The Butlers Arms — Restaurant in Birmingham

A little dissapointed

Going with my partner I booked for 7.15 and pad my deposit of £10/person over the phone and arrived in good time. We sat in the bar which is very rustic. The main reason for this I think is that many dog owners bring their dogs in when out for an evening walk. Nothing wrong with that as I am a dog lover myself and appreciate it when pubs make allowances for dog owners. Most dogs in pubs I have found are quite well behaved. Its usually the humans that cause trouble.

At 7.25 we were let to our seat. A rustic wooden table with no cloth. We were given 1 paper menu between us. I cannot understand this as I would have though having one each would have been better so we didn’t have to keep passing it between us and would not have broken the bank. Of course yes i could have asked for another ..but i shouldnt have needed to. We were sat directly under the "specials" board and so we were constantly feeling we were being stared at when it was really just people looking at the specials.

We made our choice I opted for the Rib eye steak with saute potatoes. It was garnished with cress but any other sides like vegetables have to be ordered and paid for extra. At over £21 for this plate alone I did not order any extra as they were approx. £3 each. My partner ordered Belly pork at £17

Out meals came some 35mins later by which time we were quite hungry and wished we had ordered a starter. My rib eye steak was very flat and covered nearly half the plate but was only about 5mm thick. It was quite tender and tasty though and the saute potatoes were excellent. My partners belly Pork was quite substantial and was too much for her to eat which was good as it was passed to me as I felt my steak was not enough.

For desert we both ordered ice cream PX a mixture of ice cream and sherry – it sounds funny but it is actually nice. The slight downside was the fact that it was served in a glass that you would drink a glass of milk from so was a little unattractive.

We decided to try a cocktail - an amaretto sour – they were £7.50 each but we thought “hey they are supposed to be special”. This was the biggest let down of the night as they were just served in the same plain “milk glasses” that the ice cream was served in. you could not see the colours like you can when cocktails are served “properly” Cocktails are supposed to be a little special with perhaps fruit, a cherry and an umbrella or some other decoration. None of this I’m afraid and it just looked rather plain – full of ice though (as they usually are to save expensive alcohol and mixers) and a single small slice of dried orange peel. I found this quite a let-down. I saw someone order a gin and tinic at the bar and it was served in a large globular glass and looked every bit as decadent as our cocktails should have.

We paid and left feeling let down by a little overpriced yet basic (but good and well cooked) food and drinks but wished there had been better...

Yes, yes and YES!!! An incredibly easy five star review, even though it's extremely rare for me to hand out five stars. When I visit a restaurant, I primarily want good food, after that I'm looking for pleasant service from the staff, and as a cherry on top, if the value for money is good, I certainly won't complain. The Butlers Arms had it all, with more to spare.

This was probably some of the best food I've ever had at a 'pub'. The flavours were excellent, the food arrived piping hot and I genuinely felt like I was having a home cooked meal, which means everything tasted freshly prepared.

The service blew me away too, the ladies and the gentleman who served us were on fire!! Nothing but smiles, polite manners and an extremely accommodating attitude. When they were not serving us, they could be seen going around making sure everything was taken care of in the restaurant. This is true five star service.

As for the price, for the quality and selection on offer, I felt the value for money was excellent. They have 3 and 2 course special offers on at various times, which are all amazing. A great selection without feeling like you have to choose from the dull end of the menu.

On top of all this, they source their food locally where possible and smoke their own fish in house (which tasted sublime).

I highly recommend The Butlers Arms and can see myself dining here many times in the very near future with friends and family.

Note to owners: Well done and please never compromise, you're amazing and I hope you...

2nd time visited, menu had changed since 1st visit. The menu was not as good as the 1st time i come. But not to bad this time. The price of the dishes would be reasonable if the food was cooked to a better standard. I had the haddock with creamy mash and spinach and mornay sauce , the haddock was pretty bland, just like the whole dish it come with a poached egg on top and for some reason the yolk was hard and the white was runny so that was not a good start. The creamy mash was watery and bland and dull to look at. The spinach was minimal. I ordered brocoli stems which looked wiltered and floppy. The mornay sauce was barely noticeable and again bland. The side order of chips was the best part of the meal. Eventually when i had virtually finished the dish i got asked if eveything was ok with my meal, when i showed the waitress the runny egg and told them the meal was bland, she said she would pass on the information. Then i never heard anything again, not even a apology. The design and decor is funky, but the tables are a bit cheap and nasty, the toilet urinal was leaking and there was chewing gum in the urinals that looked old. So no regular toilet checks. You can tell the decor will not last long as not good quality. Waitresses need better training and mangement need to be doing their job in supporting and deligating staff. Much better restaurants to go to for the same or lower priced menu, in a...