Needle & Awl — Restaurant in England

This is a second review about this place and the score has gone down sadly. Food is good, tasty and comes out fast, although they seem to be cutting down on the chips they put in food now. Additionally it took us 15min standing in a queue to order as there was only 1 person, on a Saturday busy lunch time! Upon arrival we were allocated a table and were very authoritatively told that we would have to leave within 2hours as 'there was another booking for that table and it is what it is'... Given the fact that it was around 1:20pm, and in 2 hours it would be 3:20pm, so way past lunch and too early for dinner and there were tables available throughout our stay and when we left, clearly that wasn't the reason. The hostess was very sternly communicating and we felt we couldn't request to stay longer than this due to her attitude. Customers, especially larger groups of people are being told they need to be out in 2 hours probably because of the parking, which states that its max 2 hours, ( changed from my last visit that it was 2 and a half hours)is very stressful and opposes the purpose of actually going out for dinner/lunch which is to relax, enjoy the company, have a chat and a laugh and have a good time! Service was ok but as mentioned above, a long time in queue to order and then after one and a half hour, and while one of our group was still in the middle of having her food, there were servers coming asking to take the empty dishes, they were told we are ok, we are still eating and they insisted in getting at least the empty ones, which increased our feeling of uneasiness and felt like, in a way, we were being rushed and forced to leave. We wanted to order dessert but we only had 20min or so left so decided against it. After the latest visit, although we liked the food, we will definitely think twice before deciding to eat there again. On the positive plenty of choice for meat eaters and vegetarians on the menu. Aslo available parking but there is a time restriction so if you go there with a large sociable company you will definitely...

Parked in Disabled with blue badge. Two signs, 1 Bar entrance 1 Family & Dining entrance. As we wanted to eat we walked from disabled parking round the side to the Dining entrance. We found a table and we're about to sit when a waitress told us we had to go to the other door to check in for a table. NO SIGNS ANYWHERE TO INDICATE THIS. NO INFORMATION to show that the "Bar entrance " was the one to use to get a table for dining! Why isn't the check in station at the DINING ENTRANCE?! 😕 As clearly disabled we walked much further than anticipated or than what was necessary. Even laminated paper signs would suffice. We were put in a booth then moved to a table. No QR code to link to the app for table ordering. Rant over, the young waiting staff were lovely, polite, friendly and courteous. The food was lovely. Unfortunately the garlic mushrooms came with a salad covered in vinegrette and mustard seeds, yet no mention of this on the menu. A quick swap of starters sorted this but in the day of food allergy awareness this small detail could prove fatal for someone (speaking as a mother of an epipen carrying allergy sufferer). EDIT: Response from owner appreciated. I politely suggest that at busy times when a host is implemented that a SIGN BE PUT ON THE DOORS. USE THE DINING DOOR FOR HOST, NOT THE BAR ENTRANCE. We had never been to this pub before so didn't know the protocol. Simple SIGNS/POSTERS giving the information would solve confusion. We were not the only customers who were 'inconvenienced' by the so called system! As for the app, we were NOT TOLD about it. Vinegrette is a very personal choice you either like it or don't regardless of allergies. My husband does not have any allergies yet dislikes salad dressings. This should be an option, it is as easy as asking how you like your steak cooked. As I said the food was lovely. The YOUNG waiting staff were attentive and helpful but the host who seated us was clearly annoyed that we had attempted to find a table without her, an attitude that tainted our dining....

Booked to eat with family, arrived, and spoke to a member of staff stating that we had booked. She walked away from us, like she was walking to a table but instead walked us to the other door to check the booking. She was talking all the way but because she had her back to us, we couldn't hear her which seemed to annoy her. (Also worth stating that one party member wears hearing aids, so was really struggling to hear her) Once checked , we walked back across to the door we came in to be seated. We sat near the bar and, in doing so, could hear every conversation from the staff standing around, some of which were not appropriate! Ordering of food and drink is done so at the bar. It seemed that all staff ran when I approached the bar area, leaving myself and 2 other customers waiting. One of the others waiting with me wondered if the bar was self-service as it seemed that everyone had left! Once able to order, we realised that our meal came with a drink. These were ordered despite confusion from the staff what wine we could have. We ordered 7 roast dinner, and this was delivered to our table promptly. The dinner itself looked ok for a £10 dish (with a drink) Taste, however, was completely different. The beef was like chewing gum (more was given after staff were made aware). The roast potatoes were deep fried and greasy. The stuffing looked ok but was extremely glue like! For £10 a meal, i wasn't expecting gourmet, but i did expect edible. The turkey, however small, was tender like it had been reheated in hot water. The problem with this method is that it has very little flavour. Again, I didn't expect amazing food, but my family and I were left very disappointed by everything. Definitely will not return as I know there are better places to eat...