Harriets Cafe and Tearooms in St Edmundsbury

Beautiful historical building, which has kept many of the original features. Large tables and attentive staff. Sadly, the food is only average, although the coffee was very good and piping hot. The tuna melt was greasy, and the mozzarella on sourdough toast was cold by the time it was eaten. Cold serving plates doesn't help. Crisps with salad seems quirky, but maybe it's also a cheap filler. The service was ok, but nobody seemed to enjoy working there. The Norwich branch is slightly better. It's great for the cafetiere of coffee, but the food, for the price is nothing special. Typical cafe chain.

We ordered two drinks and two soups. The drinks took 20 minutes to arrive and the soups (special for the day) arrived 42minutes after ordering and complaining. The soup was pretty tasteless. They were not overly busy. The management were not that apologetic. They agreed to cancel drinks cost which was appreciated. Their strap line on the windows says "A truly English experience " ours wasn't. Let's hope it's a one off.

We went to Harriet's for a teatime work outing. We'd booked ahead so no problem getting a table. I'd not been before but I am a Yorkshire Betty's fan, so my tea and cakes bar is high! First impressions. Sticky menus. Echoey. Lovely helpful staff (top marks for this!) I was looking forward to a variety of delicate afternoon tea deliciousness, but the scones were big and the slice of cake absolutely ENORMOUS. Sandwiches were good though. Scones 1/10 (far too much bicarbonate or whatever it is that makes your mouth dry up and gives you stomach ache?) and they were cold... not good. Cake was great but I only tasted a bit as it was so big. The staff provided boxes for leftovers. They seem used to this. Not something that should happen, surely? Afternoon tea should not be rubstickingly massive! And it can't be good, economically? Yes, I should have ordered the miniature tea, but friends who ordered that still took cake home. Downsides: about 20 mins (at least) difference in serving times for our group of 10. I'm not sure why as afternoon teas can be assembled at the same time, then served simultaneously? Watching the huge plastic catering tubs of strawberry jam being decanted into serving bowls at the front counter was a bit off-putting. Nit picking, but maybe people would think it was decent jam if they were shielded from this! Harriet's is obviously a stalwart of Bury St Edmunds but it felt tired. However, delicious sandwiches and cake and really helpful and charming staff who managed to sort things for our demanding group. Thank you! To reward your staff, please take them to somewhere which serves more delicate afternoon tea and maybe then can come up with a refreshing reboot for Harriet's. Also, please clean the menus and hide the jam bucket.

We have visited Harriet's many times before and, for the most part, they have been pleasant experiences. Sadly not so this last visit. So many things were wrong - rude staff when we were trying to clarify something on the menu, then incorrect food and drink items brought to our table - not just one but several - we ended up eating separately as with our meals there was a great delay in changing the incorrect meals to what we had actually ordered. When we went to pay, the lady asked "Was everything ok for you?" My husband replied "Not exactly the best experience here." She then got the manager, who proceeded to tell us how wrong we were(!) to mention what had gone wrong as it was "all human error, he turned over millions and did not care what we thought." I suggested instead of excusing everything, he could have just said "Sorry" but he refused and just said "Tough!" And that truly was the politest part of his tirade. He tendered the card reader, I paid and we left. (My husband said afterwards that we shouldn't have.) So sad, as this used to be a lovely place to meet up with friends and eat, confident in the knowledge that it would be a nice visit. We won't be going back and advise others not to be enticed by the 'Betty's of York' look veneer, underneath unfortunately, it is more like Fawlty Towers.

Called in with a friend, for a coffee and cake to take out. The coffee was superb, and the huge piece of carrot cake was divine. I’ll definitely be back when I’m next in the town.

We had breakfast at Harriet’s. It was one of the nicest eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. Lovely little place and the staff were extremely friendly. They serve real tea too which is a lovely touch. My only negative comment would be that it could do with a good dust.

Having seen some negative reviews I felt compelled to give my opinion of Harriet's. My wife and I accompanied by my Brother and Sister in law have visited Harriet's on several occasions and have enjoyed each visit, great selection of quality teas and coffees. Us guys have the breakfast which is both generous and well priced, our wives enjoy the sandwiches, cream teas, cakes and macaroons. Lovely setting and attentive, helpful, and polite staff.

Sadly Harriet’s needs a good clean up. The carpets are filthy, staff uniforms mucky and food below par. My sandwiches were dry and stale. We used to love it here and it felt like a treat but sadly standards have slipped.

We were pointed to where to sit , not taken over to the table. We sat there nobody came over to take our order had to call waitress over.We ordered afternoon tea , the 2 plates like brought over to us were dirty. They replaced with new ones. Nobody came over to ask if everything was OK, or asked if we wanted top up on the tea. No atmosphere if it wasn't for a gift voucher we would have walked out.

