The Orangery Tea Rooms at Whitstable Castle in Canterbury

My advice to anyone thinking of going to this tearoom is Do Not! I have been going to this restaurant regularly for a long time. The staff were always polite and a credit to their employer. I visited about 3 weeks ago but will definitely not be going back again. The lady who served me was extremely rude. The tables in the Orangery (where everyone likes to sit) were laid out for afternoon tea. This was 10.30 in the morning! The previous staff would put a time on the tables from when these were reserved, meaning that if you left prior to this you were able to sit there. When we arrived there were only 3 tables that you could sit at and needless to say no-one arrived to sit at the reserved ones. I am also aware that it was the same for the afternoon. e.g Tables were still laid out but not occupied! It is such a shame when something goes down hill to this degree as this is a beautiful setting.

Have visited many times but this will be last time. Ordered bacon sandwich on brown bead and toast with butter and jam plus two lattes. Not cheap but where is and has always been fine. After 25 minutes coffees appeared, luke warm, but no food. After drinking coffees quite quickly before they got even colder waited another 10 minutes for food. Bacon sandwich came in stale white cut loaf bread with bacon barely warm, couldn't eat. Toast came with marmalade instead of butter! Had ordered another couple of coffees to wash this lovely food down but after another 20 minutes had to go to counter to ask where they were. They said oh will do them now! When they eventually arrived was just hot milk and water with a pretence of coffee flavour. Left then as had had enough. Very disappointed as this used to be a delightful place for coffee and snack. Never again.

Staff trying but inexperienced. Afternoon tea absolute joke. Slither of a sandwich that was more sauce than prawn, half a Viennese swirl, shop bought cakes, and undercooked scones! Oh and the forgotten tea at an afternoon tea. Definitely not worth the price they were charging! You’d be better off getting a meal deal at a supermarket, better value for money! Grounds were lovely, are they intentionally leaving everything to grow wild?

Dirty & sticky tables, staff not really interested, they seemed to be irritated to be working.? I wouldn’t bother tbh I guess they were too busy though it was a warm day and shame as last visit was better.

Absolute joke, £26 a head, afternoon tea, scones that needed a hammer to break into, curled up dried sandwiches, shop bought cakes the size of a 2 pence piece, no tablecloths, and cups that look like boot fair rejects. Oh to top the lot to our what we thought was going to be a lovely peaceful tea, the place was taken over by at least 600 foreign students all queuing for food just where we were placed to eat our tea, absolutely deafening. 1 communal toilet, or a disabled/baby changing room AVOID.

One vegan, one gluten free vegetarian one vegetarian and one "normal". All really tasty very imaginative and lots of it. Couldn't fault the food or the staff.

A little concerned before we went due to some poor reviews but thought we would see for ourselves as such a lovely setting. Had thought about having afternoon tea but as you had to book 24 hours in advance it was too late for our visit. Was pleased to see china cups and teapot but they were only for those having the afternoon tea, well you are paying a lot so could forgive them for that. It was busy and didn’t mind waiting the 5 minutes for them to clean a table however we then waited over 15mins for someone to come and see us and still no menu. We were then told it was tea and cake no food as the kitchen was closed. We arrived at 13.55 I remember quite clearly due to the track and trace form I completed. Couldn’t tell you what it was like as we decided not to stay as I’d been looking forward to having the white bait I had seen on the menu online!

After a beach walk we chose to take tea at this cafe as they were open until 4.30. Two very unhelpful staff refused to serve us take away teas at 4.10., citing "staff shortages" very disappointing as our group of 7+ family and friend left thirsty!

Met friends for coffee super cheese scones, great setting and Chole our waitress was the best. Perfect place to eat.

The service at the tea rooms was awful. We waited for ages to get served, we had to ask a few times for them to take our order. Then when we did get served our order was forgotten. Went in to ask for a refund as we had to leave and the staff made some poor excuse about the ticket not printing. Lovely place, lovely setting but tea rooms extremely disappointing and would not go there again.

Preordered for 2pm, seated promptly in the orangery at our reserved table. Very busy but tea and coffee served fairly quickly. However it was 2.45 when the food arrived. The sandwiches and cakes were nice but because of the heat it was quite uncomfortable and no windows could be opened. The staff were polite but kept quite busy with the amount of people inside and out. £5 for a glass of Prosecco a bit steep, all in all quite pleasant but just needs the sandwiches to arrive a bit prompter.

Went yesterday for breakfast Lovely setting and nice staff but food was very lacking. Sadly I think they use spread on the ready ‘buttered’ toast which has a water content so the toast was wet and soggy. The scrambled egg, poorly presented across the toast was an odd colour and the rasher of bacon very anaemic with floppy white fat. I think it had been microwaved. Coffee was great so if I ever return it will be for coffee only.

The place was busy but appeared poorly organised. We had to wait 30 mins for a cup of tea although to be fair we were told there was a wait for hot drinks. Tables were uncleared. Just didn't seem to have any sense of organisation. The staff seemed weary. Pity a lovely venue could be a great place.

A very smart period styled cafe serving excellent food. Pots of tea in china and a range of lunches and cakes, all very delicious, the ceiling is glass providing beautiful light.

