(Visited late March 2011, about 14:30 on a Monday)
This…read morerestuarrant is a confused mish-mash of ideas. The Village Gate is a disappointing mix of irritating, high priced pretentiousness and scruffy service, standards and decor. An impressive initial impression from a great looking building gives way before even getting through the door. The way cracked step tiles and a broken bannister clash with obviously pretentious signage indicate what to expect inside.
After waiting at the bar from which the staff had wandered off to do something more important than serve customers, a look around revealed a fairly cool looking bar hampered by random tat that looks like it's been dragged out of someone's loft to gather dust. The dining room which is laid out like an old ladies' living room contrasted completely with the bar. Thankfully, the lady who served us was polite and friendly, but the food is massively over-priced compared to the likes of the excellent Saracen's Head in beaconsfield or the much further afield Black Stallion in Bedford. the difference in these two places is the professional, clean, competent and inviting vibe, whileThe Village Gate sports scruffy staff ambling around aimlessly.
At one, point, the people who were vaguely identifiable as staff wandered away from the bar at which customers have to go to order their food (An obvious no-no when the food prices are so high and the menu pretends to be sophisticated). Following this, some scratty guy in a grubby T-shirt jumped behind the bar and served customers without identifying himself.
A dozen other niggles present themselves. The music is a wierd mix of Jazz, 30's swing, rap and anything else you can think of. The decor in the bar's dining area consists of animals that could be the food you're eating, looking happily at you while you dine. The one coherent, impressive looking section of the entire place is the corridor to the toilets, which features posters of classical literature artwork, far more striking and sophisticated than the tacky rubbish that's been hap-hazardly scattered around everywhere else.
The food itself is way too expensive. My steak was presented with a large portion of some unidentifiable greens just dumped on the side of the plate. The meat was great, but blatently overcooked. The waitress agreed, but didn't have the feintest idea of how to rectify the problem. Again, in the confused, jumbled, higgldy-piggldy environement, no-one seemed to be responsible or in charge of anything.
Professional, competent restaurants don't need to hide obvious short-comings with pretentiousness. If you like the pubby atmosphere, but don't want to pay higher-than-London prices, try The Harrow. If you like something classier and formal, take the trip to The Saracen's Head in Beaconsfield.
I can't imagine The Village Gate lasting long unless the pub either lowers prices to match the matey, unprofessional service, or grow up and deliver an experience to match the prices. Almost as bad as The Slug and Lettuce in Aylesbury, I find it impossible to reccommend The Village Gate.
