The Plough Harborne — Restaurant in Birmingham

This is the gem public house on Harborne High Street but I don’t think it is the best and I shall explain in detail. The location is on the end of the High Street and the parking is severely restricted. There are some online spots but they are subject to time limits and very limited. Also the side roads have restrictions too so you may need to park a distance away and walk. The pub is beautifully set out. It is quirky for sure, with a main theme of barebones such as using pipe work for decor. But it is clearly very modern and an expensive design. The estate seems to always be expanding and the recent addition of the neighbouring building now provides more dining tables. This is an ideal location for any large function either a work do or a family gathering. The food is lovely but really expensive compared to any other pub I have been to in the Midlands. You really are paying for the experience. The food is really tasty though. I find the menu limited but at the same time if you come on the dedicated Mondays or Tuesdays there is '2 for 1' on Pizzas or Burgers which raises the value element a little. The drinks are also very expensive. Again you are paying for the ambience and experience. You could literally cross the road to The Green man and get similar fare. The staffs are always nice. They seem to be young and bohemian/studenty kids. I have only ever had 4 bad experiences; finding meat in a vegetarian pizza, twice hairs in pizza, and once being asked to move from a table I had been told I could sit at. The staffs have always been genuinely apologetic though so it has not put me off too much. If I was trying to impress a date or looking to host work colleagues I have in the past brought them here and only twice has it failed to impress. The nay sayers find it pretentious, overpriced and ‘don’t get it’; the lovers like the safe clientele, the quirky design and the quality of the food and drink. Guests particularly like the beer garden at the back which is very well laid out, with canopied seating as well as open air tables. Also there is a kitchen for great food experiences although again the prices are very off putting. Also the area is not huge compared to the inside floor plan. But there are outdoor heating lamps which are used on the particularly cold evenings. I have not been for 18 months so no doubt there will have been more change and I look forward...

The plough was probably the best pub I'd been to in the UK as of last year. They charged a premium but were worth every penny. I'd told everyone how great it was, and was really looking forward to returning post-pandemic. It was OK, but a bit of a let down.

This review isn't meant to dissuade anyone from going to the Plough, but more feedback for the Plough on the details that can ruin an experience, especially when last year they were absolutely nailing everything.

We booked a table for 4 to for food, several weeks in advance. We were sat a table size exclusively used for parties of 2, which couldn't fit food for 4. We asked to move to one of several empty tables of 4, and were told the specific tables were specifically reserved by other customers. We asked how we could do that in future, and were told this isn't something customers can do followed by an awkward silence. We were eventually moved to a sticky table for 6 by the grumpy waitress where we watched a couple seated at our old table, and another couple seated at the table for 4 we asked for. It's such a minor thing, but to start off a visit that we'd been really looking forward to, and hyping up for a year with this just really sucked.

The food had a significantly reduced menu vs last year, with our favourites missing (turkey roast and Cubanos) - hopefully these will return post-pandemic. But everyone ordered pizzas which were seriously fantastic. We also ordered a burger, which could have been greatly improved with a larger patty size though. These were ordered via the app, and came really quickly, as did later drinks orders. It's worth noting that we had a different waiter and waitress serve us on the new table and they were really friendly and generally great.

They have heaters above all outdoor tables which is a nice touch, but because they are really close and really powerful, you have the choice between no heat, and burning your head (no joke). It would be better if they directed the heaters from opposite tables at each other to spread out the heat.

General conclusion. We'll definitely return, but we won't...

Spent a couple of hours in The Plough, this evening and have to say not only disappointed with the service but disappointed with hospitality and empathy provided.

I will start with the service as that is easier to detail. No signs and (as one of our group is a regular)we were surprised to be told they no longer take cash. Surprisingly though, within a couple of minutes of rejecting a cash payment from one of our group they accepted a cash payment by another patron. Could it be that our party member did not have the same colour of skin?

So. we move on to empathy and within minutes of taking a cash payment from the gent he was approached by a member of staff, to be told they wouldn’t serve him anymore and he would need to leave, as he was drunk. The gent left with no trouble at all In fact if you were a patron this evening you would not even have noticed him leaving or the previous discussion but given we were so close we did. On the gent exiting I raised the attention of the member of staff’s/trainee manager attention and said do realise that gent had mental health issues and was not intoxicated as you suggested to him . His response was this is something I am learning as a trainee manager. but you served him, you made an allowance that he was paying cash and within a few moments of serving him you were asking him to leave - that isn’t fair? His response was I am training and trying to learn this - but surely if you are unsure and are in training you take guidance and help, don’t just embarrass that guy?

The trainee manager then left us and went to his female manager. Who then took photos of us on her mobile phone? Why? who knows why but surely if she doesnt agree, customer service would be to discuss the points with us? I am happy that we are in a public place so cctv is in force but to still take images why? …….. because I stood up for a man they served and then decided they didn’t want to on...