Josephine's in Nottingham

Went for the luxury afternoon Tea. The food was nice, the scone was lovely and he staff were pleasant. But not worth £40 per person. You would also think for that price you could choose the sandwich fillings.

First time visiting yesterday, and what a delightful place. The food was amazing, had Eggs Benedict. And then cake! The lightest Syrup Sponge I've had 🤩 Staff were lovely, the ambience was superb. Toilets are great 👍🏼 I've already told my friends. We will be back💯

Excellent in all departments, lovely atmosphere, good food and brilliant service. Thankyou.

Not impressed. Service slow, run by children, coffee tasteless, tea barely hot. Breakfast was good though. Was overcharged £18, manager didn't even know how to do a refund! Won't be returning here.

Lovely time at Josephine's. It was so nice, we went twice! Everything was delicious and the staff were very friendly. Thoroughly enjoyed the tea selection.

Fantastic little place, friendly staff and cracking food.. good price too.. definitely worth a visit.

great tea and great service, Bea was a pleasure

I haven't been able to go to Josephines lately but called in this evening for a snack and a glass of wine. As lovely as ever

Friendly staff, very accommodating from booking to throughout the afternoon tea. Clean and well looked after throughout. We had the petit afternoon tea, which was more than enough each. We were stuffed after. The mini and scones were lovely. It would have been nice if a refill of tea was given, a top up of boiling water isn’t a huge request. Not a massive issue at all though. The food, the staff and the presentation of the food made up for it. Gorgeous patisserie plate with little chocolate petals and fruit. Don’t read the whingey reviews further down. overall a lovely experience and I would recommend.

Had cake and coffee the cake was so soft and it came with some other fruits on the side. Ask you if you have dietary requirements. Would recommend. Staff are friendly and explain the menu. Was relaxing, clean, and tidy. Still love this place nice and relaxing for meeting with my friend. Music is at a nice level, not too loud. Food is lovely. Staff are friendly, polite, and professional.

Service was very good. I’m not a afternoon tea bloke but it was nice enough my wife loved it

Excellent food, tea and service.

Our fourth time 2nd for a pre theatre shows The staff (Abigail) was very pleasant along with another young lady who was new (apologies for not getting her name ). My orders taken and presented well. the fish cake very moorish and too was the Eaton mess sundae. Her in doors very happy will be calling in again Ps the other calls was breakfast and nice they was too Well done to all staff making a start to a Blues Brothers event very nice.

Very rude manager called Steve. We booked for a baby shower @ £30 per person and Jo confirmed that despite the pricing going up to £35 pp in October, they would honour the existing price. Despite this on the day they charged everyone £35. When I questioned this Steve denied that they had ever done the luxury afternoon tea for £30 - despite copies of the menu being online clearly stating that this was the previous price. Definitely wouldn’t recommend. I didn’t actually attend the tea room but my review is based on my personal experience dealings with the tea room. Edit: funny how you have changed your story.

We came for afternoon tea. For the price quality and selection of food was poor and service seemed rude. We had a booking for a group all ready arranged either the owner, with an arranged deposit for a baby shower. Having known it was a group booking we were charged more than what was agreed so service was not great. Will not be going again

Poor customer service - staff was rude, too inexperienced, disorganised. This is not a place that can cater for an occasion / a group of 4+ people really. The poor customer service aside, the venue is small, there is no designated area for a big group and so the atmosphere for both our group and other clients wasn't right. Silver lining - the food was good and they did cater for vegans / vegetarians. Having said that, it was expensive for what it was, £37 for an afternoon tea. I will not visit again or recommend.

Cups were filty had 3 glasses changed. due to lipstick stain on glass and fluff in each glass of juice. Breakfast had hair init!! I wasn't offered a discount. I won't eat there again. Fluff

Took my mum for brunch we had the fishcakes amazing the staff are wonderful so welcoming brilliant place I'm definitely going back there

Absolutely beautiful pre theatre 2 course dinner. Very reasonably priced and the staff were amazing. Lovely atmosphere. We would highly recommend.

