New Waggoners — Restaurant in Burnley

This place is a joke, the food is never fresh maybe besides the fish. The standard of quality for most dishes at this establishment is woeful, chefs who consistently get things wrong. Front of house staff who mess up orders and are clearly under a lot of stress from a deadbeat set of managers, some of which are very sly and dodgy people. The layout of the resturaunt is appalling, seriously a door that swings out from the kitchen that has hit many a customer and staff member alike. From walking past the kitchen I have heard some disgusting remarks from the managers which would come across as harassment. I will commend the portion sizes, for what you pay for you get a lot of food and some of the food is genuinely really good, the fish options are almost always spot on for example. Wait times are beyond inconsistent. The large room to the right when you enter is very depressing and bland, akin to a nursing home almost whilst the other room to the left when you enter is rather small but is quite cozy. The bar area is also not nice, a cramped section where people block each other's path whether it's a guest or worker. The outside patio is lovely on a summer's day when I'm out for a walk with the dog or a nice jog. The alcohol prices are quite egregious too. £5.20 for a lager? That would make sense in a bar in a city like Manchester, not in a pub that is barely considered in Burnley. The selection of moorhouses real ales are often times quite lovely but that's the only real positive I can give, the prices are too much for what they are. The service is sub-par too, the manager clearly hires a lot of inexperienced teenagers (some of which who don't even look old enough to legally work mind you) who aren't suited for the job whatsoever. As well as the lack of experience in the waiting on staff, some of the staff are simply too old to be doing what they are doing, a poor old man who clearly enjoys working there taking a very long time to deliver drinks to a table during busy hours. This old man has also said to a black man "you must be a basketball player" which can obviously be misconstrued. I also can see that these younger members of staff are quite burnt out, rather miserable looking or just sick of the job. Whether they're just miserable teenagers or are being treated unfairly who knows, but a lot of the younger ones seem to be fed up. I see them working on the floor, taking orders and waiting on tables, to delivering the food to the tables, to working behind the bar and even making coffees, surely this is a lot for young people who are likely already going through a lot with education. Lastly the location, obviously this can't be improved because they can't just pick up and relocate but it is a struggle to get to, practically in the middle of nowhere on a rather hectic road that joins up Burnley and Rossendale. If you're coming from Burnley then there are either better options in the town or another 10-15 minutes will take you into Rawtenstall which has some far superior options to dine out. Even if you are coming from Burnley if you go the other way up to Clitheroe you can find Calf's Head, where you will get the exact same stuff but with a better atmosphere, location and staff. I really hope some drastic changes happen to this place as I have also heard some frankly disgusting stuff about this establishment and some of the older workers...

Have passed this place numerous times but have never tried it. But on a very wet Tuesday lunch time decide to give it a try as the weather conditions were not good and didn’t fancy a long drive out to get a meal. Large car park to the side. Looked well maintained. Level entrance into the establishment so shouldn’t be an issues for those with mobility problems or using a wheelchair. Once inside we got a friendly welcome. We hadn’t booked but we were quickly shown to a table. The room was bright and the temperature nice and warm. It looked spotless. I noticed once a table had been vacated the staff were quick to clean and wipe it down. Unfortunately due to the weather the views weren’t very good but I’m sure on a summers day they are amazing. The menu is pretty extensive with a wide range of options. I’m sure most people would find something to their liking on it. Price wise you will find cheaper food out there but experience always seems to demonstrate that you get what you pay for. I went for the whale sized fish and chips and I asked to change my mushy peas to garden peas. My brother went for the regular sized fish and chips. We were asked if we had any allergies when presented with the menus. And when we ordered we were asked to confirm this again. Very professionally done by our server Linda. She was friendly, helpful and made us feel like valued customers. I noticed that all the staff seemed to interact well with their customers and they seemed friendly and prepared to do that little extra to help them enjoy their dining experience. Food took about 15 minutes or so to arrive. The whale sized fish was £1.45 more expensive than the ‘ moderate fish & chips’ but it was demonstrably bigger and worth the extra money. However, I think the ‘moderate fish & chips’ would be sufficient for most people. The food was piping hot. Chips were really nice. Large, fluffy and just cooked enough. A little less time in the fryer and they would have been underdone. Initially I didn’t thing the portion of chips looked that big but I was wrong on that. Fish was excellent. Plenty of white moist flesh and nice batter. We both enjoyed our meals. I did take a look at the dessert menu. Again loads of different choices but I decided against it as I was pretty full after my whale sized portion of fish. I just opted for a coffee. I got a cappuccino. Strong and hot. One of the best coffees I have had in a long time. So I was pretty impressed with our first visit here. It’s relatively close to where I live and they have an extensive menu so I will almost certainly visit again. Based on our experience here I would have no hesitation in recommending the New Waggoner to anyone looking for good service and decent food in nice...

Wonderful service and friendly staff. The food here is exceptionally good, couldn't fault a thing. Really lovely atmosphere and stunning views. Updating my review. I still love this place but my partner had a roast beef dinner and the roast potatoes had been precooked and reheated as they tasted so dry and almost powdery inside as a result, this is a problem with roast dinners at many establishments I find, plus the Yorkshire pudding was a little below par being flat and chewy, yet dry and crispy on places. I had the wild seabass which was lovely and the veg cooked to perfection. The starters were great and were thoroughly enjoyed. My Irish coffee was perfect 👌 and you'd be surprised how many places cannot make an Irish coffee these days. We had a slight issue with a family that came in with a baby, which was fine, however, several of the waiting staffs behaviour was quite unprofessional as about 3 or 4 of them were crowded around the family and baby, who were right next to our table, and chatting loudly and leisurely and packed in all right next to us and it was quite off-putting as a diner out for a quiet couple meal on a Tuesday early afternoon, meanwhile other customers needs were being ignored and things were quite noisy in that corner during this point. We love this place and the staff are generally very good but we found this off putting for our meal and unprofessional to witness for an establishment like the Waggoners which we view as being just a little cut above your average restaurant and a treat. £105 bill for a midweek treat for 2 is fine but I would expect better professionalism from certain staff for that price. Still a favourite place of ours and we will still be coming here just thought certain aspects were...