Disappointing. Tea For Two, we chose both options, only difference was one 50p more expensive for a gateaux cake rather than mini variety. Expected artisan bread. Got Tesco value. Cheap and doughy Sandwich content tasteless and bread damp, obviously been made very early in morning - now late afternoon. Finger sandwiches were:- Ham - cheap and meagre on white Cucumber and cheap Philly - soggy, bland, awful I don't eat white bread, so half wasted, I wasn't given any option. Egg mayo on brown , tasteless Scones OK , but cheap jam (no fruit), scones had few currents Tea: Tipsiest pot I've ever seen and pot of hot water provided , don't know why, there was no way anyone would want to weaken even further ! Despite waiter stating refills available, none offered Hottest day of the year, as we left, realised they had outdoor seating - not offered Nobody asked if everything was OK ? The amount of bread left on plates might have been an indication. Obviously not interested Tip: Save your £40 (for two). Go to local supermarket, buy some really nice bread, real butter, best ham and a few cakes.... go sit in the Abbey Gardens and have a wonderful , better experience. Cost no more than £20 max. add an ice cream ! Old Fashioned Lemonade was best part, but it was pointed out before we had ordered that refills were not an option. Now there's a surprise

What a disappointing visit. Harriet’s wasn’t busy at 10.30am and had more than enough staff. My friend and I ordered a flat white and specified an americano with oat milk, we also ordered a toasted tea cake and a small cake. We had a wait for the coffee (one of which arrived without the oat milk) we had finished our coffees and were still waiting for the cakes which arrived a good 10mins after.The tea cake was cold with a pot of cold butter distinctly unappealing. At no point did anyone ask “if everything was alright” or indeed come over to see if we wanted anything else.

Wonderful customer service, staff were very friendly and quick to ensure we were being looked after. Food was served swiftly, good presentation and tasty! The room itself is beautiful, my children felt like royalty! A lovely experience, we will be returning.

Me and my wife visited here not so long ago for lunch, to be honest we wish we never bothered. This place gives off all the wrong impression of looking grand and posh etc from the front but once your inside that's where it all goes down hill. The service was appauling. To many young girls all chatting behind the bar area about their weekly parties. It didn't seem like they wanted to be there. We was sat very quickly from a manager but she seemed to disappear upstairs, wasn't seen again whilst we was there. It took a while for someone to come over to take our order I was about to get up and go over and order myself with the young girls It lack someone in charge, whilst we was there I noticed a couple of customers leave as they had been waiting for service. Anyway the Tea arrived quickly but the food did take a while we only ordered a couple of rolls. The rolls were OK but for the price I expected something more. We declined on Dessert cakes especially after my wife using the toilet facilities. What can I say about these,unfit for humans they looked like they had not been cleaned for a week toilet paper every where just a mess I mentioned it to one of the girls and they replied yeah we don't have a cleaner. On top of that tables look unclean and sticky, the cake area looked like it could do with a deep clean. Quite frankly I expect more from a place like Harriets The hygiene standard certainly needs to be improved, as well as service and food. I quickly paid and told the girls please tell your manager your establishment is disgusting whether they did or not I do not know. Me and my wife definitely will not be coming back. I advise anyone to look and think closely about Harriets now as it's certainly gone done hill.

Went in for lunch and had tuna jacket with salad. We had to use wipes to clean the table we were on and the cake counter beside us was filthy. The potatoes had obviously been re-heated as they were yellow, warm and soggy and not sure what they used in the tuna but it didnt look or taste like mayonnaise. The salad was dripping in dressing which spoilt it. The toilet was filthy and unhygienic. Considering they want to give off a fine tea room appearance, their food and hygiene leave a lot to be desired. Needless to say, we wont be going back. There are far nicer dining experiences in Bury to visit.

Chose Harriet’s for a birthday lunch with my other half. Staff were really friendly and attentive and made us feel really welcome. Between us we had the cream tea (2 scones, cream & jam and 1 tea or coffee), a brie bacon and cranberry panini and a tuna roll which both came with crisps and a side salad. All the food was delicious and generous portion sizes. I had a hot chocolate to drink which was also absolutely incredible, I liked how it came with marshmallows and cream at no extra cost. I would say the drinks were slightly on the expensive side, however the food prices were very reasonable and overall was such a lovely experience and I would return :)

