Giles Coren's review of Beauberry House (The Times)
Alfresco Restaurants in London
Beauberry House reviews
Shocking place. A family reunion was ruined by the awful service, food and overpriced wine. The management do not even have the decency to respond to our emails of complaint. Go elsewhere. Really.
by jusiggy, 11 Mar 2011
by jusiggy, 11 Mar 2011
I have been trying to book a private party at Beauberry House. I have emailed and left phone messages yet no one ever has time to speak to me or get back to me. Clearly they are doing so well that they can afford to miss out on at £10k event. Judging by the reviews below, I've had a lucky escape... What a truly rubbish service. A shame because the location and building are lovely.
by stephaniepujol, 05 Mar 2011
by stephaniepujol, 05 Mar 2011
My husband and I had our wedding this year at the beautiful venue Beauberry House. You cannot fault the absolute beauty of the house and its setting.
However, we experienced difficulties on the day. The management lost their temper, made bad decisions on our behalf, and left my husband and I completely embarrassed looking back on the day.
We were charged £950 plus £312 service charge (£1,262) for post ceremony and dinner drinks for 60 people. However, during the dinner my guests were charged for their soft drinks! They did not accept my request for a refund for those guests' drinks!
I purchased freeze dried rose petals as instructed by the Event Manager, and she made an 'executive decision' not to use them as my table decoration for the day (even though I had spent hours and hours deciding what combination/colours/decorations to use). So the tables did not look the way I had wanted them to, not to mention the waste of my time and money.
We had a food tasting and chose what we wanted for our meal, but we were served with something different (polenta) which, quite frankly, was disgusting.
The ceremony was finished by 4.30pm, we were scheduled to be called for dinner at 5.45pm... By 6.15pm we were bored, and left wandering around the house trying to find out what the hell was going on. In the end we just went upstairs and seated ourselves for dinner! Complete disorganisation and lack of communication.
I had spent days and days organising the music myself onto iTunes. I can't even begin to explain the time and effort that went into the music on the day. However, the music was completely messed up - from nothing being played while my guests were waiting for me, to the same 3 songs being repeated over and over during the party!!
We were told we had to supply our own wedding cake but would be charged a £50 cake charge, which I'd assumed was for the cutting and serving of the cake. However, although the cake was never cut nor served they did not offer me a reimbursment of the charge.
I had asked for non-alcoholic beer for the groom and my father but they were never served. When I asked for them, they only received 1 small bottle of beer each (I was charged £11 per head for beer!!).
To top it off, we had to witness the senior staff acting in a degrading manner towards the waiters. Completely inappropriate way to behave in front of paying customers and their guests.
When I sent a letter of complaint to the Head Office, they not only dismissed every issue I raised but they also accused me of lying to get money out of them! I would have been happy with an apology, and a refund for my guests who had to pay for their drinks. The Manager who replied to my emails was completely and utterly unprofessional and rude.
What a disgrace! They're not cheap, so I recommend taking your money and using it somewhere where the organisers actually CARE about what happens on the day, and are not just interested in taking your money.
by lil_kel02, 30 Aug 2010
However, we experienced difficulties on the day. The management lost their temper, made bad decisions on our behalf, and left my husband and I completely embarrassed looking back on the day.
We were charged £950 plus £312 service charge (£1,262) for post ceremony and dinner drinks for 60 people. However, during the dinner my guests were charged for their soft drinks! They did not accept my request for a refund for those guests' drinks!
I purchased freeze dried rose petals as instructed by the Event Manager, and she made an 'executive decision' not to use them as my table decoration for the day (even though I had spent hours and hours deciding what combination/colours/decorations to use). So the tables did not look the way I had wanted them to, not to mention the waste of my time and money.
We had a food tasting and chose what we wanted for our meal, but we were served with something different (polenta) which, quite frankly, was disgusting.
The ceremony was finished by 4.30pm, we were scheduled to be called for dinner at 5.45pm... By 6.15pm we were bored, and left wandering around the house trying to find out what the hell was going on. In the end we just went upstairs and seated ourselves for dinner! Complete disorganisation and lack of communication.
