Skew Restaurant & Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in East Hertfordshire

Just returned from an evening at Skew in Bishop's Stortford and had rather mixed feelings about the experience.

The positives first - the restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful with a lovely atmosphere and stylish décor. The menu offers a great selection of dishes, and the staff were genuinely friendly and pleasant throughout our visit.

Unfortunately, the service was disappointingly slow, despite the restaurant not being particularly busy. We had to request water twice before it finally arrived, and there was a noticeable delay with the beer while the Prosecco appeared almost instantly.

The starters were excellent overall, though the hummus portion was disproportionately small compared to the bread served alongside it and somewhat bland in flavour.

A small point of contention - the menu describes "hand-cut chips" but what arrived were clearly oven-style home chips. A bit misleading, that.

For dessert, the baklava was absolutely delicious, but I was thoroughly disappointed with the sticky toffee pudding. Having enjoyed this classic dessert around the world, I was surprised to receive something that bore little resemblance to a proper sticky toffee. There was no discernible date flavour, and the texture was extraordinarily dry and hard - more like a plain sponge coated in cocoa powder. Not at all what one expects from this beloved pudding.

As someone who works in hospitality, I understand the inclusion of a service charge, but given the slow and inconsistent service we experienced, it felt somewhat unjustified on this occasion

Additionally, another table of rather rowdy diners, bad languages and were already merry. Not great for this type of restaurant.

A lovely venue with potential, but several areas need improvement if...

I do not ever leave reviews, and as one of my favourite places to dine in my home town which i go to multiple times a month it seems a little strange; however i felt impelled to want to leave a review as Okan our waiter, who has served us on so many occasions i can not account for, really has made our evenings so enjoyable with his attentive, polite, professional and personal persona. I wanted to ensure he was acknowledged.

As for the restaurant.... the ambience is always amazing. The quality of the food is great, from the produce to chefs' precision cooking mastery. It is always fabulous and always consistent.

Thank you, Ali, for creating this amazingl high-end eatlery experience, which can be enjoyed inside in the beautiful setting you have created, to the stunning alfresco conservatory dining with river veiws, to the outside relaxed river terrace. All of which I have personally enjoyed for the past 7 years.

If you have not experienced this restaurant, then i would highly recommend whether it is a business lunch, a date, a girls' evening, a special event, a solo dinner, causal drink on the river in the sunshine, or just because...... You won't be disappointed.

One last mention to one of my most memorable and incredible staff who use to work there called 'Sherif'. He was always phenomenal and will never be forgotten.

Okan, you are great. A restaurant relies on quality food and impecible service. You have made a lovely evening perfect on multiple occasions when you have been there, so thank you!

Ali, we have missed your presence and hope...

I don’t usually leave reviews, but unfortunately the service at the end of our visit left us with a very negative impression.

This was our first time dining here, and we had travelled quite a distance on a friend’s recommendation. It was also a special occasion- our first wedding anniversary, which I mentioned when booking, along with the fact that my wife has a serious nut allergy on dietary requirements.

From the start, everything seemed perfect. The staff were warm and welcoming, the atmosphere was lovely, and the food was excellent. At the end of the meal, the waiter even surprised us with a dessert plate decorated with “congratulations,” which I thought was a very thoughtful and romantic touch.

However, when we asked if the dessert contained nuts, we were told that it did. This immediately caused panic for my wife, and sadly it spoiled what had been a wonderful evening up until then. I take responsibility for ensuring my wife feels safe when dining out, and after I had clearly informed the restaurant of her allergy, this mistake left her shaken and me apologising and reassuring her for the rest of the evening.

Details like this matter enormously. A moment that should have been a highlight instead overshadowed our experience. Instead of remembering the evening fondly, we’re left feeling we cannot trust or recommend this restaurant, and sadly...