Nestled in a small courtyard the Malthouse makes a great first impression as you walk in, with seated areas set beneath creeping vines leading to the restaurant itself.
Inside it's small and cosy as per it's former status as a barn, with just enough tables to ensure an atmosphere.
Sadly, the food never lived up to the promise offered by the setting and was at best, distinctly average. I'm told it changed hands sometime mid-2011 and the excellent reputation we were advised of was due to it's former owners.
The main reason for low rating is not solely the food, which was average but by no means offensive. Instead it was the standard of service and the treatment we received that let the side down.
After ordering a goats cheese souffle it arrived adorned by walnuts, something I had asked the waitress to remove. I advised that due to a severe nut allergy I could not eat this and that I would not be able to eat the souffle if the walnuts were removed as they had made contact and I could still have a severe reaction.
The waitress was very apologetic and disappeared into the kitchen, only to return two minutes later with a souffle without walnuts. I asked if was the same one, reminding her I could not eat this and being well aware you can't cook a souffle in 2 minutes. She appeared uncomfortable and when she went into the kitchen (which I could clearly see due to it being next to our table) the head chef scowled through the door at us and then advised it would be 15 minutes for another.
I avoided a starter altogether, had an average main of steak and then a bland treacle tart to follow.
The waitering staff were lovely, but the chef showed an utter disregard for my well-being and tried just to blag it, something that as anyone who suffers a nut allergy knows is unforgivable. In addition to this the front of house manager (who was lovely I might add) was necking half pints of bitter almost constantly in the small bar housed in the dining room. When it came to adding up our bill he was slurring and unable to work a calculator.
I'm hopefully not a difficult customer, but the owners (this being the chef and FOH manager we found out) need to take a more serious and professional approach to their responsibilities as restaurant owners. Otherwise they may waste the good reputation afforded to them by their predecessors. read more