Beautiful venue but what was a comfortable histori...

Beautiful venue but what was a comfortable historic place to enjoy a cup of tea and chat has now become pretentious and overall an unpleasant experience. Whilst I accept it's a busy time of year, having to queue to get into a queue for a table was ridiculous. It wasn't busy enough to warrant it and the whole thing seemed an affectation and unnecessary. The wait to order a cup of tea and subsequently pay our bill was interminable. When we became frustrated and went up to the the counter to pay, our waiter became rude and was more interested in making smart quips than customer service. Will not be returning