Don’t agree with some of the reviews on here. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and sat outside. The waitress was polite and efficient. Why someone would take offence by the uniform they wear? It’s old and traditional- if you want modern head somewhere else! It’s a lovely old fashioned tea room offering a small selection of breakfast and lunches also f with afternoon tea. I had the coronation chicken jacket potato which was flavoursome and quite “saucy” with tiny chunks of chicken. My husband had a panini which he thoroughly enjoyed. The table opposite had the fishcakes and they looked delicious and plates were empty when we left! Would advise you check the menu situated out the front before entering, that way you won’t be disappointed! We were happy 😊

I called in here for breakfast today, the first time here in several years. Ordered scrambled egg and a pot of tea as I knew from previous experience that the coffee wouldn’t be very good. The scrambled egg arrived looking like it was made from powder or a premix, there was a lot of it but I would be very surprised if it was made from fresh eggs, someone also decided that they would cover half the plate with a salad smothered in a vinaigrette, who eats this with scrambled egg? The ketchup arrived nice and quick when requested but tasted like it had been come from the very cheapest range at the cash and carry, the sort you would expect in a cheap cafe or old style hot dog van. The waitress was very pleasant and said she would give feedback to the cook/chef, not sure if that happened or not.

Stopped here for a cuppa on a hot afternoon. We wouldn't have done so if I'd checked the prices first! The most expensive pot of tea we've ever purchased - and not even flavoursome. What a rip off! Poor waitresses, too, dressed in ridiculous uniforms.

In the 21 Century, it's hugely ambitious to try and reproduce a lost world of silver service, uniformed waitresses, and high teas. We know it's not real: the ambition is full of social, cultural, intellectual and practical challenges and it could so easily be contentious, tawdry, or simply fall apart. But if it's done with goodwill, a focus on quality, and a sense of fun with a light touch of irony, it can deliver a satisfying experience that honours both the past and the present. I think Harriet's does very well - an oasis of tranquility in an otherwise mad and conflicted world. Now that is ironic. Back to basics: their meals are good, their cakes are very good, their staff charming, and I thoroughly recommend their Special Blend No. 6 tea.

So I wanted to go somewhere special for my 43rd birthday- feel so old !! Harriet’s shone above the rest. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a warm friendly smile and very pleasant staff - even laughing at my bad husband jokes!! Food was beautifully presented and the coffee was excellent. Dessert - yummy! Would recommend 👍

We regularly use Harriet’s as the decor and atmosphere is just lovely. We thought we’d try a breakfast this morning. It’s not the cheapest in town but was willing to pay more for quality. Sadly isn’t wasn’t a quality meal. The scrambled egg was incredibly dry and rubbery, not at all creamy. The toast it was on wasn’t even buttered. The bacon was good. I was served a salad garnish with this, something I’ve never had before! My daughter had a sausage which didn’t have any colour or browning. It was clearly a cheap frozen sausage and not a butchers sausage which I’d hoped. We had toast which was all brown, no choice offered. Maybe just me but white bread is best with a cooked breakfast. The tea, what a shame. I’ve always enjoyed the ritual of loose tea and in particular Harriet’s blend. Today is was very bland, I was gutted. I love a decent brew. I debated mentioning something while we were in there but the staff were very busy and it didn’t feel appropriate to complain to the poor staff who were rushed off their feet. They were clearly just following instructions. We won’t be hurrying back.

Ignored on entering and told via a blackboard to wait. Waited and eventually gave up and sat down at an empty table for three next to the blackboard. Given a menu but then again no real response, waited and waited while the staff were visibly gathered in the service area and chatting-under no real pressure. No one seemed in charge - all a bit chaotic really. We left because you can only be unnoticed and disregarded for so long. If the tea room had been functioning at full capacity and the staff were under pressure, I could have understood the delay but it wasn't. Someone should be manning the ship and delegating staff appropriately. Suffice to say poor front of house management and a lack of awareness.

Me and my friend visited over the weekend and we were absolutely shocked to walk in to find every customer sat there with their hats, scarfs and coats on. I understand why now,it was stone cold throughout more to the point it felt like it was colder inside than out. The manager on shift did say the heating was on and she did try her best bless her given the situation, even she was cold. Me and my friend only had a hot drink and left we was going to have lunch but decide to go else where. Come on Harriets surely this is unacceptable to run an establishment like this especially when it's zero temperatures outside, if there is an issue with the heating then surely you need to fix it!! More to the point I felt so sorry for your staff, they looked so frozen to the bone. At this rate you will have no customers, you can't expect customers to pay full price to sit in a freezing tea room.

