Brocklehurst Arms — Restaurant in England

I've always been to the Brock, as it's always been my favourite...however...It seems to be going down hill rapidly! We've just gotten home, and it's safe to say that we won't be going back again. The only place we could sit had a really uneven floor, so everyone's chairs kept bobbling about. The garlic bread we ordered as a starter was completely burnt on one side. The cups that had our drinks in stunk. Then the forks and knives came. I had to clean them myself as EVERY one had food and residue on. That alone put our 9 year old off. We waited over an hour for our food, while everyone else, who had ordered well after us, was served theirs. With a 3 and a 9 year old, it was bloody hard work to keep them entertained for so long, and they kept moaning how hungry they were. As were other children there. Finally, over an hour after waiting and asking how much longer it will be, TWICE (we kept being told it was being plated up, which clearly wasn't the case), it arrived. The adults were served before the children. I had 2 long, thick, black hairs in my pasta, underneath the garlic bread, which was badly burnt yet again. Obviously I couldn't eat it. My Husband's burger was burnt to a crisp, he tried to eat it but couldn't. Both 'cheese' burgers had a dot of cheese on. And all the chips were rock hard, as if they'd just come out of a freezer, and half of them looked as if they'd been nibbled. 2 hours later we got the manager. While we are glad that we got most of our money back, and free deserts for the children, I'm still extremely disappointed. It was suppose to be a family meal my Husband was treating us to for Valentine's Day. The children were very worked up by the end, and all of us hungry. It definitely spoiled our night. I have no idea how this restaurant has a 5* hygiene rating. Most people will be thinking I'm just being fussy and going over the top, but I'm not. If it had just been one thing, or even 2, I wouldn't of minded. But it was just one thing after another, after another, after another. Like I said, it used to be my favourite place to eat out, but my opinion has completely changed after tonight. We definitely won't be going back again...

I last visited the Brocklehurst arms on a Saturday night prior to its recent renovations, on this previous visit I found the pub soulless, unwelcoming with a dull atmosphere. I returned for the first time last night and was amazed by the changes. The recent renovations have given the pub lots of character with various sitting areas, thought has been taken to position TV, s around the bar area so you can find various areas to tuck yourself away and enjoy the sports. The pub had a few well behaved dogs which were clearly welcome and made a fuss of by staff. (It seems Greene king pubs have a welcoming policy for dogs which I applaud) The pub had a buzz about it with rugby on earlier in the evening then a singer later in the evening in the bar area who was excellent. Even though the singer was on my friend and I still found a quiet area to catch up and chat the night away. The beer was lovely as for price I didn't find it more expensive than others pubs of its type. Finally the staff were all outgoing and friendly and need to congratulated on the friendly atmosphere that ultimately they create. Thanks, I will return. I hope this review gets other customers to come and try it again to see for themselves the changes if they had been put off by the Brocks previous lack...

Update - after leaving a poor review, I was contacted by the manager and we were asked if we'd like to return and try again at their expense. We took them up on this today and our experience has been completely different. We've enjoyed a delicious, hot meal and polite, friendly service. Thank you Tracy for inviting us back. We will now be returning in the future. 😊 We thought we'd pop out for a quick lunch and given all the hype around the refurb, we thought we'd give it a go. We waited a fair time for our food - fish and chips and a cheese burger and chips. When it came, it was all cold. Staff apologised and took it away. After another wait, our second attempt arrived. This time the chips were hot but the rest we can only say was warmer. There was no cheese on my cheese burger. When a member of staff asked if all was OK, we explained. We were told they were sorry and it was very busy and our food had come straight out of the oven. No response to the lack of cheese on my burger. We were told things have got so much better and please give us another try. Sorry but you had your chance and other than replacing our food, made no attempt to make any sort of recompense. We spent just over £25 for this so no, we will not be...