Hazel Pear — Restaurant in England

I used to live locally and had been a frequent diner here, but this was my first visit here in over 10 years.

Pros: Sunday lunch was good, the food was a good quality and cooked perfectly Portions were small, so no food wastage (I normally have a childrens Sunday Roast at pubs because the portions are huge and I hate food going to waste) The menu looked excellent with lots of quality options The staff were all very nice Reserving online was very quick and easy, I had a text the day before to remind me of the booking The pub was clean, bright, tidy and welcoming Parking was easy Conversation was easy, most of the tables were empty, meaning we could hear each other easily We were seated immediately on arrival, so no hanging around waiting for our table The staff to customer number gave the impression that we'd be looked after vary well

Cons: Whilst it was a quick and easy meal choice (three Sunday roasts) it wasn't easy to order. The front of house staff must have been busy out of sight and (when they came into sight with plates in hand) they seemed to be on a mission to get food to tables and back into the kitchen as quickly as possible (top marks for efficiency). After a few failed attempts to get someone's attention, 40 minutes after being seated we placed our orders (we hadn't even been asked what we'd like to drink until that point). 40 minutes sat in a pub restaurant waiting for a drinks (never mind food) order to be taken is by far the longest I've ever had to wait.

We had 2 rounds of drinks (it would have been more if the service was quicker) and we didn't say anything at the time, but we were all surprised that when they were being handed to us, each glass was held at the top, right where we were going to put our lips. Again, this isn't something we'd expected or experienced elsewhere. Most people hold the glassed in the middle, not at the lip at the top of the glass. Maybe I'm just being fussy, but if a member of staff was handing me cutlery and they were holding the forks by the tines or the knives by the blades then I wouldn't have been inclined to accept those.

The portion size was smaller than Sunday Roasts elsewhere (so less waste). They're on a par with the childrens portions elsewhere, but at close to twice the price of the children's portions elsewhere.

When we asked for the bill it came promptly but we struggled to get someone's attention for us to pay it. This wasn't just us either, as the people at the table next to us had to ask for someone to take payment. They were then told that they needed to pay at the bar. We'd been sat for half an hour trying to get someone's attention so that we could pay the bill. It wouldn't have been difficult to tell us when we were given the bill that we needed to pay at the bar.

And finally, having taken the bill to the bar and handed it to the member of staff there, in the moment between them looking at the bill I'd handed over (and her then tapping the till), and the card machine requesting a tap for payment, the bill inexplicably increased (significantly). I had to ask to look at the bill (the one I'd handed over) to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. I had to explain that the amount on the card machine was far higher than the amount on the bill. The explanation was that there had been more drinks added to the bill that needed to be removed as they weren't ours (I didn't need to ask for them to be removed, they knew they shouldn't have been on my bill, so why had they been added in the minute between me handing over the bill and the card machine displaying the amount owed?). The fact that they knew immediately that there were extra drinks on the bill that weren't ours (without having to check anything) told me everything I needed to know.

All things considered, it's not on my (very long) list of places I'd like to go back to, which is a shame as I had some very good memories of the place.

Hopefully my honest feedback will help address any learning points and the necessary improvements made...

Honestly no idea what is happening here. We live in the village and have visited 3 times over the past three months. I think it can be explained by the fact that the place seems to be run by teenagers.

On our first visit, we arrived at opening time on a weekday, walked through the door and the gent who served us went and looked round the empty restaurant before coming back and telling us we would have to be quick ordering - absolutely no idea why, as the place was empty for our whole visit which wasn’t short.

On our second visit our service was so slow that we debated just leaving, and trying to get the bill was no better.

I called up (foolishly) to give the place a third chance - I told them I was looking to book a christening venue for about 60 people and they said they could accommodate. Before going further we went in for a visit, having checked their website and seen a food offer that was available. Amazingly, we sat down and ordered drinks only to be told by a young member of staff that “they’ve taken that offer off the till so you can’t order it”. Might as well have said “computer says no”. Bearing in mind this offer was still on the website as we sat and attempted to order - I’m sure if there was an issue with the booking system on the website rather than some false advertising that brought unsuspecting customers in, the issue would be resolved a lot quicker. I told her i would likely not order anything if that were the case as there was just zero remorse or apology, and was told “ok, just let me know”. The cherry on the cake was punters sitting by the bar vaping freely indoors, in clear view from the bar but nothing said despite the fact we had a very young baby with us 🤦‍♀️ We left, and we booked a christening reception venue elsewhere promptly. I think 3 visits is enough to determine that we definitely won’t...

‘Wandering Wednesday’ took both Neil and I on a mini road trip to Acton Bridge, to a lovely little pub called ‘Hazel Pear’…. All the food was truly beautiful…. You could tell everything was ‘Homemade’, piping hot and all flavours from each dish was faultless and bursting with flavours, there was a good varied menu and we were spoilt for choice on what to have!

You could get ‘Bar snacks’, which are taster dishes…. We had this to share to start, with smalller 4 dishes of: *Crispy King prawns with garnish and tandoori mayonnaise. *Chicken wings in a sticky Asian sauce and garnish *Panko-coated Halloumi sticks with sweet chilli sauce and garnish *Southern fried chicken strips with garlic mayonnaise and garnish. All the coatings on each dish was homemade, fresh and crispy…so nice

Entrée’s Neil had Steak and Ale pie, creamy mash, peas and rich creamy gravy….. Neil said the pie had thick chunks of steak that just melted when eaten. I couldn’t make my mind up so I had mix of different delights….. *peri peri in soft tacos with crisp slaw, this was a starter dish but then I added side dishes of: *sweet potato fries *Pot of ketchup *Crispy onion rings *Caesar, dressed green leaf salad…. The food was really, really gorgeous…. We will definitely be returning, the pub was spotless, loads of little snug areas inside and busy for 1:30 on a Wednesday, which is a good sign of great food….. and they were right!!! Our empty plates spoke for themselves!!….It’s a little cracker of a place….. The young lady who was our waitress named Faye, she was extremely polite, courteous, always smiling and very professional, also complements to the chef, who name I didn’t get, sorry… the cuisines were outstanding and presentation was fantastic…. Thank you. We’ll be returning in the very near...