We last went to Nottingham's in October 2020 during peak COVID, when outdoor dining was the only available way of getting food there. The food was delicious, the wait staff was fantastic, and this place was BUSY. We were lucky to get a table, and they were well staffed despite COVID. We sat outside because we brought our dog, and they treated her to a water bowl and the heat lamp.
Fast forward to May 2021. This may be their "slow" season, but one of the wait staff mentioned that this place is now under new management. I came here with 4 other friends, my wife, and two dogs. I talked up Nottingham's all week due to our experience here the last time... Needless to say I was severely disappointed.
- The heat lamps outside were mostly not working due to "being out of propane because it is hard to get in this area." It took three requests for the waiter to get a heat lamp on for us, and she mentioned she needed to "talk to the manager" to get permission to turn them on in cold weather. We were freezing outside, and we were the only people in the patio. It was silly for a basic amenity to be such a hassle to the business.
- We ordered three burgers. Well done, one rare, and one medium rare. We got three well done burgers. They were good, but for two of us not at all what we ordered. My wife also got the $22, two kabob plate and asked to remove the tomatoes and add more zucchini. What she got instead was a single, sliver of zucchini on each kabob and mostly bellpeppers and mushrooms.. okay.
- We were able to order appetizers after about 10 mins of sitting down, which is fine. These took another 10-15 mins to come out, and we got a second round. My friend got his soup about 10 mins before all of us got our food so he was just awkwardly eating while we were waiting. We finally got our food after over 40 mins after ordering. This was surprising given we were the ONLY group in the patio, and there were a total of 4 other groups inside. I'm not sure if the wait staff is understaffed, or the kitchen is struggling, but the place was at probably 25% of total capacity, and they weren't busy. It was sad that we had to wait that long and get the wrong food order as well, so we didn't reorder or say anything about the food out of fear that it'd take another 40 mins to get back.
- We waited about 15 mins after we finished eating to finally have the waiter come back and we could ask for our checks. When she came back 10 mins later (again, it wasn't busy), she came back with the wrong, split checks even though we were specific about our request to split them. I told her to redo it correctly and for the first time, I mentioned the other problems that we had with our experience. I emphasized to her that I was not upset at her, but at the management due to allowing an experience like this to even occur, and I specifically mentioned the things that were wrong. The waiter pretended to take notes; my friend was actually behind her, and she noted that the waiter was doodling. I didn't know this at the time, but it was upsetting to learn later.
- The waiter got someone else to come back with our checks. This person did not greet us, nor address the concerns, nor say anything at all. She just gave us our checks and walked away for us to pay. We did, and we left.
I was really disappointed that respectful complaints are not addressed by the new management. We didn't want free food, or even any other accommodations other than at least acknowledgement. If someone in charge had come back after I addressed my concerns to at least take note of it, at least I could have come back with peace of mind that maybe things could be different. I sincerely hope that Nottingham's "new management" addresses issues like these. Folks come up here to vacation and have a good time. What was the highlight of our trip for our anniversary in October was now the low point. For the price of the food, I would expect consistent service and acknowledgement and professionalism from staff at the very least. read more