Upon entering what looked like a grand old establishment, the first thing we noticed how cold it was inside and that everybody else was wearing coats. We were shown to our table quite quickly and given a menu. Although the waitress was very polite, her uniform was less than clean. There was so much food on her pinney, we were not sure whether that would be quicker to choose our dish from her pinney, rather than spend the next 10 minutes perusing the menu. We were on the verge of asking the waitress if the heating was on, as it was so cold. I then noticed a 2kw floor fan heater that was never going to heat such a large expanse of space. The food was ordered and arrived fairly quickly The old English pot of tea was lukewarm and tasteless. My partners coffee was filtered and lukewarm and tasted like it had been sitting for a while. My English breakfast arrived with a fried egg which should have been poached, overcooked bacon, dried up mushrooms, cold beans, lukewarm tomato, toast from supermarket sliced bread and a sausage that I can only describe as compressed flood sweepings My partners Eggs Benedict was served with a raw un toasted muffin and so many green leaves on the plate that I expected Peter Rabbit to pop up in the middle off it all. The eggs were good, but that is all that could be eaten The plates were both dirty around the edges Although we didn’t complain as we were both hungry and cold, we left knowing that we were both satisfied in our decision that we will never return. In fact this purchase was paid for on two £20 gift vouchers totalling £40. Our meal was £25, but they do not give change on gift vouchers, so we had to pay an extra £5. Knowing that we will never return, the total cost of a dried up overcooked English breakfast and a raw muffin and leaves was £45 Who are the fools, certainly not Harriet’s. We left the premises to enter into -2 temperatures in the street, in which it certainly felt warmer outside We thought we would have the full English experience, alas we have had better quality breakfasts in Wetherspoon's Harriet’s you have had two customers in today that have both run cafes and restaurants, improve the quality of your food otherwise your doors will end up being shut forever

The place was so cold. Polite staff, orders taken fairly promptly. Tea good as you would expect from a tea room. Breakfast poor. Plates cold, beans cold, toast cold, hash brown and additional mushrooms arrived after best part of breakfast taken. Why would you have salad with scrambled egg is beyond me. We did complain at the time so this is not a vengeance rant. Will not return.

Harriets has always been our 'go to' place when we visit Bury. Yesterday was our first visit in a couple of years and we were totally surprised and saddened by the change since our last pre covid visit. What used to have a clean, tidy,...

Despite our extreme disappointment that Bury St Edmunds Council have seen fir to cancel Christmas, in fact rub it out, our trip to this tea room was as good as ever.

We greatly enjoyed our visit to the tearoom, which was warm and cosy on a cold wet day. The waitress was friendly and welcoming, and the service was very good. The scones were light and tasty and there was a good range of teas all...

We love Harriets, always go there when in BSE, but after waiting 15 minutes to be seated, without being acknowledged, we left, as did others in front and behind us. Could only see three staff rushed off their feet. It's not their fault, but this...

Late breakfast - 11.30 - poached eggs on toast - poached eggs perfect but toast was almost just heated bread. Salad on the plate, but seems inappropriate with poached eggs. Have had lovely tea here before but chose hot chocolate with cream and no marshmallows....

Fantastic Afternoon Tea. Service was great from start to finish, they couldn't have been more accommodating. The afternoon tea was delicious and was a very generous portion, we couldn't finish ours so took the leftovers home. I'll definitely visit again soon.

Warm welcome received and ordered Cream Tea. Coffee cafetière arrived very promptly but waited 25 minutes for scones by which point coffee was cold. Went to desk to chase up and staff were very apologetic and I asked for fresh coffee which was provided. However...

On a previous occasion we had been disappointed by the slow service but decided to give them another chance. It was not busy but the service was slow. Only 4 people but they managed to make a mistake with almost everything we ordered. The tea...

This lived up to its description as a tearoom from the decor to the presentation of the tea and cake. Both were delicious. Staff were friendly and attentive.

Our party of 7 was looking forward to a treat of afternoon tea but were very disappointed in most aspects. As is always the case with places like this, it is run by lots of young waitresses which is not an issue as long as...

Thank you Harriet's Tea Rooms for our delicious macarons on this special occasion. Such a delightful way to celebrate the Queens Jubilee. Staff are attentive and could not do more. Especially love the little touches.

We booked our table online with the message that one of our party is vegan. We were assured that this was not a problem and it proved to be very true. Not having huge appetites we ordered the afternoon tea asking for one to be...

A bit sad to see a few negative reviews on here and feel sorry that those people didn't have the same experience that we did this Saturday just gone. Fancying a mid afternoon tea and cake stop we chanced upon Harriet's were warmly welcomed, received...

What an awful experience. AVOID AVOID AVOID! We went here for a family breakfast the service was particularly slow yet the staff were polite. Our breakfasts arrived almost 10 minutes before our toddler children’s who were sat there waiting with no food. My husband was...

