Stafford
The Old Smithy

The Old Smithy

United Kingdom, ST21 6DF, Stafford

Pub • Meat • Steak • Chicken


"We have eaten at The Old Smithy numerous times and used the function room for a large family celebratory meal. It has been our restaurant of choice for a number of years. Sadly, we had a meal in the restaurant last night to celebrate our wedding anniversary and were left bitterly disappointed. The starters were absolutely fine. However, whilst accepting that her choice of main wasn't to my wife's liking, that was a subjective assessment. Her main criticism was that the vegetables were virtually raw she couldn't cut them they were so undercooked. I chose the lamb shoulder, and although not a lean cut, I barely had any meat content as the offering was virtually all fat. We are not the type to complain usually, but my wife felt compelled to comment on the quality of her meal when asked whether it was OK (she had left the majority of it). The waitress relayed her comments to the chef patron, who simply sent a message back to say that he was sorry she didn't enjoy the meal but that it is served often in the restaurant without complaint. At the time, there was one other couple in the restaurant who had just finished their meal, so I thought it might have been reasonable for the chef to come and discuss what was wrong it was pretty obvious that this is not something Martin does. I did ask the barman if I could speak to him, but was told he was unavailable and was given a business card instead. It was the lack of concern displayed by the patron that irked us the most. Having recommended the restaurant many times previously, we won't be doing so again. Neither will we visit again. A sad end to what should have been a lovely celebration. Disappointed!"

Windmill Stoke On Trent

Windmill Stoke On Trent

1 Hilderstone Road, ST15 8RP, Stafford, United Kingdom

Pubs • Pub, • Full • Steak


"Booked a table on line, which was easy enough. Arrived at the Windmill, the lady logged in to find our booking, which took a little while as the app kept logging her out, and it had ‘the longest ever password’ to log in her words not mine. Took our seats, and ordered our drinks via the app. After about 10 mins, the same lady asked if we were ok, we said we were waiting for drinks, she went back to the bar and retrieved our order and brought our drinks to us. Next round of drinks which again were order via the app arrived promptly. Next we ordered our mains. Medium rare 10oz stake, and a lasagna. Food arrived. Lasagna was very good. Not overpowered with tomato or garlic, very tasty. Hubby’s medium rare stake was overcooked making it a bit dry and lacking taste, but he didn’t want to wait for another to be cooked. Not once did anyone check with us how the meal was. During the meal we ordered another round of drinks, and waited patiently. The lack of drinks made a dry steak even less palatable. We finished the meals (well left half the steak) yet still no drinks. After 25 minutes I went to the bar to cancel the drinks and ask for a refund. After tapping many buttons, hey presto the order was located. There was much confusion over how to do a refund, and at one stage it was suggested that we may have to have cash and the staff member sort it later, but eventually it got sorted as a refund to the card. STILL NO ENQUIRY AS TO HOW THE MEALS WERE!!!!!! As much as I enjoyed the lasagna, I don’t think we will visit again. One member of staff was spending more time having a chat with the locals than checking on things. There were a lot of food orders being collected for delivery, I felt that these were being prioritised above the seated diners. I wish I could say the pub was busy, but it really wasn’t so there was no excuse."

Wolseley Arms

Wolseley Arms

Wolseley Bridge Stafford, Staffordshire ST17 0XS, United Kingdom

Pub • Pubs • Beer • British


"My wife and I waited 35 mins before a drinks order was taken, which is no big deal but a little longer than we would have liked. We also ordered our food at the same time. My wife ordered a non-alcoholic cider and I ordered a non-alcoholic lager. After about ten minutes my wife made the comment, I feel drunk. Upon closer inspection of the bottle, we saw that we had the full alcoholic version of the cider. My wife does not drink and is currently breastfeeding which has health implications for her and our daughter but also, we do not drink for religious reasons. We did bring this to the attention of the waitress who apologied but did make mention that it is ultimatley up to us to check what we are consuming; I then asked if I could go into the kitchen to inspect the ingridients used in our food for our dietary requirements so I can check before consumption; this was met with understanding as soon as she realised that her initial comment was beyond the pail. she then did go on to make comments that she drank Guiness when she was pregnant and breastfeeding and her children are OK, which flies in the face of any NHS or WHO guidence. The food was quite nice when it arrived but my wife feels such a sense of guilt that she has to now bottle feed our baby and has broken a religious vow to not consume alcohol which has caused her further upset through the night in the form of an upset stomach. The root cause is that there are three separete times that this mishap could have been prevented by the staff. 1. Upon inital order. 2. Checking the initial order by the bar staff. 3. the waitress checking the final order before placing it on the table. The end user, who is paying to relax, should not have the burden of ensuring that jobs have been correctly done. Think of the danger of someone that had to drive after consuming the alcohol that they hadn 't asked for that did not recognise the signs of being drunk. If a minor had been given alcohol. If someone had been on medication that could affect them. This mishap, coupled with the waitress ' bizaare apology/health advice will mean that there would have to be a huge incentive for us to visit again. Food: 2 Service: 1 Atmosphere: 2"