The Cricketers — Restaurant in Elmbridge

First of all I have to say that i've never written a review of a bar/restaurant like this as I feel that they are only written out of bad experiences - i never really take note of them and try to make these decisions for myself.

But.......

I however somehow feel compelled to write about my experiences for two reasons: You know what you are letting yourself in for when you choose The Cricketers for a night out. The management at The Cricketers might look at this and act upon it - but only if they want to change the direction that this establishment is going.

We had heard there was new management so thought that we'd give it a try.

We booked a table for a saturday night and was warned that there would be live music, and when we arrived there was a dj area set-up and lights. The restaurant was 1/4 full which doesn't help for atmosphere - but hey! For an empty restaurant our table was cramped into a corner and it was cold inside. I kept my jacket on the whole night.

The menu arrived and the specials were explained to us by a very cheery waitress. The choice of food is good but the menu is confusing with three different menu's in one wooden binder. Lunch, Sunday and main (if my memory serves me correct!?) It was also very 'well priced' - to memory a sharing platter was around £17 and some individuals starters were £10 and mains went up to £16. Now in this area of Surrey these are solid prices for food, most pubs restaurants are similarly priced - and for good reason. Expectations are high.

One thing we did notice that the 'specials' were all in the lunch menu.

The food arrived and in general was good - my wife had made a wrong choice with the sardinian mille feuille (which she had two mouthfuls of) but my braised beef was tasty and the other dished looked good. - Did they reflect the price, honestly no.

We had an average desert (nice ice cream) and then at around 10pm the DJ - who had by now slowly increased the volume of the music to the point of us having to shout, turned all the lights off in the restaurant and turned on his disco lights - no-one was left in the eating area and the restaurant was turned into a 'night-club' - The lasting impression of the meal was drinking a coffee with flashing lights shouting over 'gangnam style'

We quickly left the restaurant and headed for the bar area to have a few more drinks - the bar area was now full of 21 to 25's most of them were angioplasty there to dance and drink the night away (nothing wrong with that if you are between 21 to 25!)

The bill came to £260 for 4 of us.

Now when you consider the demographic of the area and the wealth of the average person that would go to the cricketers on a night out they are aiming this venue to the wrong clientele. I doubt the bar bill for those 21 to 25 yr olds came to £60 per head.

By contrast this weekend I have just had a meal at 'The Old Plough' in Stoke D'Abernon. - 6 of us had a three course meal which was far superior in every way and the total bill was £240.00 (including tip) £20 less with two extra people!!

If you are looking to go out for the evening make sure you know what to expect

If you are reading this and run the cricketers - go the The Old Plough in Stoke D'Abernon (not 'The Plough' in Cobham) and use this as your benchmark

Finally on a personal note, even though the cocktail list was extensive (but i imagine pointless) £9 for a cocktail in surrey...

This was once a great pub but I will not be returning again! Such a shame! I've been back in the area recently and thought this a good place to meet up with family. I've given it three chances over about six months. First visit was lunch time during the week. I went to buy a round of drinks and was left standing while the staff (plural) had better things to do than serve anyone. When eventually I, and few others waiting, were served the attitude was unfriendly, We didn't stay for another drink as we could drive to another pub quicker, so we did! Second visit was on a Saturday evening. The place was virtually empty. We were served in reasonable time but the place lacked any atmosphere. We were pushed to have a meal and they looked hurt when we declined! This in a place that used to be standing room only, year round, any night of the week! My last visit was the final straw. I went with my wife and kids and my parents for an afternoon drink on Good Friday. The place was busy, but not overly so, We were able to find a table for six easily, My wife disappeared to the bar to buy the drinks for us all, shortly after I followed her. Whilst waiting I noted that they were out of all but one beer, they had no crisps left and were running low on other items requested (this at the start of the holiday weekend!). I also watched food being carried out to those in the garden reducing in quantity as it was tipped over the floor. After 'TWENTY' minutes, and having been ignored for long enough as latecomers were served (anyone who has worked in a bar knows the importance of keeping tabs on who is waiting) we all got back in our cars and drove to a pub where we were served immediately and enjoyed a choice of drinks and snacks in a friendly environment for a relaxed afternoon. If you value your time (and a choice of beers etc) AVOID this place, there are plenty of good, friendly pubs locally who are grateful for...

For an A La Carte advertised and recommended venue, today was an absolute disappointment and embarrassment for us because we had 7 other guests with us, 3 of whom were far too polite to leave their food untouched. The steak people all enjoyed their steaks, perfectly cooked and all accompaniments were tasty and well prepared. However, the specials were as follows: roast beef, pork or chicken & steak and ale pie. 3 of our group had roast pork, 2 had steak & ale pie. The roast pork with crackling was not a roast, it was a boneless seared thick pork chop with soft skin, badly cooked & absolutely tasteless and the whole plate was liberally smothered in red cabbage, pretty much covering the remainder vegetables. On asking whether what I was served was roast pork with crackling, the hostess noted it was a 'small rack of pork' & arrived back with a plate of pork scratching strips which looked & tasted like they were sourced from a packet behind the bar! I felt I needed to keep apologising to our guests who were far too polite. To summarise, The pie was bland and non-descript and the roast pork with non-Crackling was plain cardboard. The pistachio soufflé however was the best ever tasted and the hostess tried her best but was not in control of what came out of the kitchen. As stated before, for an A La Carte venue, your chef should know how to prepare, cook & present a plate of roast pork & I would suggest the chef try tasting sessions prior to producing day specials food like we experienced today. Needless to say we shall not be returning to the Cricketers alone or with guests in toe. Additionally, the people who recommended you are mortified because they have previously sampled both A La Carte and also Sunday roasts. Disappointing end to our groups day of...