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“Terrible service”

The Parish Lantern Tea Room
Restaurant details
Reviewed 28 July 2024

Disgusting service. Only wanted 3 tubs of expensive ice cream. Having chosen our tubs from the freezer queued up to pay at the counter next to the freezer. Having reached the front a gruff woman on the till said "If it's only ice cream you have to pay at the shop next door!" We went next door to an empty shop with no one on the till. No bell to ring and no sign of staff members. Waited for a few minutes and gave up. Chucked the tubs back in the freezer and left (never to return again).

Date of visit: July 2024
    • Atmosphere
    • Service
Thank Odyssey63210792850
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Liz McLean, Owner at The Parish Lantern Tea Room, responded to this reviewResponded 16 August 2024

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience trying to buy ice creams (which I don't think are overpriced!). If the tea-room is busy we do sometimes direct people buying ice creams only to pay in the shop, simply so it's faster for them, but not usually once they've reached the front of the queue, as we're happy to take payment in either the tea room or the shop, so I'm not sure what happened there. We did have only one member of staff in the shop that weekend (Latitude weekend, so a shortage of staff and, generally, customers), and I'm sorry if she was away from the counter when you needed her.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviews (151)
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2 - 6 of 151 reviews

Reviewed 27 July 2024

Absolutely lovely place to visit. Interesting things to see and buy, delicious food and drink and very friendly service. Highly recommend.

Date of visit: July 2024
    • Value
    • Atmosphere
    • Service
    • Food
Thank suesE8450TY
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 2 July 2024

We visit Southwold regularly and always take the ferry across to Walberswick to mooch around the shops and village. The Parish Lantern has the finest gift shop that we have to visit every time we go. Lynn was so very friendly and really took her time with my children, engaging each of them in conversation and making us all feel so welcome.
We love the shop for all its treats but more so because Lynn has such fabulous customer service and friendly welcoming manner
Thank you for making our trip over so much fun. We’ll see you again soon

Date of visit: July 2024
    • Value
    • Atmosphere
    • Service
1  Thank Companion37173130285
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 May 2024 via mobile

Efficiently-run. A good selection of cakes and a ‘sun-trap’ courtyard to sit in for coffee & cakes.
Loos are immaculate and the adjoining shop is a delight to wander around.

Date of visit: May 2024
1  Thank Iloveeatingout59
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 18 March 2024 via mobile

We happened upon this place after walking over from Southwold. We saw there was a lovely garden out the back and as it was a glorious sunny day for March we sat out there. Our pot of tea was plentiful served in lovely crockery and we enjoyed delicious Cornish Pasties. A really lovely place to relax and enjoy a lovely lunch. Highly recommended

Date of visit: March 2024
Thank X5936BYamandah
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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