The Orangery Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

We came here for afternoon tea for my birthday and it was a wonderful experience. The food was delicious and surprisingly filling (scones were warm), tea was hot and fresh, and service was good (they were prompt and polite when we asked for things, but no one checked in on us and we had to flag someone down for more tea). The birthday card was also a sweet added touch. For the price I would highly recommend

A very long wait for pre-ordered lunch for a bigger group of us. Staff appeared to be run off their feet trying to cater to a full restaurant. Might be a case of understaffing perhaps. Seafood (fish) with fennel was very tasty. Noisy with the crowd. Classy interior. If you prefer quick takeaway or Cafe- there are other options at the forecourt entry of Blenheim Palace.

The food, service and ambience were all outstanding. This was our first visit and we look forward to returning soon.

Delightful afternoon tea for a friend’s special birthday. The staff were very nice and kept the tea flowing for us all afternoon. The room is beautiful too.

Came here for my partner’s birthday. Firstly, Blenheim is always an amazing venue, as you’d expect it’s a wonderful setting with a lovely dining hall and fantastic views of the gardens. Secondly, the quality of the ingredients? Fabulous! Some of the ingredients sourced from their own gardens and the meats we had were clearly good quality. share starter of flatbreads with pesto, hummus and olives - didn’t arrive until the very end of our courses having had to point out that we hadn’t been served the dish. The waitress then came over to our table to question whether we had been served the dish or not as one of the starters was served on the same board (Charcuterie). I wouldn’t recommend this dish, although the hummus and olives were lovely! Starters Deep fried brie with chutney, an interesting dish and the chutney was amazing! Cobble Lane Charcuterie, lovely salami and ham with a tasty sauce beef roast - Again, ingredients were lovely, a very tasty sweet potato puree, along with a rich gravy, the carrots and parsnips were to die for!! Roast potatoes not fully cooked through unfortunately so quite a firm bite instead of soft and fluffy on the inside. sea bass - The fish itself was amazing and made a nice dish overall. billed incorrectly - We came with a £100 voucher gifted to my partner, of which £90 was taken off our bill. Having already had to make a bit of a fuss about the starter/sharer that didn’t arrive, I didn’t question the waitress, which would have of course made my partner uncomfortable. Overall, a wonderful setting with great quality food. A nice meal but awkward service was frustrating at times.

Beautiful surroundings, helpful friendly staff, delicious tasty food in just the right portions. A fabulous afternoon tea experience. Thank you.

The afternoon tea here was delicious, beautiful, and at a good price compared to places in London! A beautiful view of the palace gardens from the windows of the restaurant, comfortable seating, and great service.

Good service, good food, unique location.

Perfect, just perfect!Managed to bring our booking time forward at short notice.Recognised our anniversary with a lovely card.Attentive, friendly service.And most important of all - beautifully presented and tasty food.

Turned us away since we only wanted to have tea and scones. More than half the tables are free but they gave us a silly excuse that the chef is busy with an event. Snobbish host.

Very friendly staff with caring attitude and pleasing demeanour.. Spacious and comfortable seating arrangement. Warm and luxurious ambiance. Food was ( fish) excellent. Enjoyed it very much.

Just renovated and serving delicious options, this is a great place to enjoy a peaceful lunch or tea during a visit to beautiful Blenheim.

Amazing room and decoration. Excellente food and wine. We loved it and will come back

Lovely afternoon tea in the Orangery. Has been recently refurbished. Lovely setting, afternoon tea tasted great and all fresh. Would happily go back.

Stunning setting for afternoon tea. The food was delicious but what stood out most was the excellent service. We had the loveliest server and were very well looked after. Highly recommend.

Lovely Afternoon Tea spent with Hubby ..Service fantastic, Atmosphere Great,Food was so Lovely to

All in all a pretty good experience. Staff was nice but the wait for food was a bit long even though I love a good restaurant visit. Great wines and lovely desserts.

We had a delicious anniversary lunch in the stunning Orangery staff were polite, helpful and friendly .... the Anniversary card from staff was a really nice touch...Thankyou 🌟

Aniversary woe. Waited forever for substandard fare. No meat sandwiches at all, stale bread, no seasoning at all. Children serving us. More savoury please and 12.5% service charge??

