The Golden Fleece — Restaurant in Calderdale

We came here for a mother's day meal. We had booked a table and were given 2 hours which is normally plenty of time. When we arrived our table wasn't ready which was fine but we did have to wait 15/20 mins. They didn't have any highchairs which is strange as mothers are likely to have young children, they suggested using a car seat, which wouldn't work because we have an isofix 360°. They didn't have a children's menu but gave use three options with very little information, we went for chicken nuggets, this came with peas which my daughter hates and I would've asked for no peas if I had known, the chicken nuggets were beer battered so she didn't eat them any way, and the fries were just plain frozen fries. My pizza was very average and bland and all the soft drinks were obviously cheap syrup boxes and were flat. Most of the food came out very slowly, my sister had to start her meal because it came out barley warm and by the time my pizza came out she had nearly finished. They had run out of all sauces mayo, BBQ, no sweet chilli - we asked what the did gave and the waiter couldn't remember so we did have any. The service was very slow and before we could finish our desserts we asked for the bill and the waiter was telling us our time was up and the next table was there, we did explain that we got the table late and weren't being slow, we could only go as fast as they served us. He was once again rude to my mum who then told him all the problems we had and he just shrugged his shoulders...

A very disappointing dining experience at this place, from the moment we walked in, we were jumped upon, directed to a table that wasn’t ready, asking for drinks before we even took our coats off and sat down!

The food was good, but limited menu choice. The atmosphere, felt like a place for the elderly. The table arrangements (Feng shui) were very very strange (we were placed in the bar area), no flow to the place! The service, a complete lack of professionalism, you didn’t seem to have one waiter looking after you, but everyone was attending with mismatch information (when asked about certain things), you ask for condiments, they are literally plonked on the table instead of serving them politely from the right! It felt like we were really rushed. We asked for the bill, didn’t come, so we went and asked for it, it arrived and we waited for almost 15 minutes to pay only to be told that they need the table!! Seriously! The music, again this just shows the genre of the place, 60’s music whilst dining?? Very unsuitable not matter who you are!

A shame really, as the food picks up the points, but I certainly won’t be...

A double birthday and special family occasion was made all the more special with another return visit to the Fleece with their awesome "Italian" tapas evening. If 6 stars 🌟 was an option, we'd tick it because between the seven of us we sampled every dish on the menu and wow, what a menu. Every single dish was superbly thought through with each element perfectly balanced and portioned to become a very moreish selection to choose from. My partner and I even opted for an extra dish to share at the end instead of a desert, so exquisite was the food. This is no pub grub, nor even gastro pub food. This would not have been out of place a t Michelen starred restaurant and put every Italian meal eaten outside of Italy to shame. The staff were perfectly attentive and friendly making the 3 hours we all spent there fly by and made our evening so special. The only disappointment is that they could not confirm when next they'd be putting on this gastro extravaganza. Rest assured however, we'll be retuning the hour journey once more, no doubt salivating...