The Tardebigge — Restaurant in Bromsgrove

(Edit Feb 2023) So i am editing my previous 5 star review for The Tardebigge as unfortunately we've just experienced a really disappointing meal there. We have visited as a family on Valentines night before (me, my partner and our son) and have been many many other times for family meals and date nights and always been really impressed with the service and the quality of the food but unfortunately tonight has left us very dissatisfied and feeling a little sore at paying a £110 bill for a meal we didn't fully enjoy .

Firstly, the menu has been drastically reduced and there was not much choice at all which we were surprised at as at our last visit the menu had much more variety. Initial service was very slow despite us being there early eve and the restaurant almost empty. The waitress chose to serve a table who arrived after us first, seemingly because she knew the people, leaving us waiting a long time for drinks and to take our food order.

We had starters and mains; all the food was presented beautifully and looked great but unfortunately lacked in the flavour department. A lot seemed to not be seasoned well if at all and mine and OHs main meals were both very dry. Our son had halloumi fries to start and they were the only plate of food that we had no feedback on. The halloumi was crispy and light and the sauce complemented well with a nice little salad. Our starter was a sharing camembert and although the cheese was delicious and had good flavour, the HUGE chunks of bread served with it are way too big and awkward to properly enjoy the dish making it clumsy and there was only a small dish of chutney. For the price it would be nice to either have more chutney or two varieties provided and a more refined bread offer. For mains I had the pork duo and everything tasted overpoweringly of sage, and the pork belly and stuffing balls were all really dry. There was a dribble of gravy but needed a good drop more (although they were able to offer an allergy friendly gravy for me which is rare so they deserve some credit due there) OH had the cheeseburger and again was very dry, nowhere near enough sauce and the meat was dry and completely flavourless. Our sons main was the duck pizza and he seemed to enjoy that on the most part.

The waitress came over to ask if our food was ok before we'd had chance to swallow our first bite both with the starters and mains and then didn't come back at all until clearing our empty plates after quite a wait which was a little frustrating. The cocktail range is good and the drinks we had all tasted great. We skipped dessert as didnt want to further our dissapointment.

We are quite sad as this is one of our favourite restaurants and its a real shame that it now feels like an over priced mid range eatery where before we had considered it well above average and fantastic quality. Genuinely gutted that tonights experience didnt meet our expectations or live up to their usual high standards

We will probably give them another chance in the hopes that it was a one off, but it may be a while before we risk it.

(original review Sept 2022) Amazing food, helpful friendly staff and beautiful decor. We love this place for a date night or family meal out and recently booked their private room for an afternoon tea for my sisters hen and it was just...

Firstly this should be zero stars! We had a meal in here tonight, approximately 6pm. I ordered a beef roast, my husband a mixed grill and my two children ordered off the kids menu. I don't really know where to start....

I placed the order and it came to just under £37 with drinks. We waited around half an hour for the food to arrive and when one of my sons food arrived he literally had 5 chips on his plate. I politely asked if he could have some more and the waiter fetched some more in a little dish. Then my roast arrived and it was lamb with minted gravy. I apologised and said I had actually ordered beef. Again the waiter took my plate and immediately returned with 3 pieces of very obvious microwave beef. This beef was revolting looking and even had 'pipes' in it which was really really horrible. Honestly, on my plate nothing at all was freshly cooked, it was all either from frozen, tins and it was all just microwave slop. The mash was packet and the carrots from frozen. I've had more enjoyable supermarket birds eye roasts! The boys ate their food although the chips weren't even nice- how can you get chips wrong? The beefburger had absolutely nothing on it- just a relatively hard burger.

My husbands mixed grill was awful, the egg literally could bounce on the plate, the chips were awful, the piece of chicken had an awful artificial taste and also was obviously a defrosted frozen piece and I'm not sure what the sausage was, I feel these are pre cooked and microwaved. The only thing on the plate that had been freshly 'cooked' was the steak which as the quality was poor, tasted completely bland.

The quality of all this food was terrible. Its all pre cooked, out of packets or from frozen and this isn't acceptable for the price paid. I'm so disappointed and we left soon after we had eaten all we were going to and we have vowed we will never eat in there again.

Fayre and square need to review their food practices, this isn't what we take the family out for. The chef needs to be at a standard where s/he can cook this food fresh and the quality of the food products need to drastically improve.

I'd also like to add that my husband took the boys to the toilet and said they were absolutely filthy. Dirty tissues on the toilet and the sinks were extremely unsanitary. This isn't the first time the toilet facilities have been unclean.

The whole pub in general needs a good clean, I don't think there are designated cleaners and this shows in the fact that nobody seems to take pride in their workplace.

Years ago we loved eating in here and the food was fantastic but it slowly went downhill after going through what we think is a couple of management changes. We keep coming back because the pub itself has a lot of character and a nice atmosphere but unfortunately that is it for us now. There was also a sign saying due to staff training the kitchen would be closed from 7pm and I feel something has possibly been happening staff wise as a couple of weeks ago they weren't serving food at all. This pub is slowly being run into the ground and its a real shame. I'll take the kids to the wacky but we will never eat in here again.

All in all, take the kids to the wacky or have a beer but forget about eating here...

We recently tried the new menu and went for: 🍗 Hickory smoked BBQ chicken wings (GF) - £7.50

🥗 Chargrilled halloumi with chopped salad, cauliflower, radish, maple & balsamic vinaigrette & croutons (V, GFA) - £8.00

🥙Chicken shawarma with onions, peppers, flatbread, mint & coriander yoghurt & roasted tomato & chilli sauce - £14.50

🐟Roasted cod loin with dauphinoise potatoes, pancetta, peas, baby gem lettuce & white wine cream (GF) - £18.50

🍰DIY cheesecake with smashed Maltesers & salted caramel sauce - £7.50

The wings, halloumi salad, & shawarma were all recommended by Chloe, the lovely manager. She didn’t let us down with these recs!

The wings were a generous portion, consisting of the drummer and the flat! They were meaty & perfectly cooked, plus managed to be a little crispy whilst saucy at the same time.

The halloumi was OUTSTANDING! The chargrilled flavour was wonderful & went so well with the light salad accompaniments. The cauliflower was slightly pickled, but still had bite & it cut through that smoky crust on the cheese with perfection. This dish is available as a main, so Stacey is already planning on having that option on our next visit.

The mains were just as splendid as the starters. The shawarma was a little tricky to eat wrapped up in the bread as the chicken chunks where large, but this is what made it so succulent. We did wonder if the flatbread was made in house. The cod loin was perfectly flaky and the potatoes were seasoned to perfection; not too rich either.

We didn’t think we’d manage a cheesecake between us after such a sumptuous repast, but it was a delicate delight. The DIY element is fantastic & such a great way to ensure customers get what they truly fancy.

This hidden gem doesn’t just serve fantastic food…the building is stunning, the staff are caring, the bar is welcoming, plus they do cocktails & have weekly live music! We don’t think the gem will be hidden for...