We went for afternoon tea which quite frankly was abysmal. The sandwiches taste stale as though they’ve been made the day before or even before that! I’ve been to cheaper and better afternoon teas in small cafes in comparison to what The Orangey offer. The staff are hit and miss, some are friendly some don’t want to be there and affect the service and experience. The service is again hit and miss due to some staff caring and others not bothering. The atmosphere is ok, the room is pretty but it was cold! I know we’re in a cost of living but sitting in a cold place is not ideal.

Unfortunately, when I arrived, the receptionist greeted me but was ambivalent and made me wait whilst she laid a table. Her attitude was very unwelcoming and put me off a little. Thankfully the head waitress - RITA came to the reception desk and took my details and whispered to the receptionist about my booking. RITA gave me a first-class 10 OUT 10 service but as for the receptionist she did not even apologise for initial behaviour although she laid my table. POOR SHOW!!!! Treat customers fairly and equally as we are PREMIUM paying customers and deserve the best. PLEASE GIVE HER ADVICE ON WHAT A RECEPTIONIST ROLE IS????

Really attentive staff, wonderful roast lunch

Nice restaurant onsite serving a good variety of meals for lunch. Seemed they also do afternoon tea. Staff were friendly and attentive. Reasonably priced. Pictured French Onion Soup and fries.

Staff is amazing, and together with the high ceiling and nice views, it really makes the afternoon tea a wonderful moment. I recall the food quality used to be slightly better and with more variety a few years back, but tea/coffee/chocolate and food refills is absolutely worth the price.

My partner went there for her birthday, which is valentine's day. From beginning to end the service was brilliant, everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. The food was delicious, I can only compliment everyone involved. And the birthday card was a lovely touch. I would like to thank everyone.

Exceptional service from the team, made a 92nd birthday a very joyous and memorable experience. Delicious sandwiches and cakes. Thank you!

Trust the other bad reviews for afternoon tea, very overpriced and underwhelming, taste is bad, portions are bad, quality is bad, service is great but if you are serving S*** then it doesn’t make much difference, for £130 I expected much better, never coming back

Had an afternoon tea as part of the Christmas Lights Trail at the Blenheim Palace. We thought that food was average, staff ended up getting our drinks messed up a couple of times and tried to serve us a cocktail that they took away from us 20 minutes earlier (all ice was melted)

Amazing Afternoon tea with lovely staff. We will definitely go back.

A lovely experience and a very special day for my Mum's 90th Birthday. Thank you all, the staff were amazing.

Absolutely divine food with excellent service, made very welcome from the moment we arrived. First class in fact with a beautiful atmosphere and the whole environment is just perfect. Comfortable seating, table’s nicely laid and spaced out. No one is crammed in and the decor is beautiful. Felt very relaxed and plan to come back again, definitely.

Complete rip off for sandwiches made the day before at another location and defrosted brought in little cakes.

Great afternoon Tea… perfect scone!

This is a self service Cafe. I had a slice of carrot cake which was excellent.

We had a wonderful time with you and the afternoon tea was superb, all our needs were meet and more. Nothing was too much trouble. Everyone was friendly , kind and attentive. Thank you for enabling us to make wonderful memories for our 30th wedding anniversary.

Excellent in every way. An elegant setting, especially since we were in a temporary structure, Clementine’s On The Lawn. We appreciated the Palace view across the lawn. We can not wait to return to the refurbished Orangery in the future. Service was exceptionally friendly, professional and we were happy to pay the additional charge as it was definitely deserved. The complimentary glass of fizz to celebrate my partner’s birthday was much appreciated. The afternoon tea was absolutely delicious. We were impressed by the care and attention to detail regarding my partner’s intolerance of eggs. Overall, we had a lovely visit and will definitely be back. Thank you

Problem with wasps when sitting outside unfortunately.

The visit was for my sister's 77 Birthday who is disabled. I can praise the Service by the Staff enough a Big Shout out for them! The rest of the Blenheim Staff members were also brilliant so thanks to ALL for a Wonderful!

