Taplow House

If my Mum has passed on one tradition, it's the art of enjoying afternoon tea. Together, over the years, we've sampled some of the finest places to serve high tea. So, when her birthday came around this year I wanted to spoil her. I took her to Taplow House for afternoon tea and what turned out to be a really disappointing experience.

It all started promisingly: the sun was out; we had a table on the terrace overlooking the lawn; the menu had afternoon tea on it for 12.50 - I should have taken that as a warning sign... Where do I start? The service was slow and came with a 'what do I care' attitude. We were left waiting for five minutes for a jug of milk to go with our stewing pots of tea. We then had a lenghty wait for some clotted cream portions only to have one taken away to another table. But the most upsetting thing was the cakes, I've never had afternoon tea with muffins, cookies and bready cakes before. Im my book the cake part of afternoon tea is a contrast to the scones - meringues, eclairs, tartlets, that sort of thing. Disappointed, we left most of the cakes and just concentrated on the scones, which to be fair were good.

If you're after a nice place to enjoy afternoon tea in this South Bucks area I'd recommend you go to the Compleat Angler at Marlow instead. It might be more expensive but the views are stunning (right on the Thames), the service is proffesional and the cakes are yummy.