The Bracebridge — Restaurant in Birmingham

Came here on Sunday for our mums birthday celebration. Automated booking system is really frustrating and not good that you can't contact restaurant to discuss your booking then when at restaurant we were told the booking system is separate from them so anything told by the people you email about booking isn't known or from the restaurant, makes any issues that arise very hard to get sorted out. Were told on booking due to the fact people have been no shows you have to pay a deposit to book a table. £10 each person. Fair enough. But it isn't clearly stated that this isn't taken off the bill, infact we were told it would be taken off the bill. It isn't. You have to pay the whole bill then wait for a refund of your deposit from the place you booked it. My nephew was poorly so my sister contacted after trying for ages to directly contact the restaurant, you can't. We didn't want to cancel we just wanted to change date. Was 2 days before, but were told because it wasn't 48 hours that we wouldn't get deposit back, we didn't want it we wanted to change the date. They said they couldn't and we would have to rebook, which would mean paying another £10 each deposit. But we would get both deposits taken off the bill on the day. This was stated in an email. So we paid £80 deposit (2 x £40) to rebook just over a week later, on the understanding it would be taken off the bill.

3 of us had the 2 course roasts. It all comes on plates and bowls that you serve onto your own plate. We noticed the table next to us which was 2 people had the same amount of veg and potatoes we had to share between 3 of us. Which we thought for £35 was very small. The beef came very rare. We weren't asked how we wanted it cooked on ordering it. This should be stated and option for more well done given. Food itself was nice (except for the beef being too rare) but for the price the portions are very very small.

Neither deposits had been taken off the bill. We questioned this and were told we would have an email about a refund for it. We said it was stated in an email it would be taken off the bill. We were told no, it's refund separately. So we checked for the email but only one was to be refunded. We asked about the second and the staff knew nothing about this. Said they couldn't do anything and we would have to contact the booking system people again who had sent the email. As we weren't happy paying £80 again we were told would be taken off the bill, and having to wait for £40 to be refunded then chase the other £40 we asked them again if they could sort it out. Showed the email stating it would be taken off. After some back and forth the extra £40 was taken off and they said they would sort it with the other people when they could get hold of them as they too couldn't get hold of them. Another shock was the large service charge added on. Another £20 roughly added on. No mention of this anywhere until you get your bill. With the price of the food and small portion sizes (desserts too are small) we thought this was steep and an another unexpected addition.

It made the whole thing stressful and frustrating. Definitely ridiculous that the booking people aren't the restaurant. There isn't any way to change anything. Then even with an email off them stating the deposit would be taken off we had to discuss back and forth with staff that we weren't prepared to keep paying extra especially the 2nd deposit which seems was hit and miss if we'd get it back after we left and would have cause more stress and more emails. The steep service charge should be openly stated. And the food you get is definitely not worth the price you pay. Very overpriced. And a very stressful and frustrating time in what should have been a nice birthday celebration

I will say staff were very accommodating with highchair and space for pushchair for my nephew and giving us a bowl of hot water to warm his food up in. And staff were good during our visit, just a shame for the deposit issue and back and forth to sort it.

Unfortunately as lovely as the setting is, we...

We visited as a group of 12, including one child under 3, for my mom’s birthday. Unfortunately, the whole experience was disappointing.

To start, we had to pay a £20 per person deposit, which felt excessive compared to other restaurants we’ve booked (even in central London where we travelled from). Still, we gave it a chance as it had been recommended.

On arrival, the menu prices seemed very high (£32 for a chicken kiev, £22 for fish and chips), but we assumed this reflected fine dining standards and were prepared to pay for quality. Sadly, the food did not match the prices.

Our toddler’s bangers and mash didn’t come with the starters as requested, and despite specifically asking for the gravy on the side, it arrived late and covered in gravy anyway. For the soup (£8), we were surprised that no bread was included; when we asked, we were told we’d need to pay an extra £5 for a side of bread, which felt unreasonable.

The mains were the biggest letdown. Portions were small and very plain. The £32 chicken kiev came with nothing but a small scoop of mash and some gravy – no vegetables, no garnish. Four of us had the ham and chicken pie, which arrived dry, with no gravy, veg, or chips – just a small serving of mash. We had to ask for gravy separately, and when it came, the meat itself was fatty and unpleasant; two people couldn’t finish theirs. Overall, most dishes were underwhelming, overly salty, and far from the “fine dining” we were expecting.

When we raised our concerns, the manager suggested the food couldn’t have been that bad since most plates were cleared – which felt dismissive. We explained that at £25–£36 a dish, people felt obliged to eat rather than waste money. To his credit, he did remove one pie from the bill.

However, to make matters worse, a £50 service fee was automatically added without our agreement. We had to request this be removed. Service throughout was lacklustre, with staff seeming disinterested and unhelpful.

Finally, while the restaurant’s lakeside setting is beautiful, the atmosphere was ruined by a loud party or rave happening in the garden, which we could hear during the entire meal – very strange for what is supposed to be a refined dining experience.

Overall, the evening was underwhelming, overpriced, and poorly managed. We left feeling disappointed and would not recommend this restaurant, especially for a...

It pains me to leave this review. I've been going to the Bracebridge regularly since it was refurbed several years ago and I love the setting there. But the changes that have been made recently are completely ridiculous! Read-on...

If you're not aware now, if you want to sit on the outdoor terrace, which overlooks Bracebridge Pool, you can only order food from the 2x small kiosks - which only serve pizza and chicken burgers - and not at the main restaurant. In addition, you can only order drinks from the small kiosk too, which has just 1x lager option (which was sold out), 1x white and 1x rose wine option, and very few spirits. Although they do have a wide choice of other drinks in the main restaurant, you are not allowed to order those - even though there was just one occupied table inside and staff with nothing to do.

Furthermore, your food comes on paper plates with wooden cutlery! And drinks are in plastic cups. And if you want to order say 1x pizza and 1x chips, they are made at different kiosks and therefore ready at completely different times. I had to go upto the Kiosks a total of 5 times....drinks, pizza ready, chips ready, cutlery (which wasn't given to us), and salt (which wasn't on the table). It's far from the 'glamorous' experience it used to be, and most people go there for. How then can justify charging £1 for a tiny tub of mayo - not even a normal size tub (see photo) is staggering too ?

Where there used to be a wider choice of food and drinks available, all served in proper glasses, cutlery and plates, that option is now only available if sitting in the main restaurant - which I'm assuming by default, would now mean you cannot sit outside. Why anyone would think this is a good idea, baffles me.

When I used to go every Friday, the place was packed with people spending alot of money and staying there for a long time. Typically there'd be between 5 and 12 in our group. It's a special place with a unique setting - for Birmingham/West Midlands. But it's been completely ruined with these weird limitations and restrictions. We won't be returning that's for sure, and the people I know well won't put up with...