Disappointing food and service lets down a great pub.
Perhaps it was a mistake to go on a sunny, hot Sunday afternoon/evening as the bar and staff were overwhelmed with customers ordering Pimms. It should have been easy enough to handle, but the staff are so disorganised, and apparently poorly trained, that even a staff:customer ratio of close to one to one meant a long wait to order food and drinks.
The food itself was disappointing. We all ordered the Sunday roasts but teh veggie among us was disappointed as someone else had already ordered the solitary portion of nut roast that they told us they stock on any given day. Notwithstanding that, it still appeared on our bill together with the item we ordered in its place. The chicken and beef were so-so and the accompanying vegetables a huge let down. The roast potatoes were soggy and had been coated in some sort of sweet, paprika like substance. The green vegetables were literally tasteless. Overall the impression was of something prepared elsewhere or in advance and re-heated in a microwave. Though then you would have to wonder why everything took so long to arrive. The service was, again, naive at best and even a few minutes specific training would have been beneficial. The staff's response to almost any query, let alone suggestion that things might be improved, was “we're very busy today”. In fact it wasn't that busy in terms of numbers of people (I can't imagine a centrally located pub like this surviving without this level of business on a regular basis), it was simply hopeless organisation that did for them.
Overall, we left feeling unsatisfied, though the great weather and venue make up for a lot of ills. I certainly won't be eating at this place again, but I may pop in for a drink if it's not too busy.