afternoon tea was lovely & refills etc Great weather to finish the afternoon off drinking bubbles Would defo go again

Found g&tea; leaf on HappyCow.com and visited midday this Wednesday,

We had booked a table via Facebook a week in advance but on arrival were told that they hadn't got our booking, citing it was 'another manager' who took the booking. The lady did say it was their fault and in all fairness, she did seat us by the door. We waited what seemed like a lifetime for menus and then even longer to actually order. At ordering, we were told that there would be a wait for food and drink, but we did request that they bring the kids food out asap which the lady said she would. The drinks arrived after about 10 minutes, but they had put the kids drinks in glasses..... Probably not the best idea. When ordering, we were told that they had ran out of sausage rolls for the afternoon tea, and so requested extra sandwiches instead. When the food came out, we got extra cakes..... Not what we asked for. Food took about 45 minutes to come, and get this, the kids food came out after ours - complete the opposite to what we asked for. I appreciate it was a busy bank holiday, but that is why we booked and it seemed that they were massively understaffed. It's days like this that could make or break a new restaurant. The real disappointment came when we asked for the bill and Steve (one of the managers) seemed more interested in talking to his mates who were just walking through the door, than sorting it for us. So much so that he just passed it along to one of the waitresses and continued to chat with his mate. When we went to pay, he couldn't sound more disinterested, and just kept on saying ' the customer always comes first'...... We'll, we didn't feel like that Steve.

This place has so much potential, and we were happy to get a table on bank holiday Monday. We sat down and fed our baby, waited half an hour, went to the till and said can we order, we were told someone was coming. Nobody came. Went back after another 15 mins, and eventually someone came over. We ordered and waited another 20 mins, then went to ask at the till if we could at least have our drinks. Well our order wasn’t at the till or in the kitchen so nothing had been done. Our baby needed to sleep so we said we would just leave, were simply asked “are you sure?”, no real apology, no offer of anything. I’m sorry to leave this review but I think number of staff needs to increase and customer service needs significant improvements.

Visited on the late May Bank Holiday with 3 friends. Massively understaffed, only 2 people working a packed front of house. Dirty cups and plates on most tables. Took 15 minutes before we could order. When ordering the waitress did not know the menu or what soft drinks could be offered. We order a sparkling elderflower and were brought an elderflower tonic. When we queried this we were told this is what we had ordered and were not offered an alternative. Overall very disappointing hospitality.

This place is really cute and as a bonus had the option to sit outside alongside the canal in the sunshine!

Visited here on a sunny Sunday. We were lucky and got a table outside. We were met quickly to be told a waiter would be with us in a minute. When he finally arrived we ordered an afternoon tea but asked for 2 cold drinks for whilst we waited. However the food arrived first then the drinks. We had to ask for plates which was strange.

This attractively decorated cafe bar opened only four days ago and there are some teething troubles! The food was very nice when it arrived but we waited over an hour for sandwiches. While we were there we saw 4 tables of people get fed up and walk out, which is a real shame as they may not return. Even people who ordered cake and scones had to wait for over 45 minutes which I have to say puzzled me - surely they must be made in advance?! Another table of people walked out because no one offered them a menu in 20 minutes. I know it was a busy day and they were short staffed but some of the waiting staff were just useless. As I said , the food was very nice so hopefully next time they’ll have got their act together and I can give it five stars!

We arrived to look at the Foxton locks and was surprised to see the pub doesn't open until 1130, half hour later than google stated.

Great selection of specialist teas. Generous size lunches. Ploughmans with loads of cheese and nice fresh crusty bread.

Nipped in for a sandwich during a day at the locks with my family, staff helpful in choosing and nice and simple meals available for the kids. Would definitely recommend.

Visted G & Tea Leaf at the weekend whilst the sun was shining, had a lovely afternoon tea sat outside by the canal. Service was friendly, quick and prompt unfortunately can't remember the name of the girl who served us. Would definitely recommend!