Visited today with my elderly parents. This was our second visit. The food was good and the waitress was really very kind to my parents. Such a lovely atmosphere. I had the avocado and red onion on sour dough, mum had a huge portion of ham, egg and chips and dad had the veggie lasagne. We will return.

Lovely setting in Whitstable castle. We sat in the conservatory. Lovely food and tea , very busy with attentive staff.

Very nice setting for a special afternoon tea. Food was lovely and very well presented. With the added touch of a mini quiche each with the sandwiches. The staff were very attentive, checking if all was ok and topping up our drinks.Yes it was slightly more expensive than some cream teas, but I felt worth it for a special occasion.

No room in the Orangery but I had a nice seat in the beamed, panelled part next to a radiator. Considering how busy they were, my soup, bread, coffee and water were delivered quite quickly. The soup was Mediterranean vegetable and was very good and substantial even though it would have been better to have had chunkier bread than the small slices of a white mini baguette, not suitable to serve with soup. Coffee was excellent. The young women serving were so well organised and efficient, they looked calm but worked hard to serve everyone as quickly as they could.

Myself and a group of 8 work colleagues visited for Afternoon Tea today. Beautiful setting with views from The Orangery over the Castle gardens.Service was great , food delicious and plenty of it . Vintage China added to the experience. Thankyou for a lovely visit. We will return.

We visited the castle for the Christmas fayre that was on. Then decided to visit the coffee shop. The only person without a name badge must have been the manager. She was rude and abrupt when serving us. Felt as though we were an inconvenience to her. The other staff were friendly and helpful even when I asked for a clean cup as the one given was still unclean. Even when the manager walked through with an afternoon tea for another table her way of asking people to move had no politeness to it. The scones were nice and fresh. The place was clean and tidy too. Average prices for drinks/cakes. Won't be a first choice of places to go when in the area again.

I wouldn't rate this afternoon tea. The sandwiches were average, the cakes were dry and you're only allowed to have tea or coffee (I always have hot chocolate at afternoon teas!). One positive is that the scones were nice and there was an ok amount of cream to share between 3 people.In addition the waitress was not very friendly, our dirty plates were not cleared away until after we left and we were not offered any more drinks after the initial order was taken.It's also really hot in there!

We have frequented The Orangery since opening. Today, however we left feeling very upset and dissapointed.The new rule that you CANNOT sit in The Orangery to eat cake and drink tea/coffee is discriminatory and shortsighted. Now, Apparently, you can only sit in there to eat a lunch!We HAD to sit on the other side on uncomfortable benches whilst enduring the drone of two chaps with laptops out having a business meeting.To top it all the cakes we chose were very dry and lacked flavour.We live local and Have supported you since opening. Sad to say that from now on we will be giving your establisent a wide berth and will no longer recommend it to friends and family visiting.

Visited here 2 years ago and had such a lovely afternoon tea so decided to go back and what a massive disappointed this was :( not only had the presentation of the food gone completely but the quality and the taste also, made a comment to the waitress and she wasn’t bothered and just said oh yeah looks smaller when showed her the previous pictures! Such a shame such a lovely place with lovely gardens but won’t be returning as basically paid £40 for a scone, cuppa tea and 6 slithers of a sandwich inserted pictures first one is previous second is now

We had tea and cakes for 4 and it was £22. So it's not cheap but it is in a nice location. A trainee served us, so by the time the tray arrived there was more coffee in the saucer than the cup.

The staff were very polite and attentive. The surroundings and interior are beautiful.We ordered Macaroni Cheese for the children and I had a Grazing Platter with bread (no butter though which seemed odd), caramalised onions, cheese, pickled onion and olives. It was also meant to come with coleslaw - but I have only just realised this. Would have been a lovely addition :(My parents had baguette and chips to share and all of the food was very nice and well displayed.One point worth mentioning is that there is only one toilet as far as I could see, which would make toilet visits difficult if the place was very busy.

We visited the castle today for the sole purpose of having a lunch. The waitress was very polite and got our order spot on. The food however, was disappointing. We had three baguettes, one under baked and another with bacon, brie and cranberry. The bacon was very very fatty with lots of white fat that needed separating from the little bacon that was there. Another was the glorified cheese and pickle. Supermarket cheddar and a dash of pickle. Not worthy of the £7 charge. Very disappointed, shall go along to the very nice places in town in future.

Sulky service, a single blocked toilet, and waited half an hour for a very ordinary sandwich. Lives off it's nice surroundings. Avoid.

Have been to the Castle on a number of occasions and it's been fine. Had a pasta lunch which was served up cold and was sent back my two friends had the same and there's went back also. The 3 dishes had been mixed together and reheated dished up again and brought back to us. I refused to eat it as I knew what they had done. Shame really because I wont be going there again.

Excellent fresh sandwiches, Perfect cakes and very good scones Plenty of clotted cream & a good sized pot of tea. With very good service

Called for a wander around the gardens one afternoon and had tea and coffee sitting outside. There was inside tables as well. There were cakes on display should you want a slice and other food available although not a huge menu. There is one toilet for all downstairs but more loos available upstairs if there is a queue. My friend recommends the coffee. Tea was served in a china pot. A nice place to stop and there is some parking on the property, and some in the road outside.