Afternoon tea PRE-BOOKED for 20+ for colleagues leaving do. Booked for 3pm. Totally disorganised & unprepared. Food not served until 4pm. Ran out of supplies so muddled together our afternoon teas. Well below par in quality & quantity with no apology/explanation. Did not complain on...

Stopped for a break while staying in Bury. Had tea and a cake . No problems at all . Nice seating and the staff very polite and efficient. Cup of tea was very good and well presented. Thanks to Kayla and Grace..

This was my friends leaving afternoon tea was pre booked and ore ordered. We had to wait an hour to be served our food then they forgot mine as we were sitting near kitchen area we could hear they had run out of bread cakes...

An amazing place with good service and good food (although sometimes burnt) but the food prices are quite high, waitresses are nice and Friendly

Having visited Harriets for Afternoon Tea it left us feeling disappointed. Afternoon Tea is a special treat and here we felt it lacked that special touch. The sandwiches unfortunately had lots of thick margarine on the bread which overshadowed the ham filling. There was no...

Unfortunately the service was poor, with the hope and expectation of some sort of 'experience' at Harriets being lost. A stack of plates which were dirty plonked on the table for us to distribute to each other together with the over-priced and poorly presented Afternoon...

Lovely clean location, staff friendly. Breakfast was nice but small. Poor rating as grilled tomato was not cooked at all and they only give half a tomato. They just cut a cold tomato and put it on the plate. They were apoplectic but could have...

Harriets in Bury St.Edmunds has been a firm favourite with three generations of my family. In November we had Harriet’s provide our wedding breakfast, and we were absolutely delighted with the first class service we received. Chloe and Laura worked so hard to make our...

Lovely afternoon tea with friends. Very nice and lovely meeting up with friends. Alas, instead of being made to feel special it was more ‘how much money can they extract from us’. To offer refills if tea requires no extra washing up of cups or...

Visited today with a friend. Friend ordered crumpets and I had the toast and strawberry jam. We enjoyed our visit, lovely chilled atmosphere, clean and nicely decorated. Marking down one star only because toast and crumpets were not warm when served resulting in difficulty spreading...

Waiting, Waiting,Waiting but no one came to ask us what we wanted. I had to find a waitress to take our order! Waiting! Waiting! Waiting! 3 tables that arrived after us received their food & drinks. So what happened to our order!! No one knows...

Stopped for a pot of tea and cake. Although the staff were friendly they were not particularly welcoming, but the service was good and the tea and cake very good. It's so nice to get leaf tea, so many tearooms just use teabags for convenience.

With glass chandeliers, large mirrors and female staff in black uniforms with little white aprons, the atmosphere is of bygone times rather as you'd find at Betty's of Harrogate. We ordered a cream tea, which was served in the old fashioned way...loose-leaf tea, tea strainer,...

Sat outside on a glorious afternoon. Ordered sandwiches and drinks. Very pleasant staff all dressed in smart uniforms. Tables cleared and cleaned Food nice. No hot food available after 2-30 so we were too late to have a portion of chips with our sandwiches Reasonable...

Disappointing Waited 45 mins for coffee and fruit scones and crumpets. Coffee finally arrived without food. When food arrived scones were small and doughy and crumpets were cold. Staff were pleasant but obviously under great pressure.

A visit for my nieces 11th birthday. We ordered 1 all day breakfast an afternoon tea for two and two sandwiches. The tea and drinks came very quickly we then waited for a further 45 minutes for the afternoon tea which for £15 was very...

Popped in for breakfast on our way home after a fabulous holiday. What an amazing find , service was excellent,food was sublime , we went for the traditional breakfast could not fault it . Would definitely call in here again .

Great setting and promise but long delay in being served! Cafe not very busy either. Wouldn’t recommend.

Visited Bury St Edmunds for the day and ordered a scone and coffee each for the two of us. We wanted 1 scone each but got 2 each which would have been ok if they hadn't been the worst scones we have ever had. They...

Ordered afternoon tea for family birthday during lockdown. It arrived promptly and well presented. I particularly liked that each afternoon tea had different mini cakes with it, so we could mix and match/cut them up and try them all.

Ordered an afternoon tea home delivery box for a belated Mothers day gift and it was embarrassing. The box is the nicest thing about it! I ordered it for 3 people, therefore should have received 12 finger sandwiches and 6 scones. Instead I received 10...

Spoilt Mother's Day. Placed an order for an afternoon tea for Mother's Day. Not only did they not deliver with no explanation as to why, but they are now not answering any phone calls or emails. This is incredibly poor customer service and it has...

