St Albans
Kanuka Tea

Kanuka Tea

3b Christopher Place, AL3 5DQ, St Albans, United Kingdom

Tea • Coffee • British • Chocolate


"I had a request which required a Kanuka Tea caddy to be sold with teabags instead of the loose leaf tea. The young staff members did not know how to process this and said their manager would be back in 5 minutes. During this time we discussed various ways the request could be accommodated, bearing in mind that a previous manager did this for me in the past. The staff said there was no way to sell it to me because of the shop's stock check processes. I therefore bought the cheapest tea that was in a caddy and added teabags to the cost. The manager returned during this time. She asked the staff which person was asking for this request. When I was pointed out she then berated me for making her come in on her day off. I replied that the staff said she was back in 5 minutes? She did not have an answer for this. Although the issue had been resolved she continued to tell me off which I have taken under consideration regarding the service Kanuka Tea offer. During this time the staff packaged up the new tea in the caddy but did not package up the original tea and left it on the side. My husband managed to point out we had also paid for it and they did give it to us at the end, although they were surprised that we may want it. I hope this gives some insight as to how the retail staff deal with shop clients who are looking to purchase tea instead of using the restaurant. It is such a shame Kanuka are let down by this."

The King William IV

The King William IV

2 Beech Road, AL1 4AH, St Albans, United Kingdom

Pizza • Snacks • Asiatic • Grocery


"Wow, what an experience! This was probably one of the worse meals I have ever had the miss fortune to try and eat! Firstly, I would like to say, yes, great value for money meal deals and yes, the front of house staff were very friendly and accommodating. However, you have to be able to eat the food. This was our Christmas celebration with my mum and complete ruined. The food served was completely uneatable. Two of the meals were vegetarian and we were looking forward to what were ordered. The starters were so greasy we could hardly eat them… so we thought try the mains…. Oh, what a mistake! The chef had put a whole raw chopped chillie in both our meals. I like a curry like most people but in pasta! Seriously, I almost cried and chocked on how hot the raw chillies were. I tired to take out as many as I could but seriously it was uneatable. We explained the situation to our waitress and I asked if the chef could try the chillies…. She came back and we were told… “yes, the chillies are very hot”…. In the meantime I had to go and order at the bar some chips just to have something to eat! Yes, we were offered a pudding (but I had already paid for that at the bar). I didn’t really want a pudding, we just wanted something decent to eat…. We had a free pot of tea on the house.. In addition to having one of the worse meals I have ever tasted, the chef…. Wow… I am sure the inspectors would have a field day looking at the standards of who is cooking your food. The chef walked out into the restaurant area and I was a little shocked. Not only did he look like he hadn’t seen a shower in months, (sorry, not sure I should say that) and the clothes he was wearing were discussing! The service had only just started, seriously…. Please have some just basic standards. Hygiene……. I didn’t want to creat a fuss and yes, I should have at the time… but paying for two meals we couldn’t eat and being offered a pudding that I had already paid for and then just given a pot of tea on the house… seriously …. The first port of call when a customs is given a complete uneable meal is… can we get you a different main…. No, that didn’t happen, then the secondly option is, the meal that you couldn’t eat is on the house and please goto the bar for a full refund… no… Really, really disappointed with the whole day which was completely ruined …. I understand sometimes things go wrong, however, it is how you correct the problem that stays in peoples minds…. Seriously, rubbish."

Elephant Castle Pub

Elephant Castle Pub

Amwell Lane, AL4 8EA, St Albans, United Kingdom

Pubs • Full • Lunch • Drinks


"Staff friendly and helpful but meal absolutely dire. 1 to 1.5 slices of shaved meat with reheated veg, and deep fried spud chunks. Think Wetherspoons on a bad day but double the price. We went a few weeks back and both received 1 small slice/shaving of beef in a £21 per person meal £14 roast £7 starter). The slice was propped up with cabbage underneath to make it look bigger. My wife gave a good review on Facebook for everything but pointed out the 1 slice. At the the time, had I been bothered, I would have highlighted the deep fried roasties My wife had a good response from the owner, saying 1 slice was not policy and offering us a complimentary roast if we came back. We went back today and honestly had a worse experience. To start with, the squid in panko breadcrumbs starter was in batter. This had been OK last time. No one said we 've run out but can substitute, is that OK? To be fair they were OK, just not what was advertised, or ordered. A little overpriced at £7 for 5 or 6 deep fried, battered squid rings with 1 small pot of flavoured mayo, and no salad. For our main, we again ordered 2 roast beef, and remembering we 'd had to wait 10 mins after receiving the meal for the horseradish to be delivered last time, we specifically said with horseradish , and the waitress confirmed. 30 mins or so after our starter, 2 roast beef arrived cold, and with no horseradish...we asked again. While the waitress was gone, my wife said, where 's the gravy? We 'd been given a gravy boat last time but none this time. So 5 minutes later a waiter arrived with the horseradish. Then we asked for the gravy, and he said the waitress would be out soon. 5 minutes later, the waitress was serving another table so we called her over...could we have some gravy? Another 5 minutes and we realised the waitress had appeared again, serving someone else...can we have that gravy? Oh, you want extra gravy? No, we just want gravy, no extra about it. While we waited again, now more than 20 minutes after a cold meal was served, my wife pointed out that if you put her 2 slices next to one another, they matched...it was 1 slice cut in 2. I did have 2 slices, but 1 was just a half slice of chewy meat. Eventually the gravy arrived. Last time we were here, my wife thought the carrots were tinned, and I said, no, no, they 'll just be Brakes...and indeed, I checked, everything in the plate is pre prepared by Brakes. If you have a roast here, think Wetherspoons, but double the price...£14. I checked one of the pubs I used to work at on Richmond Hill, and theirs is £14.49..fully prepared and cooked on the premises, with 2 to 3 slices of thick sliced beef. E&C, 1 to 1.5 slices of shaved meat with reheated veg and deep fried spud chunks and stuffing. They give you deep fried potato chunks and call them roasted potatoes , deep fried stuffing balls that wouldn 't have looked out of place in the barrel of a flint lock, and their yorkies and veg are reheated pre prepared Brakes Brothers produce...appalling. To top it all off, they tried to charge for the complimentary meals, and when we sent the bill back, they also tried to charge me for my first pint, that I returned, due to it having sediment in. I had to go in to discuss the issues and get the bill rectified. I vowed not to return last time, and was persuaded by the complimentary meal...never again, not even for a complimentary meal...the worst roast I 've had. The only positive was the staff trying to help. Even then though, they 're saying why didn 't you say? ...we did that 's why we were offered complimentary meals and came back this time. Appalling!...never again."