We went for afternoon tea as we thought it sounded lovely - afternoon tea for 2 at Whitstable Castle. The castle and grounds are very pretty and the terrace is lovely to sit on in the summer sun. However the tea room itself isn't great. It lacks any ambiance and character. It just has plain floorboards and wooden tables-no other interior decor at all. It's also very difficult to have any sort of private conversation due to the echo caused by no curtains, rugs or soft furnishings.The tea was also disappointing compared to others I have had and so I didn't think it good value at £20 per head. The cakes offered were particularly poor.The waitresses were pleasant but we did have to go in search of them when we needed more tea.Sorry to say I wouldn't recommend as there are so many other better choices available.

We come here once a year and although I have given this a good review previously, I feel that service has definitely declined since our last visit. The food was generally acceptable but when the waitress served the water her fingers were around the top of the glass where you drink and it wa really unhygienic. She just needed to put the jug of water on the table and allow us to por it ourselves. When I asked for our lunch plates to be removed a good ten minutes after we had ordered our desserts, I was told that they woukd do a ‘little switcheroo ‘ when she brought the desserts!! This was not acceptable as in the hot weather, there were blurbottles everywhere.

A lovely afternoon tea for a large group served in the orangery. Fresh sandwiches and cake, lots of hot tea and coffee topped with great scones and piles of clotted cream. Just lovely.

My friends booked us all an Afternoon Tea as a surprise for a belated birthday treat. We were pleased to have a nice table - the light is lovely! We had a nice range of food - the scones were huge! Our only criticism was that our beautiful crockery could have done with a quick dusting before it was laid out...!

This is definitely not worth £20.00 per person, there was not enough to justify paying £40.00 for three plates of food with not much on them. The Victoria sponge advertised was missing, and our table was not ready when we arrived. Altogether very disappointing. That said the staff were good.

Lovely grounds and nice sitting outside but the food isn’t great value. £1.95 for small bottle of coke and £6.95 for bland baguette, you can get fish and chips in harbour for £6.80.

We were a group of twenty taking afternoon tea in one of the private rooms as the Orangery is limited for space. The afternoon tea was absolutely delicious and by far the best we have had over four other venues in Kent and two top London hotels. Sandwiches ....fresh bread and plentiful fillings, Warm mini savoury croissants were so tasty. Light and crispy pastry quiche. Fresh scones with cream and jam. If that wasn't enough there was then an array of mini patisserie which went down a treat. Pots of tea kept coming along with ever cheery staff. A special mention to Sammy who took me on an impromptu tour of the castle function rooms and Orangery. Such was her enthusiasm we booked to return with friends in a few .weeks. The best afternoon tea by miles. Well done Whitstable Castle.

This tearoom is lovely. Quaint in places. Food very tasty and reasonably priced. Service very good, staff friendly. No dogs allowed in tearoom, just outside. Only negative is only one toilet for everyone, which is a problem if you suffer from U/C etc.

Book a full afternoon Tea but a cream tea for 2 for under £10 is okay as a walk in. Lovely views over garden and atmosphere

Avoid the soup, tinned, cool. and congealed. The baguettes & tea were good shame about the soup! the specials were good too

The afternoon tea they provided was absolutely delicious. I've had afternoon tea at a couple of hotels in London but this was better!

Took my friend for a surprise afternoon tea (Gluten Free ) it was absolutely lovely there was so much to eat endless hot drinks and the staff were lovely Would recommend an afternoon tea here We also visited the tea hunt over the road for a quick cuppa too

We used to go here a lot when it was first revamped but now go elsewhere as it is so disappointing.Went with a friend recently and ordered coronation chicken sandwich. I asked for crisps but was told it came with chips. What arrived was a very very thick bread sandwich with bland filling and some bog standard frozen chips. The worst part was the surly service where we were treated as an annoyance. Such a shame as lovely grounds. I hope it gets sorted out.

We visited here again in the hope that the establishment had improved since our last visit a year ago. We are local and because of the lovely setting we gave it another try.We ordered a tuna jacket and a sandwich with two coffees. The inside of the tea rooms had customers but not busy. The jacket came with a good serving of tuna and salad but the jacket was dry with no butter. The sandwich was good but the chips were a little soggy. The coffees were both good. The interior of the cafe was in need of tlc. I don't think a sticky label on the table with its number is very professional. Everything looked as if it needed an uplift. There appeared to be two staff whilst we were there. One taking orders on an iPad and serving whilst the other was making coffees and taking money. Tables remained dirty after customers had left. Queuing to pay was slow as only one seemed to be able to operate the till. Most remarkable of all is that at 1.15 a couple came and sat opposite us and were refused food as the kitchen was closing!! They were informed this was due to a lack of staff! At lunchtime to remove from your tea room menu is poor. The couple asked if a sandwich would be possible and this to was refused. Our conclusion was this remains a poorly run facility.

Called in early morning for coffee and cake. Staff were polite and served us promptly. They even had gluten free chocolate cake which was delicious.

Unfortunately this experience was let down by the staff, nobody explained the coffee was limitless, no one checked if our meal was ok and I needed to go up to the counter when I needed another coffee.This was a luxury afternoon tea that unfortunately did not live up to its name.