I ordered an afternoon tea to be delivered for my Mum for Mother’s Day, it was due to be delivered on Saturday 13th but it did not turn up, I sent an email that evening but did not get any response, I hoped it would...

Had a delivery on Saturday for Mother’s Day, was very disappointed and embarrassed I had got it for my mother and myself, if I had been served the same afternoon tea in the restaurant I would have sent it back. I asked not to be...

Collected a delightful little afternoon tea, perfectly sized with 4 finger sandwiches, 2 lovely scones with jam & clotted cream, tiny tart, little fondant fancy and a macaroon. Very impressed and very good value.

Really elegant tea room with some very nice features. What brilliant afternoon tea's they do. Really hope they can open up again soon as I love the atmosphere and the staff are always lovely.

Such a shame at the lack of customer care. Ordered an Afternoon Delivery for 2 for my daughters birthday in January, she is currently shielding so the thought of sending her a treat to cheer her up seeing she couldn't see anyone on her birthday...

My daughter arranged a surprise afternoon tea delivered at home, honestly cannot fault this service and recommend! Sandwiches very fresh and scones to die for followed by a mixture of mini cakes. Reasonable delivery charges. Not forgetting two little bags of tea leaves too! Thank...

Beautiful decor with mirrors, chandelier and potted palm waitresses in black and white outfits. Afternoon teas served on tiered server, white teacups and silver teapots. Not cheap but a real treat. Toilets kept scrupulously clean - always a great sign.

We are not going out to eat at the moment so decided to treat ourselves to an Afternoon Tea delivery to home. It came from the Bury shop and was delicious. The only improvement would be the gluten free scones which were dry but the...

The decor looked lovely and the staff were very smart & friendly - but very expensive for food - our Toasted sandwiches were not brilliant, cheap white bread and soggy ......... not worth £27.95 for 2 sandwiches, 1 tea cake and 3 beverages !!! Sorry...

Dissapppinting experience- bought this for parents christmas present, after waiting 9 months to use due to Covid 19- the afternoon tea took ages to be served, sandswich selection was limited and service slow and unfriendly. Overall bad experience.

We really enjoyed our time here! Service was quick and friendly and the food was superb as always. Truly a wonderful experience. We will be returning regularly.

Amazing — super yum. 10/10 will recommend. Despite being very busy food and service was quick and great. Will be back many times. I love you more.

Attracted by the retro decor, we originally only stopped for a drink.Once inside we realised that its more than just a "tea room".As well as the expected tea, cakes and sandwiches they offer a selection of hot meals. We both opted for the Classic Breakfast. It did not disappoint.All the staff that we encountered were friendly and helpful.We received efficient "service with a smile".

Visited for 1st time as a birthday treat for my daughter and had pre booked a table. I was greeted by a nice young lady and i told her I'd booked a table but there was no booking.As it was 11.30am there were empty seats. I ordered 2 cream teas and paid on ordering. We were served quickly and my bill was placed on the table so i had to go to the cashier and explain id already paid. We had a plain scone and a fruit scone,a small tub of cream and a smidgen if jam which was only enough for 1 scone. There was enough tea for 2 cups each but were given only 3 white sugar lumps and lots of brown sugar lummps. Granuals shouldv been an option as i take only a tiny bit sugar in my tea. All that aside it was tasty

My Mum and I visited Harriets today and I have to say we were really disappointed.The young staff didn’t seem to be able to cope with the volume of people in the cafe, and it didn’t look like anyone was in charge so there was a lack of direction. We ordered a tea for two and when it arrived the cups were dirty. We asked for fresh ones but those were tea stained. We didn’t ask again as I felt that the stains probably couldn’t be removed and I felt bad for the young waitress. I am gluten free and on the Harriets website there is a large gluten free menu, which is why I chose to visit. However when I asked for this I was told they don’t have one but I could have any sandwich made gluten free. Slightly confused why you would have it on the website but not in the cafe? Also the menu in the cafe is much smaller than the one online, but this could be down to Covid. It is worth noting that there was no social distancing, the tables were not spaced far enough apart to accommodate for this, also we were not asked for any details to comply with test and trace. You have to order at the till which means standing very close to people sitting at their tables as there is not enough room to keep distant.Overall our visit was a disappointment and I’m afraid to say I won’t return.

Whilst the staff were very pleasant the tea room itself was only average. We only had coffee & cake we found the coffee was ok but the cake overpriced & dry. The furnishings were nothing special & tired in some places.

