Oilys — Restaurant in England

I've heard Oily's is good from locals but this is the first time my husband and I have visited. There's a large car park to the front of the restaurant, it's a bit overgrown in part by overhanging trees but completely free. When we entered the restaurant we were seated quickly, the place was very clean and it appeared everyone was getting served rapidly without delay. Noted, we did visit on a Monday but I had noted from other reviews they experienced slow service. That was definitely not our experience. The staff and the service they provided was very prompt and courteous. For starters we had garlic mushrooms and mushroom tartlet. Both of which were very nicely presented and the taste was gorgeous. Got our main course, we had shoulder of lamb and salmon pasta. Both dishes again were very delicious. The portions were also very generous. I noted in reviews some had grumbled about small portions and value for money. Honestly, I totally disagree. Very nice food, decent value for the portion size and very nicely cooked and presented. If those people visited more restaurants they'd know what prices are like these days. Now, the reason I'm giving Oily's 4 stars rather than 5 is simply the payment. Currently, due to technical issues, they are not accepting card payments. I think it's been going on a week or more. Honestly, it should be sorted quicker. You either have to pay with cash or via bank transfer and show proof you've made payment. This made me somewhat uncomfortable as you shouldn't have to do this to make payment. It would also be really nice if the outside area here was cleaned up so you could sit out with a drink, but it's very overgrown. In all a very nice restaurant, offering nice food, friendly staff, just a shame about a few things about the edges...

We visited Oilys twice during our weekend stay at the neighboring lodges. The first time was just for a drink to check it out before booking Sunday lunch for the next day. There were plenty of bar staff, but three of them seemed like it was their first shift, which was almost comical as they had to be instructed on everything—from how much ice to put in a drink to going back to clear and reset tables they had walked past. Nevertheless, we decided to give it another try the next day.

For Sunday lunch, we arrived just before 1 pm as booked and were pleased to see it was quite busy. The same bar staff were now waiting tables, under the direction of another staff member who frequently showed his frustration with them. When we asked for a wine list, we were told there was one, but we had to request to actually see it. Once we got our drinks, we noticed that no one had food on their tables. Meals started arriving after about 20 minutes, but there was visible frustration from diners, with plenty of eye-rolling and complaints about the wait. Our lunch eventually arrived about 50 minutes later. On the positive side, the meat quality, vegetable presentation, generous gravy, and good Yorkshire puddings were highlights. However, the roast potatoes and mash were inedible—lacking flavor, with the mash being watery and seemingly untouched by butter or milk.

It was clearly a tough shift for the staff, and as the lead person at the bar mentioned, they were still getting accustomed to how the kitchen is run and hoped to improve in the coming weeks. I hope they do, as the location next to the lodges and its previously strong reputation with locals should make...

I have not been here for a while, and it could be even longer before I go again if, in fact, I do! It was my daughter's birthday, and her love for steak I finally decided on Oilys as I always used to love the food there. We were warmly greeted and shown to a table as expected, It went downhill from there. I got up to order drinks to be told there was no bar service, and someone would be with us shortly (If only). We were just getting ready to get up and leave after waiting over 30 minutes without any drinks when the young waitresses finally turned up to take our drink orders. Not wanting to cause a scene and struggling with social anxiety, we reluctantly stayed and gave our orders. 15 minutes later and nearly one full hour. I started to get up to leave, extremely disgusted and less than pleased with all the services we had received. My daughter kindly pointed out the waitress was starting to pour drinks order, so again reluctantly stayed. ( I should have left) Approximately 5-10 minutes after we received our drinks, we finally had our food order taken. By the time the food had arrived, we had been there for nearly two hours. The Food looked as you can see, but I had completely lost my appetite by then and struggled to eat. I almost had to force it down; this was just so I didn't waste my money on service and food I wished I had never had the...