We went here for Mothers Day and we was truly disapointed by the service and food.We paid a deposit before we came, so the restaurant should have really been prepared for the amount of customers they would have that day.Waited 20 minutes for drinks to arrive and 1hr 15 for our mains to arrive.The food was cold and quite worringly the chicken was cold. It was advertised as a chicken supreme dinner but no sign of the sauce - just a cold, dry bit of chicken.We complained to who they said was the manager, which was the chef. He was awfully unprofessional and very defensive. He did not even give us our full refund and could not understand how we had wasted our time out of our day for this.£12.95 for a roast dinner? We were really expecting something a lot more for that. I have to say ive had better roast dinners at Toby Cavery for almost half the price.

Yesterday, I visited the Castle for the first time, for a Mother's Day High Tea with the family. And I must say the service was amazing, and very quick. Our table was ready on arrival in a large, beautiful room. The waiter (Toby I believe his name was) was exceptional; he offered us drinks on arrival, and made sure we had everything we needed. We had a laugh and even a nice chat about the castle itself. It was such a nice experience I created a TripAdvisor account just to show how amazing it was! The blonde waitress (I didn't catch her name, unfortunately) was also amazing. I will definitely be returning, without a doubt! And would love to have the same great experience with Toby again!I would highly recommend Whitstable Castle to everyone!

Today I treated my mum to a lovely luxury afternoon tea which included a delicious selection of sandwiches, quiches, crossiants and miniature deserts followed by a cream and jam scone. On arrival we were polietly welcomed and shown to our table that we had reserved. Within moments of sitting down we were asked for which drinks we would like to go with our afternoon tea, the waitress was more than happy to go through the selection of teas and coffees and even cold drinks that there is to offer. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was relaxing which made our experience thoroughly enjoyable. Would certainly come again and would highly recommend to all.

Visited the castle again on wednesday - don't know why I bothered. All the tables that weren't occupied were covered with empty crockery and the remains of earlier customers orders. They closed at 3.40pm because they couldn't cope and I saw 4 groups leave disappointed. I don't know why when millions of pounds have been spent on it that Canterbury city council cannot staff and manage it properly. Two of the staff were outside smoking while people were being turned away. The set up is hopeless.

We Visited the tea rooms today for some late lunch after a walk with family as it was my daughters 1st birthday. On arrival (around 2:30) we found that it was reasonably busy but nothing out of the ordinary - It's whitstable and the sun was out so there is always going to be plenty of people out and about walking and wanting refreshments etc at some point. We sat down and waited for someone to come and take our order. We ordered sandwiches and teas. Whilst waiting for our food looking around we noticed that there were tables that hadn't been cleared and it soon became apparent the staff didn't seem to have any idea what they were doing. They would come out and serve people and rather than grab some dirty plates on their way back to the kitchen they would sooner just walk past them and leave them where they were. Eventually our food came out - chips that came with the sandwiches - STONE COLD!, a HAIR was found in one of the sandwiches and when highlighted to the waitress she merely took it away with no apology whatsoever and just replied 'I'll get you another one'. To top it all off the tea was also STONE COLD! ....the best is yet to come! All of a sudden the staff started turning away every customer that walked through the door - saying they had run out of stuff and that they were too busy to serve anyone else,and they needed to 'catch up' with the orders......ARE YOU FOR REAL!!?? A tearoom in whitstable castle in the middle of whitstable that is always heaving as soon as the sun comes out, and you have run out of supplies and are too busy to serve people,saying they were closing.....3 o clock in the afternoon when they are meant to be open til 5!!? And no apology and to be perfectly honest being VERY RUDE to people wanting to come in and spend money. These people clearly work for the owners and couldn't give a s**t. If I was the owner of this establishment and I saw what I did today the staff would all be out the door! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING service. After turning people away for about 20 mins or so everything then calmed down and the staff stood around doing nothing. In fact a couple of them were seen eating cake behind the counter in full view of the customers still in the tea rooms. Another incident that comes to mind was a women walked in with her cup of coffee complaining it was cold. The waitress proceeded to feel the side of the cup and replied 'it feels hot to me' and then offered the lady some hot milk to go in it. SERIOUSLY!!? The food we did have wasn't anything to write home about, the restaurant was dirty....looking around, the floor was covered in dirt and food, looking like it hadn't been cleaned for weeks! And the staff are useless! If your out in whitstable and are looking for some where to go for a cup of tea and a piece of cake - don't be fooled by the lovely surroundings. You would get better from McDonalds! Needless to say I would not go back and I will certainly be telling people not to go here.COME ON SORT IT OUT....A tearoom situated in whitstable castle grounds along tankerton seafront!....this place should be a goldmine! But you got to got to serve up good quality food,piping hot drinks and most importantly have well presented,friendly and polite staff and sadly this place has none of that!

I visited as a group of 5 for the 'luxury' afternoon tea at the price of £19.95pp. I will start by saying it isn't worth that! We were shown to a table in the Orangery and asked if we wanted drinks while we were waiting. My Uncle ordered a coffee and it was duely brought out in the largest coffee cup ever, however the mismatched tea cups and saucers were not removed.The food was brought out and displayed very nicely. The sandwiches were tasty but when it came to the cakes that's where they fell down. They tasted as though they had been frozen and then defrosted, they were quite wet to eat. The scones were more like rock cakes. They were so flat. My husband couldn't even cut his in half! The main reason I wouldn't return is for the simple fact that I don't expect to have to ask 3 separate people for a top up on my tea and have to wait 20 minutes for it.The surroundings are beautiful and there is much potential in terms tea rooms but sadly it just isn't up to standard.