First-time visitors at Josephine's and absolutely loved it . The ambience is. amazing and the food was delicious . Also the staff were very attentive and friendly. Highly recommended 👌 😊

Absolutely shocking breakfast. Visited Nottingham for two nights and before leaving to come home wanted a good breakfast. Found this place that looked ok . Ordered flat white and a cappachino. Both came out so hot they were not drinkable (poor training) milk is not supposed to be that hot for these drinks. The worst though were the breakfast. I had Eggs Royal at £14.50 The muffins were not even toasted so were soggy and unbelievably they used cooked salmon, NOT smoked salmon. In all my years I’ve never had that before. It was awful. Hollandaise sauce was ok. My wife had a vegetarian breakfast. Was ok apart from they thought it would be ok to serve a type of spicy indian style spinach burger or whatever they called it. It was also vile and very spicy, not at all suitable for a breakfast. Service was fine, however on mentioning to young girls that the eggs royal was not good and why, I was still charged £14.50. This place is def style over substance and on leaving noticed Copper (cafe) across the road which I’ve eaten in before and is great and only £10.50 for eggs royal. Just wish I’d seen it earlier. 100% wouldn’t return especially as the bill for an orange juice, 2 coffees and 2 breakfast was £43!! Def go across the road to Copper if looking for a decent well priced and tasty breakfast. Response to Josephine’s Response… I would just like to add that I didn’t at any point ask for a discount, I just explained the situation about the salmon, and secondly, you can even see in the pictures that it’s salmon! Not smoked salmon… it’s the wrong colour for smoked salmon and totally pink… so saying it’s not salmon is completely wrong. You’re right about the personal preference thing, I can understand that, but curried spinach and falafel burgers don’t belong on a breakfast IMHO. Coffee temperatures are something that trained in ANY decent coffee shop including chains and independents so just saying people like it hot shows you don’t have a clue what the best temperatures are for the coffees you serve… again that’s not personal preference but industry standard. https://freshground.co.uk/learning-hub/what-is-the-perfect-coffee-temperature/ Thanks for taking the time to replay though

excellent place for an afternoon tea, delicious choice of home made products

Had the most fantastic experience at Josephine’s for my daughter’s birthday! Thank you for making it so special for her.

This is the worst tearoom in Nottingham!! Customer service was absolutely appalling!! I visited Josephine’s today for a cream tea (scone with tea and jam, served with a side of fruit). Halfway through my meal I was disgusted to find ROTTEN FRUIT on my plate!! Absolutely appalling and not acceptable. When I told the owner Steve about this he was totally and utterly rude!! He responded with sarcastic comments, had an unprofessional anttitude and was outright disrespectful. He told me that it was not a “big deal” and “these things happen”. He then proceeded to compare being served rotten food by ‘supposedly’ trained chefs the same as buying a punnet of grapes in Tesco that were not fresh. To add insult to injury he repeatedly mocked me and made it clear he did not care that the hygiene and food standards of his establishment are not up to parr. Imagine telling a paying customer that being served rotten food is unavoidable and ‘easily missed by the chefs’. I was totally shocked. To make matters worse he kept on repeating ‘it was only half a grape’, which of course had no relevance since the grape in question was mixed in with other food items and may have contaminated them also. What if I had eaten that rotten item? It may have made me severely ill. He further mocked my concerns by saying that he would compensate me with one grape. Vile comment. What made the whole ordeal worse was Steve’s disgusting attitude. He was totally and utterly obnoxious!! If this is the attitude taken to serving ROTTING food to customers, I can only begin to imagine the monstrosities that must occur behind closed doors. Prior to this incident, my friend and I had to return the cups we were given due to them being dirty on the inside. Something which the table seated before us had to do too. Clearly a lot is ‘missed’ at this tearoom. I never take the time to write a review but I felt compelled to warm other people not to dine at this establishment (not that it deserves such a title). Steves attitude was honestly atrocious. He set no example for the staff members that were privy to our conversation. I do hope whoever reads this takes heed of my warning and dines somewhere else. Please also read the other 1 star reviews that detail Steve’s poor customer service and RUDE attitude. We cannot all be wrong. I could move past the ‘mistake’ but I cannot move past Steves rude words and manner. When I left the tearoom Steve (the owner) then said ‘go and write a bad review now, they all do’. Clearly they do Steve. I have read them. I have photographic evidence of the rotten item and have reported this incident to Nottingham City Council. In the meantime here is a list of tearooms in Nottingham that you should go to instead, where the staff are friendly and food is up to standard; Biscuit and brew The white rabbit tea room Fox cafe Delilah’s Derby Brian tearoom I repeat DO NOT under any circumstances visit Josephines tearoom. I only wish there was an option for zero stars. Best, Ava

Staff very polite food was lovely comfort very welcoming will go again was our first time visiting today

Excellent food and fabulous service.Would highly recommend, and planning to return for afternoon tea.

