Garden House — Restaurant in Birmingham

Good location and atmosphere, BUT really bad service and food. Disappointed. Management needs reviewing.

RESPONSE TO THE MANAGEMENT:

Hello,

Are there are any issues with people drinking prosecco and spending time in a pub on their birthday? Also, what’s wrong with bringing the children? Your position your pub as a family-friendly place, so I can’t understand what does the fact we had kids with us has anything to do with your response or service provided?

We had a table booked in advance. When we arrived, and were seen by you, we waited to be seated for some 5 minutes. During this time another party came and got seataed as they got to see you – this is what my wife commented on when we finally got to see out table. I was there and heard her comments – there was nothing rude or blunt about, facts only.

There are several reasons we stayed there for so long, main being we had to wait a while for drink orders and food orders to be taken and food to arrive. It took over an hour for the mains to arrive. The main (grill mix) was absolutely dry, as it might have spent too much time waiting under a lamp on the counter. No one came to ask how the food was.

Also, my wife had her birthday and I asked your colleague, whilst she was at the bar, if she could bring out desert as a surprise birthday cake. I said I would order one if this was possible. She would not pay much attention at first but then said she would check if there are any candles and get back to me. She then almost straight away took the order at our table and brought out the dessert without any candles - Thanks for letting me know you couldn’t accommodate my request.

When asked for a bill, again we had to wait a while and AGAIN, people who asked for it after us got to pay first. Hence the decision for not waiting any longer and paying at the bar. Not sure what you mean by ‘rude to the young lady waving your hand to get your bill when she was serving another table’ – don’t see what the problem is with trying to catch someone’s attention, especially after waiting around for so long.

The bottom line is – you might have excellent reputation, but not for long with such a service. If on a Friday night, you only have 2 members of staff who can look after a certain number of tables at the same time without having the quality of the service affected, the management should consider this when accepting bokings and letting peple to walk in and dine.

Kind...

I went here for dinner with my partner on a Monday evening. We've been meaning to come here for quite some time.

The pub is really lovely. It's large and decorated well, and feels very welcoming despite being right on the Hagley Road - I might even go so far as to say it's a hidden gem! There's a great garden space round the back, which is well maintained aside from the tables, which could do with a sand and repaint. Overall, a perfect outdoor spot for a few summer drinks with family and friends.

The staff were friendly and the range of drinks on offer was good. The loos were clean and smelled nice.

For food - there were only a few vegetarian meals on the menu. I had the Mushroom and Ale Pie with Chips and my partner had the Vegetable Grill. The pie was nice, but could have been a little fuller and would have benefitted from a generous pinch of salt! The Vegetable Grill was a little disappointing; for £15.99 it was an (albeit large) plate of grilled vegetables and chips, served with gravy. It could very easily be elevated with the addition of some herbs + balsamic glaze on the veg, removing the gravy, and the presence of a veggie sausage or two.

Pudding definitely felt like a redemption! My partner's sundae was absolutely fab and my chocolate fondant was the most chocolately pudding I've had in a long time - really delightful.

It's also worth saying that we were not offered the 2 courses for £16.50 menu on entry. If we had been offered this, my partner likely would have chosen the pie and avoided disappointment!

Also worth noting that there is a function room for hire and large car park, but I am unsure of the...

First time visit to the Garden House this afternoon around 2pm and just had a pint of Birra Moretti while passing by.

Found this to be a very warm welcoming place, the background music was just right, lighting not too bright / not too dark and temperature perfect. A calm chilled atmosphere!

Seems to be a popular pub / restaurant amongst the older people, but also the younger ones too to have a meal - which noticed orders happily taken from the table to save waiting at the bar. There were a lot of people who looked like were enjoying their meals - all of which looked very tasty!

Outside there is a good amount of parking, along with bus stops on both sides of the road in and out of central Birmingham so very well located.

Staff - The guy who served me was very helpful, came straight over to the bar when came up, and helped me with using my voucher code towards the drink with no problems at all. Done with a smile and a friendly chat which was much appreciated :)

I have only one point to note on improvement, the toilets were clean. But, were quite dark and did not smell as fresh as could be. I'd suggest maybe the air freshener has run out and there being an issue with the some of the lights not being on that could be looked at.

There is a good amount of promotional display to raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Support around the bar - this is a great cause to note and hope you raise lots for the cause.

Conclusion: I'd happily return again, and probably for an evening meal too. Thank you for...