We stopped here for coffee with friends and sampled their jacket potato with prawns, and were more than delighted with what arrived; a generous serving of homemade coleslaw and mixed salad to complement the jacket potato. Very prompt and polite service.This is our usual port of call when visiting Whitstable because it is such a lovely atmosphere and the gardens are a delight to spend time in.

This event was held in a side room to the main Orangery. It was first class, an accomplished musical trio not too loud but not inaudible either, nice wine, a really good well-paced three course menu from an accomplished chef who visibly enjoyed what he was doing and pleasant service at an all inclusive £35, this was bargain of the year and by way of an experiment from the venue. For us it was a roaring success and we cannot wait for the next one.

Stumbled on this delightful place with beautiful conservatory. Sandwiches - great choice. We had bacon, brie & cranberry and a cheese & chutney on granary. Fresh & well packed served with a large mixed salad & fries. Promptly served. Very filling lunch - no complaints whatsoever. Definitely will return in the better weather to sit in the castle grounds.

Went to this "tea room" today to treat my mum to afternoon tea to be told you have to book 24 hrs in advance even though the menu says you could wait up to 40 mins if not booked. What a joke. I will never go back as the place had less than 8 people in there and they couldn't make afternoon tea even thought the staff were not doing much.

A tranquil place to enjoy a nice cup of tea and slice of cake. When the sun is out it's nice to sit outside in the gardens, if the weather's not so good then it's just as pleasant to sit in the orangery.

The setting for the cafe is wonderful with the castle and immaculate gardens. Very nice area outside with tables and chairs. Found the service quite good and the coffee excellent. The cakes looked good but tasted average.The one toilet had toilet paper scattered across the floor, told the staff behind the counter but 10 minutes later when my wife used the facilities still in the same state.

Lovely location. Pretty gardens, although looking tired after a dry summer.Staff not very attentive, but pleasant enough once you had got their attention. The menu mentions that food is cooked fresh to order, so we were happy with the idea that we would have to wait a while.Ordered scampi and chips (very late lunch, so mainly teas / cream teas and sandwiches being ordered)It took an hour for our food to arrive, which I felt was excessive. However, it was tasty and a generous portion size. It was the most beautiful day, so we were keen to sit outside. This would have been perfect if there were some shades. Small point, but would have made people more comfortable in the blazing sun. Overall a reasonable experience. I would happily return (their cream teas looked delicious!!), but sadly on this occasion I could not rate higher.

Firstly the grounds and play area are fantastic and very beautiful. Great for your family however we didn't have a great lunch.They ran or of Ham ( crazy) so The children's sanwhiches where changed to cheese which was so mild there was no taste and I mean no taste. My husband cheese and chuckney was no more than cheese with fried onions.My tuna mayo was lovely once I had added salt and pepper to give it flavour.The Victoria sponge wasn't made fresh but had that horrible shop bought with all the synthetic taste too. Not Fresh cream and cold but warm and gross!Sadly Truly horrible and a waste of £30! The only nice thing was the pot of tea. The grounds are beautiful and how they can get it so wrong is beyond me, sack the chef or add some flavour please.Sadly we won't be returning.

Seems such a lovely setting so it was such a disappointing experience we would not return. The tea room is not run very well. There seemed to be no one in charge of lots of young people. So the service is poor and coffee not very good.

The setting is fantastic and wonderful gardens. Don't be tempted to eat in the tea room though as it is clearly badly managed. The youngesters serving obviously need some training as they cannot really be bothered to serve you. Speaking to the Manager I now realise that with an attitude like his it's no wonder so many people I know won't visit. Such a shame as the setting is fantastic and whoever tends the gardens does a first class job.

Good service, good food in very pleasant dining room. Excellent value for the money. Service and cleanliness shone through

We had a great cup of tea after a long walk along the coast at Whitstable and Tankerton on a lovely summer day in July.

This place has a great location but i was suprised by the price. 2 scones with just butter came to £5.70, this includes £1.20 extra for butter! The scones were also very dry. We visit many teahouses across the south and this is by some way the most expensive we have come across.

Spent time in the gardens and play area with grandchildren and we then decided to go to the cafe for a cup of tea. Dreadful service and after waiting over 20 minutes for two cups of tea, went into the cafe to ask how long it would be. 4 young waitresses standing around doing nothing and seemed surprised that I wanted my tea! No apology. Also, no attempt to clear tables and dirty cups etc were continuing to pile up all around us. A bad experience and a cafe to be avoided.

Such pretty tea rooms . We only had a coffee but the lunch menu looked nice . Luckily we went there in a sunny day , so the views were gorgeous

Today we visited this lovely looking venue, within the beautiful gardens. We sat within the orangery which was a pleasant room. We only had a drink, for it was too early for lunch for us.Many other customers around us were rather disappointed for the jacket potatoes were unavailable until after 1pm...so left the facilities for they didn't fancy sandwiches for lunch!