Fabulous experience! We had the early bird breakfast for £5.99 which we had pre-ordered and paid for. I wasn't sure what to expect and was half expecting to be disappointed but it was fantastic. There was a lovely butchers sausage, bacon, 2 hash browns, baked beans, mushroom, grilled tomato, mini omelette and toast and butter. The beans were piping hot which was a relief as there is nothing worse than lukewarm beans! The tomato was soft and delicious and the bacon and hash browns were well done and not greasy. It was great to be proved wrong and I was so pleased that something that was relatively cheap turned out to be real value for money and worth three times the price. Had my head turned by the afternoon tea menu so will be coming back for that !

Your service staff are a credit to you, every member showed us excellent customer service. Thank you and well done x

Food was horrible, i got a salad, was worse then tesco salad, few leaves and was soo bland. Worse salad ever, my frined had the fish finger peas, was in a cob and 1 Fish finger init, lots of minty sauce was terrble, wasted so much money. Nevr evr going back, rip off.

First time here, took my Mrs for her birthday the staff organised a nice welcome and great service. Beautiful decor and ambiance.

If ever back in Nottingham will definitely go again, the food was lovely, as we're the staff and atmosphere. The little touches for our anniversary just made it perfect.

My favourite place to go for a pre-theatre meal. Always good and friendly staff. Decorated cake slice always good totally decadent!

Spent 2 hrs having the afternoon tea with 4 generations of family wanted something different and that's exactly what we got with the help of all the friendly and smiley staff what an absolute pleasure we will certainly be back thanks to everyone at josephines

Lovely decor and food was really nice and well presented.

Celebratory birthday lunch for my son. Absolutely fantastic. 1st time visiting but will definitely be back. Delicious lunch menu

We had a good time. Thank you 😊

The food was top tier and the staff were so lovely too. The overall vibe and ambiance was very nice and comforting. Would definitely come back again

Brilliant service, very accommodating and great prices

The third time I’ve visited & look forward to a fourth visit. The service was exemplary. Your staff are a great example to anyone who works in the hospitality industry. Enthusiastic, friendly, efficient & a credit to the business. I treated my mother & aunt to a luxury afternoon tea each and they loved it. Both said it’s the best they’ve had! So thank you for making their visit to Nottingham that bit more special too

Lovely food and attentive staff

Booked and paid in advance, was misinformed about prices. When finished was charged an extra £55.00 when tried to talk to manager he was extremely rude and even though he admitted it was a staff error did not want to rectify the extra charge . We ordered luxury afternoon tea, and there was nothing luxury about it. People do make mistakes however to then argue and be so darn rude to a paying customer is not acceptable. Definitely would not be going back only because of the manager’s attitude

Afternoon tea to celebrate my wife’s birthday fantastic service by courteous staff will definitely return

It was birthday treat and very impressive indeed. The Afternoon Tea is fabulously presented and perfectly served. The sweet treats and cakes are excellent. The Scones with Jam and Clotted cream are marvellous. The Sandwiches are nice too with interesting twists as in addition of Sausage roll and savoury pastry. The Pate with Pepper Salsa is unique and tasted lovely. The selection of Teas are wonderful and they are available to buy from the store. The staff are attentive, friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is cosy with views of Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Have to thank this lovely independent business for a wonderful afternoon tea - I don’t think it could get any better. Proper vintage tea room with wonderful ambience, all finishing touches thought of and really friendly staff. Went above and beyond to add little extras as it was my friend’s birthday. Beautiful tea presentation and very yummy sandwiches, very generous filling and delicious cakes. Great place not sure it can be beaten for afternoon tea in the UK!

