Horse & Farrier — Restaurant in England

To give some context: My sister has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair, but she is able to walk short distances. My parents have been to Horse & Farrier on several occasions and so were aware of the layout, so they knew my sister would be able to handle wherever we were seated.

When we arrived for our booking, the server (a brunette lady with long hair) replied (something along the lines of): “The table is up some steps…you didn’t tell us you had a wheelchair when you booked.” We tried to assure her that my sister was more than able to manage this and it wasn’t a problem. However, the server did not listen to us, and busied herself clearing a table on the ground floor. (She appeared to be quite stressed and frustrated as she did this, as we tried to stay out of the way.) Once this was ready, she made an additional comment to a member of our party (something along the lines of): “Next time you make a booking, please let us know you have a wheelchair user so we can accommodate you.” We were left feeling like an enormous inconvenience to Horse & Farrier. We were served a round of drinks and main courses. However, these were the only times we were checked on. We observed that other tables were served their food quicker than us, and other tables were attended to and received multiple rounds of drinks.

Assumptions regarding my sister’s ability based on her outward appearance should not have been made: that is, quite simply, discrimination. To make matters worse, the server did not listen when we tried to correct her, and then tried to advise us on how we might conduct ourselves in the future, despite the fact that we have been managing, (incredibly) to eat in public houses with great success for the past 35 years.

If we had turned up without disclosing an essential requirement then I would be more empathic to the server’s conduct. However, it is not our job as customers to soothe and placate prejudice, it is the fundamental job of the server to treat everyone who walks through the door with dignity and respect, rather than a hassle based on their own ignorant assumptions.

We were really excited to visit as my parents have had several positive experiences in the past. However, needless to say we will not be...

We booked an 8pm table for 7 people and arrived at approximately 7.50pm. We were rudely told our table wasn’t ready and there was no where for us to wait so we would need to go to the pub down the road for a drink until our table was ready even though it was pouring with rain and freezing cold. When we questioned this as they was plenty of room for us to wait by the bar the member of staff told us they were all very tried and had worked hard over Christmas…. goodness knows what this had to do with anything. She was very agitated and repeated we would have to leave. We would have gone elsewhere but there is nowhere else locally to eat so we were left with no option but to go to the pub down the road and wait. We were just being served our drinks when the pub’s landlady came up to us and asked if we were waiting for a table across the road and that our table was now available. When we returned, we were shown our table but with no apology for our inconvenience. We could have passed this off as a tired member of staff after a busy Christmas period but shortly after sitting down the same member of staff starting having a go at a couple on another table and was once again not addressing their problem but aggressively saying how hard they had all worked and they hadn’t had a day off. Guess she thinks this is an excuse for bad customer service. To add further insult this couple were actually staying at the in-house accommodation. She was so rude to them that another member of staff later apologized for her behaviour and brought them a complimentary bottle of wine. The rude member of staff later came back to them and asked them not to leave a bad review!!!!!! If we had been approached in a friendly manner and asked politely if we wouldn’t mind going for a drink until the table was ready, we wouldn’t have minded but the member staff had an attitude and was aggressive so soon as she approached us. The food was quite good but expensive and a side portion of new potatoes that we ordered only arrived as everyone had finished their meal. Also, the drinks are very overpriced. Unfortunately, all in all it wasn’t a good evening and they need to undertake some serious customer service training if they want to stay...

I used a trail app to find something to do from Keswick, went for the first 4 hour trail on the screen as the app was a bit alien to use. Did not regret it one bit. From Keswick cricket car park, it ended up being a 2 hour walk along an old workers railway, newly converted into a cycle/footpath in 2020 I think, onward into a little village called Threlkeld, I'd say 5 miles one way in total. It went through some lovely scenery... A bit along a wide river, under a few old tunnels, over 9 old railway bridges, each with a wide river beneath with amazing views. Then your treated to the Horse and Farrier half a mile into Threlkeld I'd say. After a pint and a read of the menu, we booked a table for a 5:15pm sitting. I was itching for a steak because a usual pub visit earlier in the week was not serving steak this year due to the chef moving on, so yeah, steak it was... 10oz aged rib eye steak £28.95... That's right £28.95, was probably the most expensive meal on the menu, most meals being £15 to £18... But I wanted steak and unusually burned that hole in my pocket gladly. Started with the soup, delicious carrot and corriander... Then onto my steak meal with chunky chips, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes and onion rings with a tasty peppercorn sauce, and a pint to wash it all down... I don't think I have ever paid so much for a single meal in my life, probably cost me £40 for it all. Would I do it again?... Every year from now on, heck yeah!!!... I cleaned every bowl and every plate... that had to have been the best meal I've ever been served, so perfectly cooked and tasty, it was worth every penny, please never change that meal H&F, I'll be back for that... My brother said his pork loin meal was outstanding also... Ended the evening with a lovely 2 hour walk back to Keswick down the beautiful path I came up. And to think, I started that day with no plan, and a hard to use app put me on that path, literally... Always something new to discover in the lakes and I'm glad this...