We love going to the Whitstable Castle for our Cream Teas & watching the world go by. They do lots of homemade cakes & a variety of other food. When the bowling green is open we sit & watch them & there are often different events going on there which suits all ages. The cafe does Afternoon Teas as well which it is best to book up in advance & you can sit in the Orangery. They do wedding receptions there too - the one we saw had a marque up & it all looked lovely. You can also book parties or other functions.

Really nice place to visit for lunch, high tea. Sandwiches, cakes. Have been a few times now. Lovely setting and friendly staff.

We sat in the glorious sunshine overlooking the beautifully maintained gardens and had tasty, straightforward sandwiches accompanied by nice crisp chips and decent cups of tea and coffee for no more than you'd pay in a chain coffee shop. The location is hard to beat when the sun shines and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. If I lived locally I would be a regular.

Although living within a twenty minute drive we had never visited Whitstable Castle before today. We have friends staying with us and we arrived at the Orangery at 3 pm in order to have a light snack and a cup of tea. Three of us wanted to have a sandwich and a cake with our tea, my husband only wanted a toasted teacake. Having made our selections from the menu we were informed by the waitress that the kitchen closed at 3 pm, therefore we could only choose a cake from those on display at the counter, she also had no idea what a teacake was. We decided to leave. Could you please explain why we saw no information on the menu or outside that said that we could not order a sandwich after 3 pm? Also, if the kitchen closes at 3 pm how can you serve sandwiches as a component to the set afternoon tea but be unable to make a sandwich that is not part of the afternoon tea? Is it perhaps that the afternoon teas are prepared in advance in which case how can you justify charging £14.95 for the cheapest? If sandwiches are only available until 3 pm please publish this information quite clearly, as you do concerning breakfast items only being available until 11.30 am. Naturally, we are very unlikely to return, nor are we able to ever recommend the Orangery tearooms.

Spontaneous visit. Nice place.Pleasant staff. Standard tea is a bag in a pot and called Whitstable Castle tea. That's what my wife had. We thought it was weedy to the point of tasteless although it somehow achieved what we both thought was an unpleasant aftertaste. No amount of waiting for it to improve helped. We think it was the tea that wasn't nice not anything to do with water or crockery as my Twinings Earl Grey, drunk black, was fine.Had an nice but not especially generous piece of Victoria sponge with my tea. 5.20 for Earl Grey and Cake. We were very readily not charged for the WC tea. It was almost as if complaints happen so often they just don't charge and assume that's what you want them to do.Actually, in my case it's not so much the money but mainly that my leisure time is precious and I'd like my modest expectations met if, for instance, I order tea in a tea room in England.However, the place and staff were very pleasant. It was all a bit confusing really. We left, feeling a bit helpless, slightly confused and disappointed by our visit. We discussed on the way to our car that they must be using some pretentious Emperor's New Clothes blend. Really guys, Yorkshire Gold is fine for most of us.It's an easy fix.

Took my friend here today to treat her to afternoon tea a a birthday treat. Tried to order at 12.45 p.m but was told that the chef ' didn't want to do any more' despite it still being advertised. Other people were eating scones, sandwiches etc so I don't understand the issue. Girl on the till equally unsure as to the decision. The speciality teas are advertised as bookable but not so the standard tea.Not at all impressed and won't be recommending. Very disappointing.

We visited the Cafe with the intention of having a cream tea. We couldn't find any signs so we went into the front door of the castle and again saw no signs so we had to ask where the cafe was. We were told it was downstairs. The menu had a few set tea choices but didn't include a cream tea which puzzled us. On that menu the cheapest afternoon tea was £14.95 so we had another look on another menu and found cream teas hidden under sweet things for a cost of £5.95. The waitress came over after a while and went to take our order recording it on a tablet. But couldn't find cream teas on it! So she gave up.When it came there was one scone with a small pot of jam, cream and butter ready to put on yourself but we had a little teapot between the two of us. Surely for £5.95 you got at least a couple of small cups of tea each. We asked the waitress for some hot water after we poured a cup each and she took the pot away to top it up. She seemed baffled by the request. Still at least we managed to get a couple of cups each. In summary the scone was nice enough but they were too stingy with the tea. I should add that it wasn't too warm either but I thought it bad for to sit there with my copy on so I sat there feeling cold!

While visiting a friend in Whitstable we called in to the Orangery Tea Rooms at Whitstable Castle for lunch. The tea rooms are a popular venue looking out on the castle gardens. The staff are very friendly and professional, doing all they can to make their guests visit a special one. The menu offers both snacks, full meals and drinks and deserts. We ordered three different meals and we're all very impressed with food, both in quality, quantity and taste. This is a lovely venue to meet up and enjoy some food and company. Will be certainly paying another visit in the future.

Me and my partner visited the castle tearooms recently and we're pleasantly surprised as we read some of the reviews before going. We sat down and a lovely young waitress came along a short while after to serve us. We had a lasagna and a chicken and bacon salad which were delicious. For afters we sampled a few cheeky cakes which were also scrummy. As we were leaving we paid on the way out and thanked the waitress but me being me went and thanked her sister by accident as she also was working there. All the staff were very friendly and it was nice to see them getting along well, it was also nice to see a man who looked like a manager helping the lovely tearoom girls out aswell as they were having a busy day. Such a good tearoom team, will be back soon.

