Willow Tea Rooms, The

N Bhowmik (20 September 2007)

My fiancé and I popped into the Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehal Street wanting a small bite to eat. We were the first in queue and had to wait on a table, which was acceptable for it being the end of lunch rush time. While we had to wait, two tables paid and left but it took the staff about ten minutes to clear one of the tables. We were finally seated and read through the menu, decided on what we wanted to have. We waited about twenty minutes for someone to come take at least a drink order but everyone was in their own world, doing things at their own slow pace. Then it came to my attention that the table behind us were seated about ten minutes after us, but had by now had their order taken and food served to them, which angered us. We decided to leave since none of the unhappy looking, and very slow staff seemed to be bothered about us waiting to be served. The incompetence and lack of enthusiasm of the staff showed when no one batted an eyelid when we got up and left.

Having worked as waiting staff myself it’s not too much to ask for quicker service when there are about four to five waiting staff and proportionately less number of tables to wait on, compared to other larger places. This seems effortless handling of a very fast and large turnover of customers everyday with fewer staff. The atmosphere at a mortuary would have been livelier than what is it was at the Tea room. It is quite sad that what should have been a great experience turned out to be very annoying and miserable.

Kylie J (1 September 2007)

You can hardly pay a visit to Glasgow and have a passing interest in Arts and Crafts and NOT book lunch or tea at this most famous of Tea Rooms (by which I mean the original Sauchiehall venue rather than the recent Buchanan Street opening). True to expectation the tearoom itself is charming and has all the original features you'd hope for - excepting perhaps the bizarre fact that you have to walk through a jewellers to get there - the flourishes of Rennie Mackintosh are lovely to behold. Certainly on the gallery level the afternoon teas on cake stands looked suitably appealing. However, I have to say - if you do plan to go for the food - don't. Just take some pictures and move on. SO disappointing! I had a lunch of Arbroath Smokie (my first) with scrambled egg and it was really dry - almost to gagging point - and the eggs were of the batch-cooked, hotel-chain variety - a bit like chewing yellow bits of rubber. Stick to a cup of tea - certainly the Willow Tea Blend is very moreish despite being priced a bit heftily.