The Beekeeper — Restaurant in Broxtowe

Well! Bravo! Encore! I must say, rarely in the history of human disappointment has so little been done by so many with such monumental indifference. You’ve taken what should have been a joyful occasion and turned it into a glorified hostage situation featuring sponge.

Let’s start with the brief, shall we? A birthday cake. With ten candles. Ten. Not one. Not “roughly a handful.” Not “a sprinkling of whimsy.” TEN. It’s not a riddle. It’s not a philosophical question. It’s a number. A nice round one, beloved by mathematicians, party planners, and wait for it…PEOPLE SERVERS or whatever you wish to be called these days.

And what did we receive? A cake, yes. In the same way a traffic cone could be called “a chair if you’re brave enough.” And instead of the requested candles those delightful little fire hazards that represent joy, love, and knowing how to count, we got what I can only describe as an existential crisis with icing.

And then came the pièce de résistance your customer service philosophy in its full, tragic glory. Out slouches your staff member, dragging the cake behind them like it owed them money, and utters the immortal phrase: “Will this do?”

WILL THIS DO?! What is this an amateur performance of Waiting for Godot? A hostage negotiation with carbohydrates? I half expected them to follow it with “Or would you prefer a punch in the face and a complimentary napkin?”

Let’s test this logic in other professions, shall we? “Here’s half your wedding cake, madam. We thought the other half was a bit much.” “I’ve transplanted one lung. Try not to run.” “Welcome aboard this half-finished bridge. Mind the plummet.” WILL. THIS. DO?! No. No it sodding well won’t.

This was for a mentally challenged adult who deserved dignity, joy, and a full set of candles, not a half-baked existential metaphor. What you delivered wasn’t a celebration. It was a dessert-based cry for help.

You’ve taken customer service which, in the old days, meant giving a single, solitary toss and replaced it with the sort of vapid, be kind but don’t-care drivel (Gen Z nonsense) that makes one nostalgic for a Victorian workhouse. Honestly, I’ve seen more initiative in a dead goldfish.

And your team! Oh, the verve, the spirit, the stunning ability to make Kevin and Perry look like keynote speakers at a leadership summit. I’ve seen more enthusiasm from a spoon.

I do hope, one day, you experience the same level of service. Perhaps on your wedding day, you’ll be presented with half a cake, one flip-flop, and a kazoo solo performed by a man with no lips. And someone will look you dead in the eye and say, “Will this do?”

Because it won’t. It really won’t. And...

We, a family of four, went to Beekeeper for dinner once a few months ago. Both food and staff were fine, so we decided to go there again today.

We arrived at around 4:45pm. When I approached the till, the staff member, dressed in a red shirt, did not look at me. She clearly saw me and knew I was there to place an order. She then mumbled “what do you want?” as she turned her back to me and headed to the kitchen.

I waited for her to return, and when she did, I placed our order. I then offered a £50 note as payment, and she stated “We are not allowed to take that. It’s our policy”. Nowhere is it clearly displayed at the bar till, on the restaurant website or menu, that this policy exists.

The restaurant has every right to decide their payment terms, and the tender they accept, but her manner of communication was overall unpleasant. She offered no alternative and immediately stepped away from the till to serve another customer waiting at the bar.

We remained in the restaurant for a few more minutes longer, just to observe if she was at least consistent in her rudeness, out of curiosity. Nope, she smiled at the lady after me, and also had a good laugh with some other customers.

I may not be a frequent and local customer, but I was very courteous the whole time when I spoke with her. Not sure why I deserved this nasty attitude.

As we walked out from the restaurant area and through the bar/games area to the exit, four men were openly vaping indoors. Given the “family friendly” environment promoted by The Beekeeper, and the children present throughout the establishment, it would seem natural to enforce the smoking ban introduced on 1 July 2007.

Strongly discourage families with concerns for children or family members with sensitivity to toxic second hand fumes from cigarettes or vapes to avoid.

My family and I are still fairly new to the area, as we relocated just last year. We do not recommend the unwelcoming Beekeeper, and will not...

Hi, here is my explanation for the poor rating, since you asked.

We came for food and ordered using the Greene King app. Despite putting our orders in at almost exactly the same time our food came with big gaps in between. It seemed like the place was understaffed because when we went to the bar there was nobody there.

I ordered a side of onion rings with my meal and they didn't show up. I had finished my meal (beef and ale pie) before anyone came back to the table and when I told her my onion rings hasn't come she ran off and quickly returned with them. They were already cold and also weren't fully cooked - the outside was soggy and the batter was still raw where it touched the onion.

My sister ordered a chicken and pasta dish (I can't remember the name of it) and the pasta portion was without sauce.

Where preferences were chosen on menu items in the app they were not reflected when the items were delivered to the table, for example I chose an option for lime flavour in a pepsi or coke (can't remember which) and it came without.

They never came back to check if the food was ok, hence why I didn't get to query the onion rings until I'd finished eating. Perhaps there were not enough employees on to cover the number of customers.

The reason I gave a two star review is the combination of poor service and poor food. It's not a one star because some of what we had was quite nice, but overall I'd say it was like a Wetherspoon's but with worse food and service but slightly...