Went to the castle for lunch sat down and people who sat down after us were served first! Finally somebody took our order I fancied a sandwich but the three choices didn't appeal to me so decided not to have anything to eat. Had latte and hubby ordered a pice of sponge. Whilst waiting I saw that they did bacon and chicken salad so went to ask if they could put that in a sandwich for me. The waitress went to ask the chef but said no which I found hard to understand surely if they have ingredients for sale they could just put that between two slices of bread. Also five people had turned up for afternoon tea and they were very disappointed one cake stand between five and that included sandwiches which were not cut into quarters but halves! Very tasteful. Think it's a lovely setting but terrible service

Delightful to stroll just out of town to enjoy afternoon tea in the gardens of Whitstable Castle, catch some sunshine and friendly chat. A good selection of tea and cakes, and no need to rush and move on. Look forward to returning for a full meal sometime or to attend an event.

What could be more essentially British, than to have tea and scones whilst watching a game of bowls being played. On a summers day, sitting either inside or outside, the views from the Orangery windows are quintessentially British. A joy to behold. The food is good, too.

While away an hour in the lovely tea room in the Orangery at the Castle. Coffee and tea piping hot and the craeam tea and cakes wonderful. Pretty surroundings with views onto the castle lawns and garden.

I went there today with the hubby and had the cream tea. Loved the scones! The hubby had a bar of some cherry/almond something, hmm, was too dry. The plate at the counter were full with this bars, so i should have known it and had better ordered a rocky road. But waitress was friendly, place is very nice also to sit outside

We visited the tearooms today with my husband's daughter and grandchildren. The tearooms are very spacious, light and airy. Service was friendly and efficient and we all had different meals which were all good. I had the open crab sandwich and was quite surprised to find it was served with streaky bacon and finely sliced apple. It did actually taste really nice but I feel that the bacon especially should have been mentioned on the board menu as if I was vegetarian or Jewish, it may not have gone down so well! The children's meals were freshly cooked and good. There was a good selection of nicely presented cakes which we all enjoyed and the cream teas which we saw being served looked lovely.. Overall a good lunch - we would go back there.

This must be one of the smallest castles around, but what it lacks in size it makes up in qualityEverything about the castle is well worth a visit from the food to the gardens and the views. After the visit walk a few yard to enjoy Tankerton slopes

We went for afternoon tea and would highly recommend it, beautiful surroundings, very helpful and friendly staff and amazing clotted cream tea set. If your in Whitstable it's definitely a must see.

Enjoyed an excellent afternoon tea in this beautiful setting. It was very hot on the terrace so we opted to go inside. What a lovely room, light and airy and decorated in a pretty yellow colour. The scones were among the best I've eaten ( and I've eaten a fair few!) would definitely recommend.

Myself and a couple of friends had booked for an afternoon tea in the orangery. On the day another friend decided to join us, so we confirmed with the staff that this would be possible, asking if 2 servings would go around. It was suggested that we go for three, which on arrival was certainly not enough. As such, we asked politely if it would be possible to have a couple more sandwiches and a fourth scone to make it even, which we would have been happy to pay for. For some reason, this appeared confusing to the staff member, who bought out what was allegedly an additional 2 rounds including extra cakes which we hadn't asked for. The advertisement states 'home made food made fresh to order'. The bread was clearly just a bog standard loaf with stale/ hard bread, and the cakes were simply from a packet. Nothing about the tea was home made. After we'd finished, we took the money up to the counter and left. The staff member rejected our money, saying we owed them another £11.00 for the additional sitting, which had not been previously discussed, so we handed over the money and left. Shortly after, a different member of staff was running after us shouting at us that we'd missed £2.00 off our bill. When we tried to pay this, she continued to shout at us that she was calling the manager and the police and refused to let us pay the shortfall. Not only was this unprofessional, but utterly humiliating in front of other members of the public, as she shouted over us. In the end we followed her back into the cafe where we put the £2.00 on the table, but she continued to talk over us saying that other members of staff had already told her our side of the story and would not let us talk. This sort of behaviour was entirely outrageous, and we will NOT be going back. I will also be talking with the manager about staff discipline, and really wish I'd read the previous reviews prior to visiting. I also hope that the manager and staff read these reviews, in the hope that some change may occur for the better.

After waiting a year .hoping for an improvement I visited this tea room on Sunday I am sorry to say there has been no improvement .the scones have got even smaller and the tea even weaker my complaint went on deaf ears

Popped in for a quick cream tea and cakes with my children whilst waiting for my wife. Staff were really friendly and couldn't do enough to help me and keep my children happy. Lovely food and drinks. Have always enjoyed eating here and would go back every time I visit Whitstable Castle.

