Not been in this place for many years, but after seeing it mentioned on a TV programme recently we decided to give it a try, the main reason being that on the TV they said they were bringing back the love of traditional English dishes such as Tripe!! Now as a kid I was force fed Trip and hated it, and never dared try it since, so was up for the challenge. The three of us arrived at around 1pm the bar was quiet but not empty which was great, we were greeted by a friendly barman, who showed us to a table over looking the river. We ordered drinks and read the menu. I had the Italian Red wine (£4.80 glass) which was fantastic and my friend had a bitter (£2) from a massive choice as they had just had a weekend beer festival. We decide to try the Tripe in Madera sauce, and Ducks liver in Madera (served with an egg on top) to share between the three of us, it was outstanding I would order both again we all really enjoyed the starter. Starters were £5-£6 each. For mains we ordered Fish and Chips x 2 and 1 Toad in the hole, I wanted the wood pigeon but due to a tooth problem decided I better save that for next time, these meals were also outstanding, we all gave it 10/10, the chunky chips, battered fish, mushy peas and tartar sauce were perfect, the Toad in the hole with 2 sausages was also excellent (mains were £8-£9 each) but this came with nothing else so had to order a side portion of chips at £3, we would have loved dessert but simply had no room. The service, staff were all very friendly and efficient (the meals came to a total of £53.50 not inc service) The down side as others have said is the entrance, toilets and outside areas, the bar is very dark, and could be said it is dismal, the cleanliness of the areas is poor but clearly the dated entrance, carpet, rails, windows, lets the whole place down, the location on the side of the river is great and with some imagination with flower boxes, and some refurbishment it would make such a difference, they must lose a lot of customers due to the entrance, we did think twice before entering. All in all I would defiantly return, I felt the service, food and drinks were all so good it was worth risking the stairs, but not sure I would take anyone for a special meal due to the entrance. Well done Mark Addy. Update May 2012 Come on Mark Addy match the service to the food which is first class. You may have seem my previous good reviews I have written on visits to the Mark Addy and I still maintain the food is excellent and on my last visit on Saturday 26th May 2012 this has not changed, but sadly it will be my last visit.
The chef and his excellent kitchen team producing the food is being (in my opinion) very badly short changed by the front of house staff, management and premises. Booking in advance for a birthday meal was fine and efficient but on arrival the entrance has still not been cleaned in any way, with the appearance of shabby uncared for premises apparent as you walk down the stairs, greeting you is a broken/missing glass section on the stairs and the vacuum cleaner!!! (maybe customers could do the cleaning on the way out)
The carpet sticks to your feet it is so dirty, as you enter the bar it is clearly not managed well, a booth/table scattered with a lap top and paperwork, and a general poor appearance with an air of mismanagement.
You stand and wait as staff pass by in the busy bar and restaurant until eventually you are spoken to and able to explain you have booked a table. We are shown to our table by the window and kitchen.
The table is sticky and needs a good clean, the cutlery cleanliness is below what you would expect unless you were in a school canteen and certainly had not been polished. The staff were ALL very friendly but so disorganised and in need of a good restaurant manager with a system/routine. The menus arrived and we were left with them to enjoy the tempting dishes on offer, another waitress asked if we would like drinks, then to first waitress returned to see if we wanted drinks, we said we had ordered, you know how it goes, we also asked for a jug of water, we were then told the beer we asked for had run out so offered another beer. The wine we ordered was not very pleasant so had to be changed. I will not go into all the comings and goings but there were sadly too many. We waited some 45min for our orders to be taken, but we had questions about some of the items on the menu, some of which could not be answered, then we attempted to order, only to find the starters we wanted were not available, so we chose again, then the mains we asked for were not available, I have no problem with a kitchen running out of items but expect to be informed when given the menu, not when I have chosen then I am put on the spot to quickly choose another items. The chaotic service continued throughout, we had to keep asking for the jug of water when it eventually arrived it was with dirty glasses, we just cleaned them ourselves on the napkins, we had to read more