I had spent days and days organising the music myself onto iTunes. I can't even begin to explain the time and effort that went into the music on the day. However, the music was completely messed up - from nothing being played while my guests were waiting for me, to the same 3 songs being repeated over and over during the party!!
We were told we had to supply our own wedding cake but would be charged a £50 cake charge, which I'd assumed was for the cutting and serving of the cake. However, although the cake was never cut nor served they did not offer me a reimbursment of the charge.
I had asked for non-alcoholic beer for the groom and my father but they were never served. When I asked for them, they only received 1 small bottle of beer each (I was charged £11 per head for beer!!).
To top it off, we had to witness the senior staff acting in a degrading manner towards the waiters. Completely inappropriate way to behave in front of paying customers and their guests.
When I sent a letter of complaint to the Head Office, they not only dismissed every issue I raised but they also accused me of lying to get money out of them! I would have been happy with an apology, and a refund for my guests who had to pay for their drinks. The Manager who replied to my emails was completely and utterly unprofessional and rude.
What a disgrace! They're not cheap, so I recommend taking your money and using it somewhere where the organisers actually CARE about what happens on the day, and are not just interested in taking your money.
by lil_kel02, 30 Aug 2010
Information we received for Winter Wonderland 12/12/2008, staged by PR, was not the same as brochure we received. The entrance hall and the bar room smelt of urine and the dark brown bar room walls with orange ceiling were very depressing (in the brochure the walls and ceiling were white). We were left waiting for over an hour and had to find our own way to our table for dinner. No carol singers when arriving. Also no facilities for disabled people.
Had looked forward to a fantastic evening but felt like Cinderella, very sad.
by paulabaggett, 15 Dec 2008
Had looked forward to a fantastic evening but felt like Cinderella, very sad.
by paulabaggett, 15 Dec 2008
The building is beautiful. The interior is lovely. The food is OK but not for the price. The wine is terribly expensive and not so good. Have been 4 times, 2 visits for anniversaries but it's not really worth it.
by James Sales in The City (8 reviews), 24 Sep 2008
by James Sales in The City (8 reviews), 24 Sep 2008
I would advise that restaurant management should ensure a proper cleaning of upstairs function rooms and terrace in advance of any function. Wedding guests were shocked that they had to be ever so vigilant to avoid dusty, sticky surfaces. There was a very 'cold' atmosphere as guests arrived, since no effort was made by the staff to make them feel welcome. The meal was very poor, pretentious, leading to disaster. Lamb was unrecognisable either visually or by taste.
by nano, 22 Jul 2008
by nano, 22 Jul 2008
I went there for Sunday lunch with my boyfriend. Although food was good, it was not exceptional. We wanted to treat ourselves to a nice bottle of Ruinart champagne, but they only had one bottle left and it was a half bottle - disappointing, as the rest of the champagnes on their list are not that great! They'd obviously had a wedding/party on the night before and our nice stroll around the house did not offer up many pretty sights (plenty of beer bottles and glasses left around). Main waiter was fine but waitresses and hostesses were clueless. So all in all, I am not that impressed. It is a shame, as this is such an amazing building. Would head to nice gastro pub in East Dulwich instead.
by A Baker, 22 Jul 2008
by A Baker, 22 Jul 2008
My partner and I, plus another couple, ate lunch here last Saturday. I have to say, I was very unimpressed. The main course was fine but no better than a half-decent
gastropub. They didn't have the wine we wanted, which was a shame. The waiting staff didn't make it clear that they had a two-course weekend brunch menu, so we ended up ordering desserts that we didn't really want, when I for one would rather have tried the starters.
Still, the restaurant itself is set in a lovely Georgian house surrounded by parkland. Nice for a stroll after the food.
by Tidy (7 reviews), 12 Mar 2007
gastropub. They didn't have the wine we wanted, which was a shame. The waiting staff didn't make it clear that they had a two-course weekend brunch menu, so we ended up ordering desserts that we didn't really want, when I for one would rather have tried the starters.
Still, the restaurant itself is set in a lovely Georgian house surrounded by parkland. Nice for a stroll after the food.
by Tidy (7 reviews), 12 Mar 2007
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