The tea room was very clean and social distancing measures were good. The staff were pleasant enough. I visited with my sister and aunt for my aunts birthday.The reason why it was disappointing was the food. We ordered afternoon tea and a miniature afternoon tea. There was hardly anything on the cake stand! 2 finger sandwich each a miniature scone and a bite size pastry! That was it, .We “eat out to help out” so fortunately it was half price. I would of been extremely unhappy if we had to pay full price. There was other people who had afternoon tea and their cake stand was full to the brim , we asked what afternoon tea they had ordered and they said they had a voucher. We didn’t understand why having a voucher meant you get double the food?? We left hungry and needless to say we won’t go back. Such a shame.

Before reading please understand that I always try to be fair and positive with my reviews but as someone who has dietary needs I want others to be aware. I was really looking forward to visiting Harriet's , I love a tea room and the website promised gluten free options. So on a visit to Bury we reserved a table. We mentioned that one of the party was gluten free on booking and when we arrived we asked what the gf options were. The menu has no indication of allergens but the lady we asked showed which items were gf. So I ordered a gf mini afternoon tea. Which should include a scone, two small sandwiches and a patisserie item. Two of the party ordered baguettes, these arrived quickly but the regular afternoon tea ordered by my daughter took a long time to arrive. Then a waitress came along with a small cake stand filled with the items for a mini afternoon tea. I was very pleased and commented " is that my gluten free one?", at this the waitress paused and said she needed to check, thank goodness I asked because it wasn't gf. It was taken away and we heard nothing more for ages, the rest of the party finished their food and just as I was beginning to think they had forgotten me the items in the photo turned up. They had no scones so I was given three ham sandwiches and one cucumber sandwich plus this incredibly tiny slice of almond cake. I don't know about you but this wasn't the afternoon treat I was expecting. I really wish they had told us, either on booking, arrival or ordering that they had next to nothing that was gf. We would have gone elsewhere but would have respected their honesty as leading on customers is just not nice. I do understand they were busy but I don't think that would be a sufficient excuse. On the plus side the waitress was very nice, the decor was lovely. There was only one toilet available, not sure why, possibly the others were upstairs which was closed. This meant there was a queue for the toilet next to our table for most of our visit. When I used the toilet there was toilet paper on the floor and nothing to dry your hands on. I'm sorry to leave such a negative review but this was a special treat for us and we all left feeling really disappointed. Hopefully the photo speaks for itself, this was on a " eat out to help out " day so I paid £6.50 for this but on a regular day would have been charged £12.95!

Oh dear, this is the sort of place where the saying "All the gear and no idea" was made for.Visited on a Monday afternoon and had Gluten free Coffee and Walnut cake which was dry and tasteless and the tea was stewed. Staff were not coping well with the idea of socially distancing or serving customers efficiently. I saw at least one potential customer walk out and another who had ordered over £100 of take away sandwich platters struggle to open the door (very poor service of staff not to help them open the door and carry them out - we opened the door for them in fact).I have visited Harriets in Norwich which was loads better than this and there are much better venues in Bury than this. We would not return again sadly.

Unrushed opulence, great welcome, great food and drinks. Great value for money, superb cakes. Traditional tearoom ambience.

Very nice place very relaxing and very prompt service will be going there again when in bury st Edmunds

Hungry for breakfast, we were drawn to Harriets in Bury St Edmunds. Although we have been before, this was our first visit for a couple of years. The seervice was first rate we were the first customers that day and we were invited to sit wherever we wanted. The young lady waitress gave us just the right amount of time to choose our meal.I opted for a bacon and sausage panini and my wife had a rarebit which was done with gluten free bread as a favour. We both opted for the breakfast tea which was lovely, the food was quickly brought to us and was also great. Can't wait to return in October.

First in the tearoom this day for breakfast. Had a GF rarebit which the cook did especially for me. Lovely, well cooked, delicious. Social distancing and sanitising well in place. The staff were lovely and attentive. The food all looks delicious and the meals etc that I have had there are always well cooked and great. I have no problem in highly recommending this place to anyone.

wife and I called in for tea and cake. From entry this place seemed disorganised. You find a table then queue up to order. There was a very poor selection of cokes and tray bakes. Tea arrived quickly but then we waited 2o minutes for our cake. When we asked what had happened, we were told there was a backlog and it took time to present. This meant squirting some coulis onto the plate Totally unnecessary.. Cake was grossly overpriced, very dry and taste bore no relation to decscription.

So pleased to see Harriets open again in Bury St Edmunds. Had a fabulous tea and sandwich for lunch. Great service despite all the COVID controls.

We arrived on time for our booked table & although there were very few people in the café the staff didn't put themselves out to welcome us. I have seen comments about younger staff needing more training, but the person who didn't appear to know what to do wasn't a youngster.The menu was limited, however the 6 yr old really enjoyed her afternoon tea. Once things return to 'normal' we may return, but will not rush back. Decor needs looking at too.

