The Hazelwell — Restaurant in Birmingham

Having visited here previously and not returned since after lockdown, myself and my partner decided to attend today which is a decision we regret.

Having ordered our food coupled with drinks we sat down to enjoy our time there.

However, that was short lived as firstly, my wine was served in a clearly dirty glass. Initially we thought, ok, small issue, as the staff were apologetic and happy to replace it.

I mean, given the current pandemic, one would expect clean glasses to be a proprity in any hospitality venue but we put it down to a simple mistake and continued.

Our food then arrived some 15 minutes later and my surf and turf was edible but my partners double classic cheese burger with an extra buttermilk chicken fillet and extra cheese came out but the chicken fillet was freezing cold on the inside.

Unfortunately, my partner discovered this having taken a bite of the burger!

We couldn't believe it. Serving partially cooked chicken is not only disgusting but it is dangerous and my partner could have got food poisoning.

When we complained to the waitress, she seemed polite and apologised and said a new one would be out in a few minutes leaving the partially eaten burger with us.

Some 10-15 minutes later, I'd by now finished by meal and you couldn't make this up, but a burnt chicken fillet appeared in a bowl with what looked like melted burnt cheese on top! My immediate response to what was placed on the table was, "are you joking?!" and in response the waitress said, "I didn't know what he had!"

So we were left with a completely cold double classic cheese burger, food poisoning ridden chicken fillet and a burnt chicken fillet!

Not surprisingly, my partner refused to eat any of it and on seeing this, the waitress then came over and offered us a refund.

Now considering we we paid with a credit card, the waitress then came over with cash which was £1 short to what the total burger would have cost but at this point, we couldn't be bothered to complain any further as clearly this venue lacked any type of customer service.

Surprisingly, the chef then came out of the kitchen, but not to approach us and apologise, to walk past us! So my partner then confronted him with his meal and the response we got was, "I was just told to redo one part of the meal!"

There was no apology, nothing. This is absolutely appalling.

We simply got up and left not even finishing our drinks as we were disgusted. We will never return to this pub and will ensure all of our friends and family do the same.

If I could leave less than 1 star, I would!

I have already complained to the pub directly...

UPDATED: We recently visited with a friend and the 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

Like most, we are feeling the pinch, so when we got a meal for 3 for under £40 we were delighted.

We took full advantage of the special offers, ordering:

Starters - 5 for £15 🍗 Crispy chicken wings £4.49 🍗 Boneless southern fried chicken bites £4.29 🍟 Crispy coated halloumi fries £4.29 🔥 Hot Mess £3.49 🍄 Beer-battered salt & pepper mushrooms £3.29

Mains - 🌶️ Caribbean- style Jerk chicken skewers £9.79 x 2 🐟 Small scampi & chips £4.79

It was decent and for £15 we couldn’t complain about the starters at all. The ‘Hot Mess’ was interesting…hash brown bites, cheese sauce, Chilli Heatwave Doritos, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, jalapeños and spring onions. Very enjoyable. We really liked the mushrooms and all the chicken was tender and cooked well.

Is it fancy or ground breaking? No. But it was tasty, satisfying and we still have ££ for a few drinks whilst we were there.

Changing the rating as the atmospheres was more lively and it felt more welcoming as a whole.

Previous review: This is local to us so we go for a convenient and cheap drink. We’ve been more recently in an attempt to save money. We have been happy with most visits. We were however very disappointed when we arrived at 5:30pm on NYE and was nearly turned away because it was a ticket only event. The manager said she’d let us off and let us in as we weren’t going to be there all night. We appreciated that, but as the night continued it became very clear that it wasn’t a ticketed night. My father goes there every day and even he didn’t know about/have/was asked for a ticket. It appeared to be a tactic by management to keep people out. When we left at 10pm the ‘adult’ side of the pub was empty and what was occupied had as much atmosphere as a morgue. I felt sorry for the entertainer. This used to be the place to be. My friends and I have made so many fun memories there and danced the night away to the weekly entertainment. Now I can’t believe I used to spend every weekend there; it’s a shadow of its former self and it’s a real shame. No reflection of the staff, just...

Have been here 4 times now, the previous week all food that came out on my plate was like charcoal. So it was sent back money refunded plus a fresh meal sent out.

However, this week coming here has been disappointing! I’m not usually a pub food kind of guy, but you get what you pay for really in a chain pub but to have a reputation for sizzling plates to something coming out looking all cold (and was cold) is not living up to your name.

The sizzler plate was that full of oil, I’d of had to have a heart bypass. The oil was excessive, everything that was meant to of been crispy, was soggy from sitting in it.

Food was sent back to be reheated. Chips were cold. The new hot mess, well that’s an anti-climax in itself. Barely any cheese sauce, or franks hot sauce. No jalapeños or spring onions. Bigged up, to be left with a shambles of a dinner to barely be eaten and after waiting 40 minutes because of apparently a busy period you’d expect hot, fresh food. Not something that’s sat on the pass waiting to go out.

Josh, who brought our food was a nice lad. Some staff could do with retraining on customer service and how to deal with constructive criticism. Anne needs to take a step back and CHILL, she makes me anxious. I’m surprised your till screen still works. She’s going full sylvester Stallone on it!

This is a pub that regulars come to, which it is clear to see the regulars as sometimes your experience as a customer is missed.

Shame really, as it’s a decent looking pub and the atmosphere is pretty good also. However let down by things that could be easily sorted with some attention to detail and care. Mostly from the kitchen side of things.

Will give it one more go, but if it’s as rubbish as the last two times then I’ll not return.

This is 100% for the hazelwell on pineapple road! Put this at the bottom as we can’t reply to your response so I have reposted. I’m more than aware of the places I eat and the place that I have just this...