Was surprised at how nice the food was and the great value for money - often at places like this food is poor quality and overpriced but this was most definitely not the case. We had the filled baguettes which were delicious and the coffee device. Followed up by the Rocky road slice for desert. For three meals and pudding and drink it cost just over £30 which was great value. Staff were helpful and friendly despite being a colleague down and the queue were managed quickly. Highly recommended

The only one negative comment is that the sign for the final footpath to Clementines was missing. Unfortunately because of this we ended up at the Water Cascades! It was a very long walk on a very hot day! We stopped a buggy to ask the way. We were quite shattered when we arrived for our tea but we were revived by a really delicious tea and your wonderful staff.

A really lovely and very special experience. Delicious and perfectly balanced food, excellent service and the most amazing setting. I can't recommend it enough.

Really delightful lunchtime experience in the Clemantine. Great presentation and delicious food, lovely Chef with interesting ideas and ambitious dishes. Excellent service with friendly and interested staff Great for that "special occasion" which we shared with our friends

Had afternoon tea in this restaurant. The staff were very attentive but not over bearing. Lovely food and great surroundings, would recommend a visit to anyone.

Just not good at all. Service mediocre, food nothing special, expensive and lacking that special atmosphere we had hoped for. Avoid.

Not extraordinary but not bad either.

Good wheelchair accessibility, car park is a long way from the restaurant though. Good was good, service was really good.

Afternoon tea here was really quite subpar. The teas are basic tea bags! At least use looseleaf? You have a choice of only 4 teas, or coffee or hot chocolate. The stand of savory and sweet goodies are decent. Staff is nice but the service is slow. The room itself is very underwhelming - needs more decor to fill in the empty large feeling of the room. Chandeliers had cobwebs everywhere on them.

Was busy due to the Christmas production so our 3:15 timed ticket was really good for a 3:30 sitting. A lovely Christmas Eve Afternoon Tea. Surprising that more people didn't dress up just a little bit for such a classy venue on a holiday. The finger sandwiches tasted great and the sweets were delicious. The scones were small but dense so I could only eat one which is a good thing since you are only provided enough jam for one.

The scones were tiny, all the portions were on the small side, and to put a 12.5% service charge on a £64 afternoon tea is a bit of a mickey take when we weren't really checked on, the teas were wrong twice, and the extra milk we asked for never arrived. The afternoon tea at Oakley Hall was much a much better all round experience.

Excellent it was our second time and really enjoyed it. Staff was very polite and food very good.

Had a lovely afternoon tea, and the staff were really friendly and helpful

Really lovely afternoon tea, bottomless tea and coffee and excellent tea.

Went for afternoon tea the room was beautifully decorated the staff was friendly and very professional and definitely worth visiting

Very pleasant overall experience with polite, attentive staff.

Booked for a Birthday meal and the food was very good however the service let it down massively. Staff not very attentive, forgetting what we ordered and had to ask for the dessert menu a few times. We arrived at 12 and didn’t leave until gone 3pm, luckily we didn’t have anything booked. The room could be beautiful but felt like a care home with white table clothes and old padded chairs and the windows need a good clean! Lots of dust and leaves on the floor where we were sat. Overall I would come back to the Orangery as the food was very tasty and good value but the service and ambience needs improving!

Fantastic venue and a phenomenal experience for a high tea. The food and service were impeccable. The team created a wonderful atmosphere that was enjoyed by all. We are all looking for to our next visit.

Una tarde de te con pasteles fabulosa. Un lugar precioso donde apreciar en todo su esplendor la cultura inglesa del té.

We wanted to eat here when we came last year but they were fully booked we were so glad we were able to go this time and on our anniversary! It's such a beautiful setting in a beautiful place. They even added the lovely touch of giving us a card for our anniversary. We ordered the pork belly while my fiancé ordered the venison ragu with tagliatelle both was amazing! The pork belly was so succulent! For dessert we ordered chocolate pot with almond brittle which was very rich and nice I think I could possibly have ordered a more ornate dessert though the other dessert is rhubarb and apple crumble with clotted cream custard. The custard could have been thicker but that's just personal preference. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would recommend when going to visit bleinham Palace

friendly but very unorganized. we were there 12pm, 2nd or 3rd group, but had sea bass served at 1:15, we also ordered early and saw the dish got served to many other tables who clearly ordered later than us.

We had am afternoon tea today for my sisters birthday. Its a fantastic restaurant with wonderful staff who make your experience delightful. Other guests were having food from the menu which look fab We will definitely be back .