Amazing service and amazing food. I brought my son in a pram and even though it's a small place, the staff members were very accommodating. Even when after my wife told the staff about her allergies, one of the staff members made a mistake in giving my wife fish which she's very allergic to. When we notified the staff, they swiftly changed the food and were very apologetic. I did ask for another mocha, but I wasn't served it, but was still charged for it. But at that point I didn't say anything because I felt like the service needed a tip because it was an amazing experience. I pray this place is blessed and continues to be filled with grace by Allah.

Lovely place, nice atmosphere and food was lovely

We had a wonderful luxury afternoon tea with beautifully presented food and tasty sandwiches and scones. The atmosphere was lovely, and the staff were very friendly. Thank you

A beautiful place, with wonderful service. The food was really good. I would highly recommend this place.

6 of us for afternoon tea for my birthday, whilst a bit pricey the food was lovely and good gluten free options

Fantastic service. Afternoon tea is always perfect with the most gorgeous individual cakes. The evening menu is also brilliant, all the food is served hot and is always delicious.

Fabulous Mother’s Day celebrations had by all today. Love the added special touches (scroll, afternoon tea decor etc). Thank you very much. Staff are a credit to you

Absolutely loved our meal at Josephine's before seeing a play at the Theatre Royal across the road. The food was delicious, the serving staff very friendly and attentive and we loved the general ambience. Thank you!

Went to Josephine's today for my birthday and whilst the atmosphere was fantastic and the staff were attentive we were absolutely appalled when our Halal afternoon tea arrived with a ham sandwich. As a Muslim, it is against our religion to eat any pork related meat. Realising there was pork meat after a couple of sandwiches on what should have been a halal plate turned our stomachs. When we pointed this out to the staff they were apologetic and offered a full refund for that particular afternoon tea. Staff need educating on how to prepare and ensure that Halal food does not contain non halal items. Extremely disappointed.

Love it here! Their breakfast and afternoon tea is amazing!

Amazing Food, Service & Atmosphere. Love coming here to catch up with friends over food. Highly recommend! P.S. Halal options available!

Josephine's was excellent. The staff are really lovely. We had breakfast there, and it was very good, and portion size is great. The interior is really pretty. The tea is fresh leaves and there are plenty of choices, you can also buy your favourite to take home. I would certainly recommend this restaurant.

Such a lovely cafe! The waitress is very helpful. We have ordered afternoon tea set. The scone tastes so good.

Absolutely amazing experience! Went today to celebrate partners 60th birthday with a luxury afternoon tea each. From start to finish the whole thing was wonderful couldn’t have asked for anything more! The food was delicious especially the scones which were the best by far I’ve ever eaten! The presentation was beautiful and real care and attention had been given to make it look attractive. The surrounding are lovely, very nostalgic especially with the music that was playing, with a cosy and relaxed vibe. The service was absolutely top notch! It made a real change to go somewhere where the staff are polite and friendly without being in your face, but still very attentive and gave real customer service which is so lacking else where! First time visit today but will definitely be back sometime very soon in the new year. Contrary to what many people have written I think the prices reflect the quality of the food, presentation and service and was more than happy to pay £40 each. Would like to say a special thank you to the 2 girls that were working today they made it very special, thank you.

Excellent service,food. Can't be faulted.

Lovely place to enjoy well prepared food and great friendly service. Throughly enjoyed our evening meal.

Amazing food and loved the Christmas decorations

Had lunch at Josephines today. The food was lovely and the staff really friendly and efficient. Really love our visits to Josephines and cant wait for our next visit. Highly recommended.

Booked afternoon tea here for my mum in law and her friend as a birthday gift. They absolutely loved it , felt very looked after and enjoyed the food very much . As a business owner in Notts city I feel it’s so important to leave a well deserved and supportive review! Thank you for making 2 special ladies afternoon , we will definitely be back to have afternoon tea ourselves!

Great food great atmosphere and great prices

Table we asked for wasn't the one. To start off with. Put in an alcove 8 people sitting. uncomfortable and squahed. After a discussion with the Gentleman in charge. Eventually given the table 1st requested as promised. Staff friendly good service. Payment machine needs sorting very slow. Didnt work in the end. Ended up borrowing cash from a friend.

Went here for my first dinner official dinner date, and it was a brilliant lunch. The food was by far the best I’ve ever had, and the staff service was excellent.

A group of 9 of us went for breakfast this morning. The staff were wonderful and very quick at service. Beautiful quirky restaurant. Would def go again. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their food. Thank you

Visited for afternoon tea. Absolutely delicious and generous portion. Had to take half of it home as so filling. Staff very attentive and helpful.

