"We visited on 8/9/2023. We were pleased to get a table in the garden as it was very sunny. We went to order food and were told that there was a separate menu for diners eating outside. We wanted steak: ‘Sorry no steak for outside diners’. ‘Erm, OK, how about the Caesar salad?’ ‘Sorry, no salad for outside diners’. ‘I’ll have the burger with pulled pork and cheese please.’ ‘If you’re eating outside, the pulled pork and cheese are charged extra.’ I’m not even kidding. We eventually managed order food, although by this point I didn’t want to eat there because of the unexplained, baffling rules and the very young staff who could barely be bothered to talk. Once I’d paid £30.50 for scampi and chips and a burger I naturally asked for cutlery and the sever pointed to a rack containing wooden forks. I asked for steel cutlery and she told me OUTSIDE DINERS HAD TO USE WOODEN CUTLERY. I’m not even kidding. I insisted I wanted steel cutlery but instead of getting me some, she told me to ask the server who brought the food. Rather than argue with that server or wait an age for a knife and fork, I just took some from the nearest table in the dining room. Why aren’t staff allowed to do this? How can staff not have the initiative to just hand you cutlery? The scampi and chips were nice though I had to pay a few quid extra for non frozen chips but the burger was abysmal. It came overcooked and dry in a supermarket bun and with not a scrap of sauce, dressing or garnish. Just a dry burger in a bun with frozen chips. I used to like this place but we’re never going back, we agreed. Whoever is running this place is either trying to run it into the ground or is making so much money as to not care about how anyone feels. To have staff repeating ‘computer says no’ like a corporate mantra throughout your visit is not the guest experience any business owner should be aiming for. I hated my experience here; it was everything wrong with the UK food industry. Young, underpaid staff who couldn’t care less, arrogant business owners imposing mindless, inexplicable rules designed to say NO to people, absolutely no regard for food quality just low standards, frozen produce and a reliance on the British tendency to eat, go home and keep their mouths shut. If we all complained a little more maybe this would happen less. Having said that, it’s not the customers’ job to ensure the very basic elements of a decent dining experience. It’s really not that hard. If you care. These people don’t."
