Curzon - Woodhouse Eaves — Restaurant in Charnwood

A charming, dog-friendly pub in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside with great outdoor seating areas and cosy, indoor tables that make for a welcoming atmosphere, clearly much-favoured by the local populace.

However......things didn't get off to a good start when the moment we sat down, the waitress reeled off a list of things they hadn't got, which by the time we were ready to order, had grown forcing a quick rethink. I opted for the "Spring minestrone" which was certainly packed with an assortment of veg (which was very tasty) and served with two slices of bread and some butter, or at least that was the intention as someone had the brilliant idea of putting it all under the heat lamps which unsurprisingly, caused the butter to melt and the bread to dry out. But chef still sent it out anyway.

Next up was one of the few-remaining pies. These are bought in from elsewhere and the one I had (beef and ale) was very nice and the perfect size for an individual portion. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it all as the minestrone had filled me up! I chose the "triple-cooked chips" as an accompaniment - I would have been perfectly happy with them being "once cooked" as what arrived bore scant resemblance to the finished product that Heston Blumanthal envisaged when he first introduced them onto the culinary scene in 1995.

"Would you like to see the desserts menu?" we were asked. "Erm...is there anything left on it?" I replied, "There's no custard". Good job I went for the ice cream then.

The drinks menu, unlike the food menu, is extensive with a small selection of cocktails/mocktails included, so I suppose you could always get sloshed working your way through that lot when the food runs out.

Our waitress was attentive, without being intrusive throughout which is always a good sign and I did feel sorry for her as I could hear her informing other diners of the growing list of what they hadn't got.

Overall we left feeling underwhelmed and sadly, are unlikely to return, much to the delight of the owner probably (Pair of Moaning Minnies, good riddance) as the atmosphere, decor and location all work...

Came last night having had a reservation booked for 2 months. Having checked the menu out months ago, I had already decided what I was going to have (beef Wellington) and which wine.

As soon as we sat down I was told “it’s been a busy day and there is no beef Wellington”(Nooooooo! That was the main reason we had booked to come here) or lamb shank. Decided to have the squid starter and then beef pie with tripled cooked chips. Few moments later the waiter came back to tell me they had run out of chips!!! But I could have fries or mash? So had the fries.

The squid and pie were lovely as was the barbera wine we had with it, the pie was meant to come with spring vegetables which was just green beans when it turned up, but then a few moments later a bowl of carrots where brought out (not sure if this was an after thought or not!)

When it came to ordering desert we ordered the cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding. Several moments later, yep, sorry we have no cheese cake so decided not to bother, but others decided to have the crumble. then a few more moments later, sorry no sticky toffee pudding!!! So we ordered the brownie ( we are given a free extra brownie to make up for the latest disappointment )

Deserts were nice and so was the food, but the experience was very disappointing, I appreciate these days you can’t keep big stocks of everything and it’s difficult to plan if it’s going to be busy or not, but it seemed everything we wanted just wasn’t available. Speaking with the waiter they said when you book to mention what you want so they can put it aside for you. Wish it had said this on the website or on the online menu as we would have done this. Thought my experience was a one off but looking at other reviews it seems that this is not the case.

So if you do come here, make sure you say what you plan to have before hand, so they can put some aside for you. Hopefully, the owners read this and put some sort of note on the website to avoid others having the same disappointment...

Sadly to say, after coming here for years, twice a year as not local to me, my meal last Friday was quite simply atrocious! I opted for the Festive menue - big mistake! The turkey was completely over cooked & very hard to cut. The Brussels shot across the table as they were raw! ( I hate over cooked veg but al dente this was not!There were 3 items missing from the menu description: NO carrots, roast potatoes nor pigs in blankets? You may think that I am making this up - I am most certainly NOT! My meal price of £32.50 was removed from the bill for obvious reasons. The waitresses, not her fault, was apologetic & advised that she had told the chef & the General Manager (she called him the GM so I ASSUME this is whom she meant?) This "GM" never came to our table to apologise or to acknowledge my disappointment BUT he did pass our table twice & would have seen that my plate was still 90% full but my knife & fork were closed together on my plate, showing that I had finished & could not eat this dreadful food. I did advise the waitress that her "GM" had not had the decency to speak to me. She responded by advising that he had now "gone out!" He happened to be the very same " aloof" man that served us upon entry. We asked to have a drink at the bar first & look at the menu. The menus never arrived. I was told that the Festive Menu should have been pre ordered but I advised the waitress that it did not state this on line. I had, however, put in the "on line" request box that it would be the Festive Menu that we wanted. So, after years of frequenting the Curzon Arms we will, sadly, no longer be booking again! Such a shame! The GM & chef need to get their acts together! There was a table of 4 ladies behind us who also had a complaint! Nice new £150,000 re fit but shame ref...