Middletons Peterborough — Restaurant in England

Picture the scene. You’re travelling south on the much quieter eastern routes of England from the north to London. You fancy a stop for a bite to eat, but want something more than a motorway service station.

You know Peterborough is a nice town, historic and a little bit middle class. You’re expecting the usual branded chain affair, but also some lovely independents. I used google search, I used Tripadvisor… and I couldn’t find any true independent eateries open on this particular Sunday. The closest I could find was regional chain Middletons Steak House.

The place wasn’t quiet but it wasn’t busy. It was a Sunday late afternoon, so I probably hit this place after the rush hour. The team were welcoming and I was quickly sat down.

I ordered two small plates to start, opting for the croquettes (Braised beef & bechamel in breadcrumbs & smoked mayonnaise) and sticky BBQ wings (Sticky BBQ sauce, crispy onions). To follow I went with the sirloin steak 8oz, which is accompanied by one side, tomato and mushroom. I went with steak frites of course.

The starters were okay, but nuclear hot… which says to me pre-prepped food put into a q-ing/microwave. One of my pet hates gave me the feeling that this was correct, and we were dealing with a kitchen of cooks versus chefs; I can’t stand chefs with filthy aprons coming out front and getting themselves a drink or hanging around. Call me a snob, but it looks unseemly and messy. I don’t want to see how the sausage was made.

Plus, after 25 years in hospitality of one form or another… that tells me the kitchen is either not busy or they are not cooking. Chefs who cook don’t have time to come out front, grab a drink, and hang out. Judging by the relative business of the floor, this confirms to me that most of the food is being finished as opposed to cooked.

This also was reflected in my steak. It was a cheap piece of meat and not the best sirloin I’ve ever had. It was a steak bulk bought from someone like 3663… you could argue though by saying “what did you expect?” and you would probably be right.

It was a nice space, the servers were polite, but the food was mass market. It was a perfunctory experience, aimed at not being awful… but not trying...

Terrible experience at Middletons today; went in and asked if any tables available and told no 'we are fully booked' - evidently this is a lie because i look online and can book a table for 3 online instead. So i book a table for 1.15 for me and my sisters. When we arrive however, we are informed by the desk staff guy that we can't have our table because my sisters had their babies in buggies and we would 'take up too much space'. I pointed out that they could be taken out the buggy and wouldn't of course be eating and actually didn't probably need a seat at all for one. We were told they 'don't allow buggies for space' and they would need to check they could accommodate a high chair at the table we booked (which was a 4 person table anyway as you cant book a 3 seater and so one extra space was all we were talking). Finally we are shown a table and scolded that we didn't book for the babies!!!! The fact buggies aren't allowed at tables is not an issue but the manner it was said was so rude and actually came across very discriminatory. They definitely didn't want us eating there. Perhaps it was the unwise way it was handled but it very much appeared that they didn't want to accommodate babies, so we walked out. They made such a public fuss it was embarrassing for my poor sisters. Disgusted by the staff members attitude today and won't ever return. All we wanted was a nice lunch out that we BOOKED. Don't book here with babies/tiny toodlers, they don't accommodate them and make you book a 5 person table when only 3 are sitting and eating. They didn't even try to be nice and didn't say sorry or even appear bothered we were upset. 0 starts for customer service if I could. Even if you want to say there's an issue, it could be done nicely and discretely...

2018 EDIT: (Original below) A review is only fair if you're willing to acknowledge improvements! And WOW, Middletons have improved! I would point out that it was a fairly quiet Monday night BUT the service was AMAZING!! Absolutely perfect! The servers were prompt, friendly, and genuinely seemed happy to help! The food was beautiful (but it was last time too) and gone are the excessively long delays between ordering and receiving!! I even managed to get the dessert that I missed out on last time! It was a really lovely evening... Highly recommended to all carnivores!!

Original 2017 Review: A potential steak lovers paradise! Gorgeous steaks cooked to perfection... and the dauphinois potatoes are heavenly! It loses stars for the poor service! Clearly a young inexperienced team who need to learn but not during the evening peak! There was very long gaps between courses and when re-ordering drinks (at £5 per mocktail, I don't like waiting) a delay made so much worse by the fact everything was repeatedly taken to the wrong tables! And then running out of items... member of staff confirmed my dessert order "you've got the last one!" only to wait 30 minutes to find out it had been given to someone else. I was then rushed into making a snap choice, without a menu, on an alternate. Most restaurants who make mistakes would offer a free alternative. The food is good but the level of customer service could make you question...