Afternoon tea and sandwiches. Yum

Not a great experience at all. The service was incredibly slow. Not a full restaurant in the slightest as we were there for lunch service on a Monday and our soups took 20 minutes to be served. I ordered a steak burger and it was inedible. Probably the worst I’ve ever had the misfortune to taste. Once I had managed to cut through the lumps of rubbery fat I placed it in my mouth and had realised the chef had refused to leave any moisture in the meat and the moment it touched my lips, displaced all moisture from my mouth. The chef had also forgotten the relish and all the other extras it was supposed to come with. I was also only given 6 chips. Needless to say, I did not pay the £18 it was supposed to be. My partner and his mum paid £32 EACH for afternoon tea of mediocre sandwiches (one I was horrified to realise was only filled with cream cheese and chives?!?!) and lukewarm tea. I really hope I never have to come back.

We had Sunday lunch here today, 21st August, to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary. The food and the staff were, as ever, absolutely superb in all respects. After my wife mentioned the reason for our visit to the lovely lady looking after us the card and anniversary gift received were both unexpected and welcome. Though we have been on many occasions in the past this is our first visit for some years. We will return, soon, even though it's an eighty nine mile journey for us. Thank you to all at the Orangery for making this day special for us.

Loved visiting here for my birthday. Staff were very friendly and the afternoon tea was delicious. Cater for different dietary requirements and good value for money. The room itself is stunning.

Had a most enjoyable delicious lunch. Staff were great. Would thoroughly recommend.

My wife and I booked the afternoon tea for our wedding aniversary. The service we recieved was not great, I had to get up and chase the waitress to get a tea refill / food order. Food was not great as well, cakes tasted shop bought. table cloth was dirty, only saving grace was that the building itself is nice but we will definetly not be coming back.

Had a booking as part of my visit to Blenheim palace, food was really good had the lunch time menu, had brucheta and the grilled seabass and both were amazing picture speak for themselves.

We were 1.5 hours later than booked but the team still served our afternoon tea. Everything was very delicious.

We had a delicious Sunday lunch today. It was extremely tasty and the portions were very generous. The setting is of course second to none. The service was friendly but a little haphazard, hence losing a star.

Wij hebben hier een platinum jubilee afternoon tea gehad. De kwaliteit van het eten en de thee is uitstekend. Helaas lette de bediening niet altijd goed op. We werden door verschillende medewerkers aangesproken, maar uiteindelijk duurde het toch erg lang voordat het eten en de thee geserveerd werd.

Beautiful venue. Food is well prepared.

Fantastic service, Fantastic food!!

Lovely food, the staff are very attentive and polite. A nice relaxing ambiance. I recommend a visit.

We had an excellent Sunday lunch here. Friendly staff.

Lovely afternoon tea venue with friendly and attentive service at Blenheim Palace.

Great venue to celebrate my Mums 80th birthday lunch. Delicious food, friendly staff, wonderful setting, a real treat for a special occasion. Recommended friends and family. Returning in June to celebrate 10th wedding anniversary.

Really nice place, bright airy, polite staff and afternoon tea was superb. Would definitely recommend complimented by the lovely grounds.

Lovely afternoon tea. The staff were outstanding, extremely welcoming and attentive throughout. They ensured we had regular top ups of drinks and food. Great venue, tables well spaced out and felt really special. Definitely one of the best afternoon experiences at a good price. They packed up the items we had left to take away. The other food coming from the kitchen all looked really nice and checking the menu the prices were reasonable. Highly recommended for a special treat.

Poor value for money, very overpriced

Although it is quite expensive (considering afternoon tea+ bleinheim ticket fee) the place is well taken care of and very impressive. Staff is super friendly and helpful. I would recommend!

Request to seat near window got denied because they were “fully booked”, yet nobody used those 3 free tables for an hour. What a “coincidence”. Afternoon tea was good.

Lovely meal and location. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would recommend.

Really lovely experience. Very friendly with the toddler too.

Big portions and tasty food. Burger was very generous, but bit on the dry and firm side. Caesar salad was very good! Staff were very friendly and helpful. However, we had to send back our water a couple of times as it had some black dirt it them.

