The White Hart — Restaurant in Castle Point

This a review for order 421106 on table 17 on Sunday 5th May.

Arrived at the venue and stood by the till/cutlery drawer for a good ten minutes before I stopped one of the many staff members walking past us to ask if we could get a table for four, or if we needed to book online or anything like that. We we're directed to a table and the server walked off. No one came back to take drinks or food orders so after a further twenty minutes, placed the order via the online menu QR code thing.

We had young children with us and specified that their meals should come out "asap" and we would eat whenever they came out. We sat patiently and then someone from the kitchen came out and slammed down the cutlery for our food and left without a word.

A further 35 minutes passed and our drinks arrived, our starters arrived a minute or two after; cheesy garlic bread, BBQ chicken wings and chipotle bites. These were placed in the middle of the table and again the server left without a word. So because there were no plates provided, we used serviettes to get the children started while we waited for their food.

Another 10 minutes pass and I finally manage to grab the attention of a server and explain it's not really acceptable, we asked for the children's food first, and we haven't even got plates to eat from. Admittedly she was courteous and offered us a round of drinks, provided us with plates and apologised for lack of childrens food and off she went.

The childrens food came out, eventually and the chicken burger was like a slice of leather, the cheese and tomato pizza wasn't cooked through so dough was still wet in the centre.

Fast forward another twenty minutes and the adult mains finally arrived, the children had eaten a few mouthfuls of theirs before pushing their plates away, so now we have two hangry children with nothing to eat.

Not one single server came over and asked if our food was ok. Truly a disappointing service for what should have been an enjoyable family meal.

The tldr of it all, So little service it was self service. Food - poor to bad. An hour and a half to leave with empty stomachs. No refund mechanism on the online menu. So a truly marvelous, well spent, £55.

In case it wasn't clear from the above. We won't be returning...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at the white hart and was thoroughly impressed by the exceptional service provided by our waitress, Lisa. From the moment we were seated, it was evident that Lisa possessed a genuine passion for hospitality and a keen eye for detail.Her welcoming demeanor immediately set a positive tone for the evening. She approached our table with a warm smile and an upbeat attitude, making us feel right at home. Throughout the game she demonstrated an impressive knowledge of the menu, offering insightful recommendations that perfectly matched our preferences.What truly stood out was her attentiveness. Despite the restaurant being quite busy, particularly with the excitement of the Euro match, Lisa never missed a beat. She ensured our drinks were promptly refilled and our courses arrived in a timely manner, all while maintaining a pleasant and engaging conversation.Her ability to manage multiple tables with such efficiency and grace was remarkable. Even as the game intensified and the atmosphere became more lively, she remained calm and composed, delivering an experience that was both seamless and enjoyable.Moreover, Lisa’s 's enthusiasm for the England match added to the vibrant atmosphere. She struck the perfect balance between professionalism and camaraderie, joining in the collective excitement while ensuring that every guest's needs were met.In conclusion, Lisa made our dining experience at the white hart truly memorable. Her exceptional service, combined with her friendly and attentive nature, exemplifies the high standards of this establishment. I would highly recommend requesting her when you visit – she is a credit to the restaurant and undoubtedly a key reason why we'll be returning...

The pub was really busy and extremely noisy with a couple of very large groups in. You had to shout to be heard. When we arrived, we were not guided to a table - it is more of a find where you are sitting kind of arrangement as we were told to go to the back of the pub and look for our name on a table. We were squashed in right next to the kitchen door and the toilets. We ordered using the app and had to wait 30 minutes for our drinks and 50 minutes for our starters to arrive. We felt very rushed as no sooner as we put our knives and forks down, the main course arrived. The starters were ok but if presented a little roughly. One of my breaded mushrooms was in the mayonnaise pot when it arrived at the table. The main meal was overcooked or had been sitting under a heat lamp for a while. My medium rare steak was dry and well done and I only ate half of my meal. As we were eating our main course the karaoke was setting up just behind us so as soon as we had finished eating, we left. This is a nice pub but it clearly could not cope with the volume of people. On the website it gives the impression this is a restaurant / pub but the experience we had was it was definitely a pub with a restaurant as an "extra". This was meant to be a special & rare "date night" treat but we did not really...