Nice place to get breakfast (however a bit on the expensive side of things). The food is great but you will certainly need to ask for your 5th pancake as written in the menu because they will justify only serving you 4 pancakes by saying they are "large pancakes that count as 6". Two meals should be around £26 and you could round that up to £30 if you add a drink on top of that. Would recommend this place.

Our first visit, won’t be our last

Really lovely looking place. It looks really good from the outside and inside. Staff are friendly... However, the English breakfast was small in portion for the price. I understand it's a bougie place, but the quality of the food didn't come through. The hash browns weren't fully cooked. My partner ordered the vegetarian English breakfast and she got less food than me but the price was the same. We asked to swap the egg out as my partner is vegetarian and egg is not vegetarian in our religion. We got told that the egg could be swapped out for a hash brown. They bring the plate out with egg on it, and they just the the egg off instead of replacing the plate. My partner felt she didn't have a choice and didn't want to create a scene, so she had to eat around the bit where the egg was. At the end, when we went to pay, they tried to charge us extra for the hash brown, which they said they would swap for the egg. Sneaky. On any other day, we wouldn't have been fussed about the extra 50p. Normally, I don't leave bad reviews, but this time, I felt like I needed to share for anyone visiting this 4.6 star rated popular restaurant.

We visited for Afternoon Tea for my mum's 80th. Everything was perfect from the greeting we received to the food, decor and ambience. It made her birthday a special day, thank you.

We recently had the pleasure of celebrating my wife's birthday with a high tea experience at Josephine's in Nottingham, and I must say it exceeded our expectations in every way. From the moment we stepped into Josephine's, we were transported to a world of elegance and charm. The atmosphere was simply enchanting, with delicate porcelain tea sets, beautiful ornament decorations, and classical music setting the perfect backdrop for our special occasion. The high tea menu at Josephine's was a culinary masterpiece. The tea selection was impressive, offering a wide variety of flavours to suit every taste. Our knowledgeable server guided us through the options and helped us make selections that suited our preferences perfectly. Pro tip - The Conghou Rose tea was my wife’s fav. The food was simply divine. The finger sandwiches were not only beautifully presented but also incredibly delicious. The scones were served fresh, warm, light, and served with the right clotted cream and preserves that were heavenly. And the pastries and desserts? They were a true work of art, both visually stunning and a delight to the taste buds. What truly made the experience exceptional was the impeccable service. The staff at Josephine's went out of their way to make my wife's birthday celebration special. They added extra decor to make the tea stands extra special. The message scroll service is a great idea and shows the thought (and effort) been put to make one feel special (and it’s free!). Our entire experience at Josephine's was nothing short of perfection. It was a harmonious blend of sophistication, delectable food, and attentive service. We left with our hearts full of gratitude for making my wife's birthday so extraordinary. We wholeheartedly recommend Josephine's to anyone seeking a high tea experience that's a cut above the rest. Thank you to the entire team at Josephine's for making my wife's birthday celebration a cherished memory. We can't wait to return! Warm regards, Amit

Favourite in Nottingham for me + my mum to meet up for cream tea.

We visited for breakfast at about 11am on a sunday. I ordered the full English and my partner the salmon, spinach and eggs on toast. The tea was exceptionally good. But when the food arrived I was disappointed. The mushrooms looked sad and were tasteless I was told they were fresh but they tasted tinned. The badly poached egg was placed on the toast so once I retrieved it it was damp and covered in bean juice. Despite the price only one sausage and one slice of bacon. The fried potatoes felt like an afterthought. I would have sacrificed them for more protein. The hash brown was also luke warm. The stand out was the service which was attentive without being intrusive and they took my feedback with good grace.

So pleased we found this eatery it is lovely brilliant atmosphere and staff lovely. Great position in town.

Nice little place for pre theatre dinner. Good food, great staff, lovley little resturant higley recomended

I have visited the place quite often with my family. But I'm sadly disappointed by the staff which is recruited at the moment.