Dry carrot cake, doughy scones (microwaved?) with hardly any cream or jam, poor service ) had to ask 3 times for scones after everything else turned up), weak latte. Won't be coming back!

Ordered an afternoon tea box for 3 people to enjoy in our garden with my elderly mother in law. Easy to order online. Harrietts phoned on the day to advise that boxes where ready for collection and these were picked up from the tearoom. Beautifully packed in boxes and included a selection of finger sandwiches, two scones each with jam and cream, a selection of pastries and cakes plus loose leaf tea. Excellent quality and thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you Harrietts for a memorable afternoon.

I ordered this afternoon tea to be delivered to a friend as a surprise. I looked on line and wanted to support local businesses during lockdown and came across Harriet's. I emailed the shop directly and they were very helpful and polite. The order arrived as described and my friend immediately phoned to thank me and send pictures of the lovely box it came in. She said that the food was delicious and fresh and plenty of it. A big thanks to Harriet's.

I was very excited to visit here after hearing great things, however was very disappointed on the day. Staff with little to no customer service training - drinks arrived towards end of meal and no apology offered even when mentioned. Food was lovely - more training is needed for the young staff.

Used to be lovely and a special place for lunch out ..... but today very mediocre. Jacket potato tasted old and warmed up in microwave , filling tasteless and salad limp. Won’t be returning as definitely gone down hill.

Went for an early Mother’s Day afternoon tea here and sadly the experience was not as good as previous visits. Took almost an hour to receive our afternoon teas and when they came they’d only done for 3 and not 4 people. Also said they’d missed some sandwiches and they would follow... cake selection wasn’t great either - just a small brownie, macaroon and some mini tarts - the contents of which just tasted ‘buttery’ - no real flavour..? Others seemed to have fancy cheesecakes - not sure why ours was so different? Scones were fresh and light though. Even small things like no tea spoon or saucers provided, not enough milk in jug for tea and fruit shoot was instead served to our little one in a glass, which was, as feared, spilt. Attention to detail just wasn’t there unfortunately and made it all rather frustrating than the special treat we were hoping for for our mum

Came to enjoy a nice little breakfast with some friends for the first time and had a wonderful experience. The staff is so friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is fresh.

Lovely vegetarian breakfast and great service! The portions were generous and the meal fulfilling in general.

Nice menu choices all very reasonably priced. Scones seem to sell quickly, but more were being cooked.

Was gifted 2 of the ‘Special Afternoon Tea’ vouchers. We asked for a table for three... we emailed twice in advance to book and got no reply. We tried to call in advance also and no one answered, so not a great start. We were sat at a table for 2, with an extra seat as we were a party of 3, which we agreed to as they said the other tables we saw ‘free’ were actually reserved. The lady who seated us said if people left and a table bigger was free we could move. When a table for 4 became available we asked to move, and were told it was fine... before we could even get up, another waitress seated a party of 2 on it, so we couldn’t change. Which was irritating as they had discussed this between themselves. We ordered the afternoon teas with the vouchers (plus another one) and advised of the vegetarian dietary, which was no problem. We enjoyed the food, wasn’t adventurous with choice of sandwiches but was still nice. We were full so didn’t finish the scones or cakes and asked to have them boxed to takeaway. They picked up our cakes and boxed them up and gave them to us... only to come home and realise they had only boxed up two finger sandwiches and 2 scones (we’d left 3 cheesecakes and 2 tarts as well and didn’t get those back!) ... clearly a lack of communication as they were all swapping over each other and trying to serve too many guests at once. If I had paid in full I would be more annoyed than I am but I am still upset that I haven’t enjoyed the gift as much as I should have.

I went in to the tea room with my grandmother and we both had a lovely tea and some fantastic food. The staff were great and the atmosphere was really welcoming. I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the area.

A Comedy of Errors!!! Had lunch today. Firstly our drinks came not as ordered. My wife had the all-day breakfast, the egg was hard (no dippy!!) and the sausage was obviously deep fried. I had the Admirals Pie which I think was just microwaved as the potato was wet and had not been finished in the oven/under the grill. Fish was supposed to be in a cream sauce but it looked just watery. Went to pay, tried 4 times with 2 different cards then the cashier said “I think it’s our machine” and the way she said it it wasn’t the first time it had happened. My wife and I had to scratch round for enough cash. We won’t be returning.

We had a nice lunch here: the toasted rarebit and the soup were great, and whilst the lasagne was tasty, the portion size was disappointingly small, which left the person who ordered it still hungry! The coffee and the hot chocolate we ordered were great.