The short version: I wouldn't say don't go here for a roast, but there are several other local venues I'd recommend above this place. The staff were pleasant enough, though initially slow to greet us.
The long version...
The first thing I should say is that we were stood by the sign that said "please wait here to be seated" for about 5 minutes, which wasn't great considering the place was very quiet. When we were greeted and led to the table, the gentleman spent so long telling us the rules for ordering and about the "deal", that it led one member of our party to comment that we should have recorded him so that we didn't forget what he'd said.
Ordering was quite complicated because unlike most pubs and restaurants you can't start a tab, which made splitting the bill harder than it should have been. We also had to order dessert at the same time as the roasts to secure a "deal" of £1 off, which is just odd. The lady at the till was great and kept apologising because lots of the order she had to manually type, and the till system itself was just plain slow.
When the food was delivered, every roast was drenched in gravy rather than the gravy being on the side, meaning the potatoes in particular were very soggy rather than crispy, like a good roasty should be. I personally had the beef, some of which was a little crispy around the edges; I'd suggest the meat was pre-sliced and kept warm under a light, hence why it is drenched in gravy to revive it.
Disappointingly the beef doesn't come with stuffing and the pork doesn't come with a Yorkshire pudding. The sides were cauliflower cheese and mixed greens, which are both perfectly acceptable but in short supply. We were also supposed to get horseradish and apple sauce but had to ask, then we had to ask for more when we were bought 1 ramekin of each for 12 of us.
One final thing to note is that a hair was found in the cauliflower cheese. Luckily it was spotted early and that small part was put aside, and the rest was fine. I don't think it's indicative of poor hygiene practices, just unfortunate, though perhaps going forward the male kitchen staff could wear beard nets.
For the desert, I personally had the cheese board, which was nice but maybe a little slow. I'm told the crumble and sticky toffee pudding was nice, but those that had the black forest gateau sundae said it was a bit disappointing. Apparently the brownie pieces were bitter and dry (likely they were the cut offs from a tray of brownies), and it was quite small, with just one scoop of ice cream.
So overall I'd say that if someone offered me a roast from here, I wouldn't turn it away, but truthfully I probably wouldn't choose to come...
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
