Blackshale Bar & Kitchen - Beeston — Restaurant in Broxtowe

There were four of us meeting for a going away dinner for me last night and we all wanted to try the Black Shale as it is local and had good reviews. They've done a really good job renovating the pub and we could imagine that it must be lovely in summer in the outdoor area. Indoors was lovely too, warm and inviting. We were welcomed by a friendly bartender and made our way through the bar (private function in there) to our first server who was friendly and professional. We ordered the garlic mushrooms, whipped goats cheese, olives and bread, and hummus w pita to share. We asked for some extra bread because the goats cheese didn't have anything to dip into it, which was a shame as it was delicious and we ended up using our spoons to finish it because the extra bread didn't come. The starters were nice except for the hummus which was bland. Personally I prefer hummus to be made traditionally anyway because why fix what's not broke, but if you are going to mess with at least make it tasty. We all thought the same. For mains two of our party had the venison which was cooked to perfection. Lovely crust on outside and pink inside. The fondant potato could have been a bit more in volume and lushness but the meal was enjoyed by both people. One of us had the chicken ballotine which he said was "OK". Nothing outstanding but nice enough. Unfortunately for me, I chose the sea bass. The fish itself was cooked perfectly so no complaints there but it was served on top of what I can only describe as a travesty of a risotto!! What I received was a bland and gloopy portion of rice so overcooked that I couldn't even tell if it was arborio -all the grains were disintegrated. I don't think it was made with stock or wine, and certainly no parmesan. We all had a try so it's not just me being fussy. As one of us said they'd have been better off serving the fish with some nicely steamed rice - at least it would have been edible. As it was I was left hungry as there was only the fish a couple of pieces of kale. Oddly, they also had decided to plonk some of what looked like leftover Garlic mushrooms from the entree on top, which would have made the crispy skin soggy had I not taken them off. I was was happy to eat them in the end, but they weren't supposed to be there. We were given dessert menu but we decided against ordering as we thought it would have taken too long to be served. Not faulting at all either of our two servers. They were great and doing the best they could with a full dining room (100 ppl?). They both looked very stressed, poor things, but always remained professional and helpful. We all felt that a couple of more staff members would have helped us enjoy the Black Shale experience a lot more. I hope this isn't the norm and management usually has enough staff for big nights...

This is a favourite place for us to go to as a family and I've introduced many friends as well. My husband and son ALWAYS enjoy the beer offered and the wines are lovely. However, since they first opened, our experience with the food has been completely hit and miss!!! Why for example do they think having a really bad paper copy (often dirty, badly printed, pages missing) menu be acceptable to present on a clipboard of relatively expensive gastopub quaily Fare? Consistency seems very much to be missing here in our experience. For example, when I went with a friend 16/7 the summer menu offered chicken kiev (my favourite) served on a potato ring bed with asperagus5+☆. Absolutely beautifully presented, tender chicken, perfectly delicate veg, and topped with a lovely mushroom sauce. My friend had the tuna nisoise which was perfectly cooked 4☆. I loved it so much, I talked hubby into treating us to lunch 22/7 & ordered exact same. While mine was ok, hubby's tuna was so dry/overcooked and salad drowned in dressing 2☆. We understood however that maybe it was to do with it it being a Monday afternoon? Last week 7/8 they knocked it out of the park!!!!!5+☆ sublime!!! Beautifully presented, crispy tender Kiev, perfectly grilled courgettes, delicate potato stack and perfectly spiced with an absolutelygorgeousmushroom sauce (Really wished I'd taken a picture)!!! A dish to want to rush back too. Here in lies my concern with the blackshale lacking in consistency regarding food prep/presentation/quality. Today (thurs 15th Aug 24), despite the pub being virtually empty (3 tables max) the food took a really long time to come (at least 40 min). The Onion rings were greasy, burgers ok (both son/hubby seemed to liked). OMG the Kiev was totally unacceptable!! First l, presentation: each time I've had this its been as a stack but today potato ring mushy spread out all over plate, courgettes were cold, mushroom sauce not on top but scooped to the side! Then Taste so salty, sauce seemed greasy in texture!!! Couldn't eat it 2☆ Nb people must get notice of how ridiculously hot the plates are too. NOTE: Maybe there is a huge difference between the skills of the day and evening kitchen staff? People need to know that, There however is no difference between menu or cost. This is a lovely 5☆ pub with great atmosphere/cosy comfort and great music, however seems to struggle with consistency...

We came for Sunday lunch yesterday and whilst the actual roast itself was absolutely delicious, the service was a big let down which was a shame. We’re local and brought my parents for the first time after a long day at the half marathon, so we were very much looking forward to it, and were very hungry! We had also never been before ourselves, for food, but had heard good things. We arrived a little after 3:30 having rang to say we were running a few minutes late and got off to a good start. The staff were understanding, we got our drinks quickly, and we ordered food within ten minutes. But then we were waiting for an hour before our food came out, and we’d only ordered 4x roasts. We chased it once asking how long it would be, but the waitress didn’t come back to tell us, so we had to ask again. There were then bits from our roasts missing (crackling with the pork, and griddled apple) so we chased this and they came out on a separate plate. Again, the roast itself was delicious and piping hot, and the chap running the food was a delight. He also came back to check we had everything we needed after we’d chased the crackling etc. which we appreciated. Once our plates were cleared away, we had to go up to the bar to ask for a dessert menu, and then had to go back to the bar to actually order because no one came over. We received the coffees and asked for sugar, but the waitress never came back, so we had to chase that as well, and also teaspoons. The dessert itself was yummy (profiterole sundae), but it only had two profiteroles hidden at the bottom! When we finally asked for the bill, no one came to take payment so we ended up paying at the bar on the way out. So all in all… a lot of chasing and a lot of waiting. We didn’t have one dedicated server which we understood because it was obviously busy, but there was clearly a lack of communication between the staff and, honestly, urgency. The manager, although very pleasant, told us on the way out that they’d accepted a walk-in table of ten whilst also saying how busy it was… so we felt they should have turned away the table of ten because it slowed down service, and when you book in advance, this feels a little unfair. We would like to come back because the food was good and we want to support local businesses, but only if the service is much...