A group of 9 of us visited the Orangery for afternoon tea recently (to celebrate a significant birthday) and were disappointed by the quality and service. The setting in the Orangery was lovely and the gardens were beautiful. However, that is were the good experience ended! The contents of the afternoon tea was measly and of poor quality; there were 3 curled up triangle sandwiches (1/8 of whole slice of bread) each, served with some decidedly wilted salad. The menu states the afternoon tea has ‘homemade scones’ and that ‘all our food is cooked to order’ - however I don’t think that applied to the scones and miniature cakes that were served with our afternoon tea. Ours had come straight from the packet and tasted processed. In addition to the poor quality and quantity of the afternoon tea, the service was also disappointing. One member of staff made us feel decidedly unwelcome. We asked for some additional sandwiches and for another pot of tea and coffee but were brusquely told that everything was “portioned out”. We weren’t even given the opportunity to pay for extra sandwiches. When we came to pay and ask for the bill we were told it was “the price of 9 afternoon teas” - not particularly helpful when the afternoon tea was ordered in advance by another member of the party and we hadn’t seen a menu to know the price. Overall, we will not be returning due to the poor value for money, low quality food and bad customer service. This is a shame as the location would make a wonderful backdrop to a really special service.

We just came to the castle for a quick stop by but once i saw the tea room , i couldn't resist to sit down and enjoy this place. we also tried the Orangery tea room @ kensinton palace few days before and I would say the experience here in Whistable caste is a more pleasant one !

On arrival the chalk board had only 3 items on the menu and only three sandwiches.On sitting at a table our order was taken. TThe tea and coffee arrive and was consumed while waiting for our lunch.On asking the waitress some 35 minutes later for an update on our order she waived her arm around saying 'you are not the only one waiting'.This is the second time I have been let down and it will be the last. They need to stick to coffee and cakes and try and do that well.

When you order you don't get everything at the same time., and you only get half filled coffee cups. My husband had eaten his food by the time my sandwiches arrived, and I had already drunk the half cup of coffee the excuse being that their was a conference on in the castle, which is irrelevant to a cafe customer. Although a nice setting there are plenty of other cafes a short walk away and if I were you and like me will be going elsewhere in the future. Just because it sounds nice to go to a castle for lunch or tea or just for a quick coffee and a cake doesn't mean to say that it will be an enjoyable experience . Steer clear.

As with other reviews we were very disappointed by the afternoon tea at Whitstable Castle. Sandwiches were poor, cakes were cheap shop bought pastries and service was below average. With such a beautiful surrounding, lovely pictures on the website & afternoon tea in excess of £10 per head we were expecting a tranquil, special afternoon, but were greeted by pop music, a sense of disorganisation, cold interior and sadly disappointing food. We won't be going again.

I was here with my family for mothers day. We were booked in for 2pm but we arrived early so one of the younger waitresses asked us if we would wait a few minutes which we were all fine with. We were taken through to our table which was set up nicely. Shortly after we were served our tea and a few minutes after that our food came along. The only thing that bothered me about my afternoon tea was that when my younger sister went to the lavatory she came back to say that a lady had brought a young waitress to tears. I'm no angel but I would never in a million years loose my head over food and bring someone who is doing their job the best they can to tears. It was very busy seeing as it was mothers day but being rude is unacceptable and I will be returning again for afternoon tea or lunch regularly. The staff were lovely and were doing great in my eyes. Me and most importantly my mum were happy so thank you.

Visited the Castle for Afternoon Tea as a mothers day treat. Had high expectations having visited the Secret Garden, Ashford last year.Was very disappointed.The food was average; sandwiches were very basic and cakes very disappointing. We noticed that some tables of people had large cream cakes and other had tiny one bite nibbles, unfortunately we had the tiny nibble ones. It would have been much fairer to share tall variaties out so as everyone had a mixture. The scones were not too bad although quite small and not warm.Ther service was terrible. We waited ages for the food to come. The lady said she would bring some cream and jam for the scones, however 20 mins later we still did not have it and had to ask again. When they finally brought it over, they did think to bring any knives to use to actually cut the scone in half with or spread the cream and jam, so again had to ask for those.The tea which they served was cold; the water was kept in a urn and clearly not topped up with boiling water very often.Overall we were very disappointed and will not be gong back.

I went to the tearooms on sunday 4th.As i went in it was lovely the girl behind the counter said hello and welcomed me in. we sat in the beautiful window table in the darker side and it was speedy service. I was sat down having a drink with my husband and a cheeky piece of cake when a gentleman came from the door in the far corner and was canoodling with one of the young waitresses i mean thatd grand and all but not for a tearoom whilst working it isn't great for us customers o see and wasnt expected at all i think this was my only negative point and maybe this was the only time its happend. But its not very professional... i will return for cake as it was delicious amd the welcoming was lovelyThanks girls!

Had tea here with family. Belated granddaughters birthday. Cakes did not taste fresh and the scones were cold and hard. Doesn't take much to heat them through. Service wasn't great as they seemed to be standing around chatting. So much so another customer had to go and ask for their attention. Lovely layout in the castle, but with many other cafes and tea rooms in whitstable and tankerton would not bother with this again unless just for a coffee all a bit hit and miss!

My husband and I popped into The Orangery Tearooms over Christmas and were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome and cosy atmosphere. The service was great and the food was homemade and very reasonably priced. A great pit stop for a lovely lunch!

On a cold windy day we were in need of a pit stop for a warm cuppa. There were so few people around so the service we received was excellent, the staff were friendly, lots of smiles each time they passed us.We only had sandwiches but boy they were good, loads of filling and the bread was divine. We did not have times for cakes, perhaps next time.The tea rooms very clean and inviting.