Brian's review of two years ago may we'll have been worthy of 5 stars, but is no way the case now.
The events are...
We book by phone, they confirm (party of ten for Sunday Lunch).
We arrive, they have lost the booking (more to the point imply we didn't make one).
They 'fit us in' (hold on, this isn't the Fat Duck or The Ivy with a waiting list as long as your arm - it's a gastro pub competing with every other gastro pub in the area).
We are asked about drinks, and would we like a wine list (the wine list arrives, but the waiter hovers over the party giving little to no chance to take in the list and make a choice from the selection).
The result is one person has one glass, no time to choose a bottle.
Other order either soft drinks or beer (One of the party makes a small error on the type of beer to be met with the waiters comment..'I wasn't going to correct you at the table'') rude and tantamount to belittling!!
I then tried again to establish why our booking was lost (ignored completely by waiter, who perhaps it was coming apparent to be the owner).
Returned with drinks to pass them to several guests over the top or across me as I was at the first corner of a long table (in fact four 2 place tables put together to 'fit us in') which was completely unnecessary but perhaps he felt he needed to exert his authority.
Shortly after that he returned to take the food order however this was preceded with the statement 'we have a large party of 24 that we are going to serve first then you will be after them'. Everyone was somewhat speechless but we ordered regardless, I guess we were now in too deep as it were to get up and go to a different pub, of which there are many in the area, remembering that it wasn't in fact the Fat Duck!!!
To out surprise, a few minutes later, he had surprisingly 'got us in under the reader'... How fortuitous for us! Or was that just more flexing on his part - I suspect it was!
In terms of the food...
Fish cakes were more potato than fish, pate was excellent, lamb was sparse, beef was good, linguini was good, but it's pasta so haw hard can that be?
So on the whole, nothing special..
Summary....
Service - rude, and lacking
Food - average
Ambience - it's a pub dining area
Would I return - NO
There are far better places with far better service, why would you pay for sub standard.... read more