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."

Cote Brasserie St Albans

Cote Brasserie St Albans

3 High Street, St Albans I-AL3 4ED, United Kingdom

French • European • Fast Food • Vegetarian


"Friday 9/7/21 at 8pm. The food was exceptional. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was great. I booked this restaurant for my girlfriend's birthday as a suprise, we were not disappointed. The restaurant customer service was top notch, from when I rang to book the table, until we left. We both left the restaurant talking and feeling like we had gone out for a nice meal. Now I know this sounds silly, but I've paid a lot of money to eat out in restaurants and they've been dirty, run down, cheap looking etc... not this place. I ordered the Devon Crab Maison for starter.... I didn't want it to end!!! My girlfriend asked me why I was taking such small mouthfuls? My answer was it tastes so Good! My main was the Brittany fish stew, sea bass, prawns, squid, mussels, chilli and white wine, every mouthful was a different flavour. Delicious. When I phoned to book the table during this difficult time with Covid-19, I said to the person on the phone that it was my girlfriend's birthday, and they said to leave it in their hands... When we sat down the waitress complimented my girlfriend's dress and then bought out two glasses of champagne and wished her a happy birthday. The ambience was perfect, it felt like a date night. As customers, the staff made us feel comfortable and happy. The service was perfect, I couldn't fault it. The bill... I've paid over triple the price for very average food. The whole experience was one of the best I've had... We had Olives, 2 glasses of French white wine, 2 starters, 2 mains for £70... We both are looking forward to going back."

Elephant Castle

Elephant Castle

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."