The afternoon tea in itself was okay but the heating had broken down in the morning and nothing had been done to remedy this. The orangery has large sash windows which had freezing cold wind blowing through them. I have never been so cold whilst having paid nearly £30 per person for a tea, this is unacceptable some elderly diners must have been suffering badly. I personally had to sit there with a woolly hat, overcoat and my hood up. I accept that a part might need to be ordered but with the temperatures being so cold heaters should have been hired and bought in by the afternoon and evening.

It's very lovely in here . The only reason for 4 Star is the gluten tea was not good the scones where more like biscuits then soft cake, but gluten free is hard to get right .My partner loved his afternoon tea .

A pleasant experience we had having afternoon tea.

Had lunch for mums 98th. Could not fault anything. Food was lovely. Stafff were friendly. Beautiful place. Thoroughly reccommend. Thankyou.

Fantastic afternoon tea in a lovely setting. All of the food was excellent, good choice of teas and alcoholic drinks also. The Orangery is a really nice room and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience.

Yes Great for Sunday Lunch, The sirloin steak and the roast vegs, were melt in the mouth, I would walk 100 miles for a repeat serving, many Thanks Mike

Very nice surroundings and excellent food.....apart from the entree. Shrimp terrine was very poor. Tasted like the shrimp flavour had to be enhanced with anchovy essence and unfortunately was then set in butter giving a very hard fatty texture. Not at all enjoyable.

Wonderfully English setting for classic English afternoon tea. The service was excellent and the selection of items served was first rate. But two details jarred a little. The jam for the scones was in mini-jars instead of a dish. And the big disappointment was the lack of a table cloth to cover the veneer table top damaged at the edges. Oh dear! To be in the best of the best it is these little things that count.

Lovely afternoon tea - food was delicious especially the savoury bites. Canteen style tables a bit odd - why not white tablecloths?

Appalling customer service and hospitality. As someone who doesn't eat cakes or sweet food I wanted to visit the Orangery for a glass of champagne or a cocktail. I was told with my family we could ONLY come in for high tea despite there being a drinks menu right by the high tea menu. The restaurant was almost empty so tables were not fully booked etc. I was then completely embarrassed by the front of house staff who said I could "take a look" inside. I'm sorry, but I wanted to enjoy the experience of a luxury surrounding and a luxury refreshment especially as the weather was very chilly, not be allowed a sneak look at what I "could have had." The funny part is had it been the normal lunch menu we would have spent well over £100 at the place. I work in the service industry and WOULD never treat my customers in this manner. I rarely write negative reviews as I understand the difficulty in dealing with the public. Had the front of house staff not made me feel so embarrassed I would have complained to the manager. Completely ruined the one experience I was looking forward to at the Palace. The rest of the palace was lovely and highly recommended, The Orangery was appalling.

Lovely place it is absolutely! Staff were nice and the mood is great. Give 4 stars because of the food. Was goos but didnt meet my expectation

Booked afternoon tea for a wedding anniversary and noted this on the booking. No-one to greet us on arrival, no table set up ready for us, no mention of our celebration. We asked for water and the waiter swung by our table and just dropped the bottle and swung off again. I was given a dirty, cracked, cup for my tea and had to ask for it to be changed. No description of what we received on our tea stand and no offer of clean plates/cutlery between savoury and sweet, again I had to call someone over to address this. At no point during our visit did anyone ask us how our food was or offer hot water to top up our tea. Unfortunately I would recommend anyone to look at alternative venues for a special occasion as this was an experience NEVER to be repeated.

Had afternoon tea here today and was excellent. Louis looked after us and provided fantastic service. Many thanks to him and team

We had the picnic, it was amazing we loved everything about it, great value for money and great quality produce, I don’t think Many people know about it as didn’t see anyone else with one, I want to come back just for the picnic. Thank you

When one says they need diary free menu, one does certainly not expect dairy free, gluten free and vegan. Absolute rubbish. If you have one dietary restriction, you'll get the three of them! You could kill with that scone!

Such a disappointment. Booked for last sitting of brunch and were treated like 2nd class citizens as chef was too busy prepping for lunch. Bad selection for GF menu, took an hour to get food, asked multiple times for things, food showed up cold, poached eggs basically hard boiled, everything salty. Wait staff apologetic and polite but can't compensate for what was a truly terrible meal. Would NEVER eat here again.