Visited Josephine's on Saturday and the food was very tasty and would highly recommend this establishment. By the way it's very rare I give 5 Stars 🌟

Beautiful place, great food. Nice staff. Beef burguinyon was really really nice! Even if that place is well known for their afternoon tea we where nicely surprised by their mains. Quality price is very good and just in perfect location

Took my daughter for her birthday it was fabulous from start to finish, good selection of sandwiches and cakes.very large scone, excellent service lovely staff, we left very full will use again.

I had my baby shower here and it was perfect. The service was faultless and the staff were so thoughtful. They gave me a small congratulations gift with calming teas as well as my own special scone. The afternoon tea and drinks were also really lovely. We can’t wait to visit again. Thank you so much for such a lovely afternoon.

Came here for breakfast, and then dinner. Great food, great service. Would recommend

Very expensive (luckily for me it was a birthday treat so I didn't pay) afternoon tea lovely good quality sandwiches, my scone a little dry though (friend had hers warmed up so think that was better) good service

Great place for an Afternoon Tea

Customer service at its worst! Absolutely appalling customer service by the Manager Steve. I was looking forward to enjoying an afternoon brunch when I was turned away as previously with excuses of 'fully booked'. He immediately made it clear that he had an issue with Mothers and babies. Several people walked in after and were seated without being asked for a booking. When I asked if we could possibly sit outside, I was spoken to in a patronising and disgruntled manner and told to 'toddle along' and 'toddle off'. There are lots of other restaurants and places for afternoon tea in Nottingham that offer a significantly better service than what I experienced today. -The disgruntled response to my very honest review sums up the manner I received today perfectly.

I was treated to afternoon tea, for my birthday. My friend and I were greeted, shown to our table and were given details of the many teas on offer. Without delay, our afternoon tea arrived. I am coeliac and I was very well catered for. I have had quite a few afternoon teas at various venues, but this was by far the best. It was so well presented, varied and delicious. Orlaith , our server was very polite and efficient and the experience was memorable. Josephine’s is a cosy place with nice decor, helpful staff, delicious food and well worth a visit. The only negative would be the volume of the otherwise good music made conversations a little difficult.

Absolutely gorgeous place and helpfull staff well done

Great food and excellent service at this independent, local business.

Tea lounge atmosphere that can't be beat. You feel like you've been transported back to the "good old days"! Large selection of food. Very personal service.

We’ve visited a Josephine’s a few times now and have never been anything but delighted with the whole experience. The decor and ambience are perfect; the vintage theme works to create such a comfortable and calm feel that you can relax and forget the hustle and bustle of the modern world for an hour or so. We had spicy chicken panini and Josephine’s Cream Teas to follow. All gorgeous as all the food seems to be but the scones in particular were wonderful (fresh baked and melt in the mouth). The staff are incredible. Aisha and Jessica were looking after us today and they’re both an absolute credit to Josephine’s. Staff training seems so often like a script that has had to be learnt and the smile never quite reaches the eyes, if a smile is even attempted. But these girls are so genuine and lovely with the sort of friendly, helpful characters that fit perfectly with what Josephine’s are aiming for. Real old-school service is so rare these days and I just hope the management appreciates what little treasures they’ve got. Nice music too. As a suggestion, how about a bit of Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox. I think it would lend itself quite well. Josephine’s isn’t cheap but then, you really do get what you pay for here.

This is a great place for afternoon tea. The staff are so attentive and very friendly. The sandwiches and cakes are to die for. A very relaxing afternoon and the background music was spot on

A fabulous time for a friends birthday treat. Lisa was amazing great service

Lovely afternoon tea lovely friendly staff who couldn't do more for you abd the food was freshly made and delicious

disappointing and rude staff, especially the manager

An ever lasting experience, food delicious, serive on point, atmosphere relaxing ... this is why we come back ... you should visit without delay!

It was a birthday treat and the staff made me feel really special

Thoroughly enjoyed our first visit today. Great service from staff, really quick and good quality food. Tasted good, excellent presentation and value. Competently dealt with allergen advice. Thank you.

We attended Josephine’s this afternoon for an afternoon tea. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by the staff who were all lovely and made us feel so at ease. The afternoon tea itself was amazing, sandwiches were perfect and scones were lovely warm too. The atmosphere was lovely and we both complimented the music and the decor choices. Thankyou for an amazing experience we will definitely be returning!

Excellent afternoon tea 🍵. Lovely food and service can highly recommend.