Kings Reach — Restaurant in England

I went here last night and I have to say I am really disappointed. The past few times I have dined here the service has been slow, the majority of the staff appear to not be bothered to do their job and the customer service has been lacking. I ordered the vegan apple crumble and vegan custard from the specials board, making sure to check it was vegan. My friend ordered the sticky toffee pudding. It took a good while to have our desserts brought to us, not sure why as it wasn't busy in the restaurant and staff were milling about looking bored and when my dessert came to me it was an apple pie. I stated to the waiter that I ordered the crumble not the pie and he said oh sorry we don't have any more apple crumble. I said to him ok did you not think to let me know and ask if I wanted something else? and is this even vegan? He said oh we wanted to give you the next similar thing and er yeah it is vegan. my friend checked the menu and confirmed it showed the pie as vegetarian not vegan at which point he said oh i'll go and check with the kitchen. I also noted with him that the "vegan custard" looked and smelled nothing like custard it was like a sour cream cinnamon mix and it smelt and looked revolting. He took it to the kitchen and came back empty handed stating that I was correct the pie was vegetarian, that he was sorry and the pudding would be comped on the receipt and did I want something else. Whilst I appreciated that the pudding was going to be comped, this is the second time that I have ordered a vegan option in here and have been given something that isn't vegan even when i have expressly asked that it was vegan and both times I have confirmed with the staff they have then come back and apologised to inform me it in fact wasn't. If I hadn't have asked they would have been quite happy for me to eat it knowing it goes against my dietary preference. Would they be the same if it was a religious belief or an allergy? What if I had an intolerance and was extremely ill afterwards? Have they not heard about Natasha's Law? These mistakes can cause serious injury and sometimes death and it needs to be treated with more care. I used to love going to Kings reach but in the past year or so it seems to have gone downhill. I think it would be really important to re-train staff on the importance of ensuring the food they are serving is correct and ok for the customer to eat as well as some customer service training, as apart from one member of staff who ultimately sorted the whole situation out they all seemed to not really take pride in what they are doing or the fact that we have come out to enjoy ourselves only to have it turn into a fiasco. Until these things have been done I don't believe I will be eating at Kings reach for a while, I will go somewhere that has more vegan options, that provides...

Kings Reach is a friendly family pub just on the outskirts of Potton Road. It is a local Biggleswade favourite for hitting all the right notes of a pub for regularly bringing the family or as an introduction to Biggleswade's spirit.

They say you can always tell a good eatery by how full it is. If the weather is sunny and it's weekend come early! The ample parking and outdoor seating will be completely swamped.

Kings Reach's pros:

The staff are very friendly and very efficient. The bar staff are often swamped on a sunny dayn and they work quickly, with a smile regardless. So far my family haven't eaten in the main restaurant but based on the kind welcome we often get on walking past, I'd assume the same.

The decor is warm woods and very airy. Even on busy days, it gives the impression of ease and comfort. The main thoroughfare from door, to bar, to restaurant has lots of space.

The beer garden is one of it's biggest draws. Spanning the perimeter of the pub it has lots of choices for outdoor seating, including a covered area and all the tables have space for about 4 - 6 people. The large green space around the back is often used as a mini running track by toddlers. Proof that little ones don't need expensive play park equipment or gadgets to keep them entertained, just well maintained green space and the safety of family oversight.

Cons:

There aren't many.

Drinks and food are standard price for any big food chain. There aren't really any speciality dishes. Steaks, fish dishes and barbeque are the main cuisine. If had a picky eater in the group, it might be a bit of struggle. There are themed nights each day so may be worth planning towards that.

Portion sizes are generous, hearty and well cooked. Also really nicely presented.

You need not book ahead necessarily but I would say, think ahead. Even today, we rocked up earlier and within 10 minutes the garden was already filling.

If you are going to park definitely come earlier. It has more parking and large parking spaces but once it's full, it's full and there aren't alternatives near by.

Finally, if you have never been to Biggleswade before, this is off the beaten track from town centre. It is 35 minutes walking distance from the Coop and about an hour and 10 from the train station. It's remote nature helps with space but you may need to wear flat shoes if you aim to...

Only gave one star because the waitress was lovely. Our first visit but our friends had been a couple of times before with their children, albeit at an earlier sitting. We booked in several 3 weeks before and turned up just before our time but the table was ready which was great. It was 7.15 and already busy. We had a bit of a wait for the drinks order to be taken and we were disappointed there was only a drinks menu which had wines, cocktails and gin so we had to ask the waitress what was available. We then had a long wait for the drinks to actually arrive and then one was wrong which the waitress notices and then changed albeit this took some time too. We gave our order ( a table who were seated after us had their order taken before us)and our starters came out very quickly and were delicious. We then waited a very long time for our main course, to the point where we found a member of staff and queried it. Strangely our food came out straight after and it was appalling. Most of the 6 dishes looked like they had been left on the side in the heat. The chips look pale and unappetising. The hunter's chicken was dry and totally overcooked, the fish batter was overdone, the sirloin was chewy and rather than medium to well done was rare. My steak was cold and rare rather than medium rare. The onion rings were burnt. We complained and received apologies and an offer of replacement meals which we declined due to original wait time. Only one of us actually ate our main the rest went back uneaten. We ordered desserts which came quicker and were lovely. When it came to the bill we only paid for drinks and starters, we would have paid for desserts but were given these as an apology. We saw many items being sent back and many plates once cleared from tables had a lot of food left on them, not I am sure because the portions were too big. We waited to visit to allow for teething issues but obviously busy times are not good for service and standards. We won't be returning nor...