The Cherry Tree at Blackrod — Restaurant in Bolton

Recently, I had the pleasure of dining at 'The Cherry Tree' restaurant, which exceeded all of my expectations. When we arrived, we noticed it was extremely busy, customers coming in and out of the main entrance which can be quite daunting. However: we were greeted with warm smiles, easy to talk to staff with a relaxed, inviting atmosphere that immediately put us at ease.

We booked nearly three weeks in advance to celebrate my birthday so I have been excited to try this place out. I was eager to sit down enjoy the food after my partner previously loved it having been here before with a friend for her birthday.

Erin was amazing when she welcomed us, and gave me a card for my birthday from the restaurant.

For a starter, we decided to share a garlic bread with cheese - which was really nice and light; more than enough for two people.

When the food came, I asked the young waiter who brought it over if my partner and I might have two side plates so we wouldn't have to reach across the table and cram a big hot slice of garlic bread in our mouths. He had short dark hair and black-framed glasses. I didn’t catch his name.

“You already have a plate there,” the young man stated in an arrogant and flippant manner. I asked, "Where." He then began tapping the small brown plate that had on my knives, forks and serviette, all of which would be used during the course of the dinner. The plate in question, to me, was the size of a saucer for a cup of tea.

I said to the young gentleman, "have a look, the plate is too small to even fit one slice, do you not have a side plate, perhaps a little larger that we could possibly use." I added, "Isn't that plate decorative to hold the napkin and cutlery." I took away the utensils and napkin, I picked up the plate and showed the gentleman that it would be absurd to try to cut a slice of garlic bread up on that plate, turning the tiny plate upside down and set it just above one slice of garlic bread.

The crust and tip would have been hanging over the plate edges, as I immediately demonstrated to the gentleman. He then let out a sigh, nodded, and brought two side plates for us to use, which were ideal for us to share the starter

I felt somewhat embarrassed about that interaction. It was a Friday night, so it was quite busy, and I didn't like the young man's tone of voice or the way he tapped the tiny plate he gestured for us to use.

If side plates cost extra, I would happily pay for them as I like to enjoy my food, dining experience and the company I’m with. I wouldn't like to just shovel the food in or take a slice and sit there holding garlic bread & cheese hovering in mid-air during a conversation while making a mess with the cheese going everywhere.

Erin (I believe her name was) who greeted us at our table and served us throughout the meal was lovely, as were the other staff we encountered.

Everyone was attentive and friendly throughout our entire visit apart from plate guy.

However, a restaurant that has a dress code shows that it has high standards and expects its customers to also have high standards who arrive. Customers then, at the very least, should expect the restaurant’s employees to hold themselves to the high standards they demand from others, which they did, with the exception of the Plate waiter with the short, black hair and black-framed glasses. I think he let himself and the restaurant down.

After the meal, we saw the ‘plate waiter’ with black-framed glasses laughing and joking loudly outside either with friends or customers. He noticed us looking, he then went back into the restaurant’s main entrance; he asked us if we wanted anything to drink while we waited, we said no thank you, we are just waiting for a taxi home.

All in all, our meal at The Cherry Tree was a lovely experience apart from being embarrassed slightly. Despite this, the food, the service, and the atmosphere were all top-notch, and I would highly recommend this gem of a restaurant to anyone. Just don’t ask for an extra side plate.

Kind...

Just 2 stars? Well I will come to this later....

First the good things, the Cherry Tree at Blackrod is very smart and presentable, it is very well decorated and the staff are all liveried, ie have a standard uniform, it is very nice to see.

The Cherry Tree is a couple of plastic Cherry trees in the middle of the room, the effect is bright and cheery and make the restaurant look very nice to sit in. Combined with the smart decor , nicely spaced tables and attentive staff, it is a nice place to be. The staff were polite and cheerful, I was very hopeful that I would have a positive experience here.

Our party enjoyed the food, it was tasty, though asking for additional gravy was a mistake, as it was added to bill (though there was no mention at the time, that there would be an additional charge).

Menus supplied, fancy and glossy things, again nicely presented.

Hmm though this is where things unfortunately took a turn for the worse.

1. a big faux pas, no obvious allergen list on the menu (apparently there was a disclaimer listed at the very bottom of the menu in tiny writing, but none of our party saw it.)
2. no notice of allergens used against any of the dishes.
3. when ordering, no mention that my dish (attached photo) had peanuts, one allergy that will definitely ruin my day. (The waitress announced later she asked the table if there were allergies, but none of our party heard any mention of it, if I had been warned there were peanuts I definitely would have reacted!) - 1 star lost

When the dish was brought out (this is a main course dish!) it I thankfully spotted that it had peanuts in, I noticed and asked the waitress for a replacement. The manager was summoned, the first thing he said (before I had chance to say anything) was not "Sorry" or "Our mistake", but spoke defensively "Our servers always ask the table for allergens". I was taken aback, it was not how I expected to be treated. - 2nd star lost

When we came to pay, I noticed that they had charged me for doubles rather than the singles 2 Gin & Tonics that our party had. I questioned this and the waitress insisted I had asked for doubles, though both myself and another guest both said at the time we had definitely asked for singles. This was "resolved" by the waitress just asking brusquely "Cash or card"? Right, so no acceptance of a possible mistake made then, the customer is not always right. - 3rd star lost.

I am saddened by this experience at the Cherry Tree, though I think there are some lessons to be learnt here by the organisation, particularly being pro-information on informing about allergens, costs of additional food items, etc. Perhaps also accepting that things do go wrong and when do, just be polite and say we screwed up sorry, what can we do to make it right. Sympathy and a quick sorry...

For the past 2 years, we’ve been trying to get to The Cherry Tree, but for numerous different reasons you didn’t get too. Until now. I’ve heard so many different amazing reports and read loads of reviews about The Cherry Tree and WOW it is exactly what we’ve read and heard and now I can see and be one of people who rave on about this restaurant. We visited The Cherry Tree for our anniversary, a special occasion and The Cherry Tree certainly didn’t disappoint at all. The 1st thing on entering The Cherry tree is their gorgeous décor, it’s very warm and inviting and straight away you know you’ve come to a very classy place. The staff were extremely friendly and always smiling & on a member of the staff shows us to our table all the staff member we passed all said hello, which might be a simple word but very heart warming. The Cherry Tree is a place YOU HAVE TO BOOK, otherwise you will very disappointed. It is kind of way in the middle of nowhere n Blackrod Bolton, so please book in advance. The reason I say this, is that when we booked there was an option asking it is was an occasion so I choose anniversary. On being seated we noticed their was a card on the table with our names on it..we opened it and they has congratulated us on our anniversary that explains exactly why as mentioned earlier this place is pure class. The menu is very good, you can either have a set menu or go from main menu, and theirs so much to choose you really are spoiled for choice. The meal was everything you have expected from The Cherry Tree, like I said once you enter this restaurant you know it’s going to perfect and it was just that. The meal was cooked to complete perfection – Al Dente as the Italians say. Even the presentation was brilliantly executed The staff came all the time to see if we were happy and it just makes the entire experience complete. Just when you think you’ve max out of the whole experience, even though we had dessert, The Cherry Tree then served a small heart-warming little dessert celebrating our anniversary and that just sums up how good and perfect The Cherry Tree is. Yes, The Cherry Tree is not cheap eats, but if you want a restaurant that is 100% perfect and exactly why they are named in the top 100 restaurants in UK, then you will have the ultimate experience from...