Rose & Crown — Restaurant in England

So. Where to begin. I'll preface my review with a caveat: my experiences may not reflect the typical / normal experience of a more routine visit!

I tried to make a booking to have brunch on Easter Sunday on the pub's website. But everytime I chose a time slot, it said it had just been booked by someone else. So I phoned the pub to hopefully speak to someone to query this and hopefully make a booking. The pub has an automated phone booking system - it seemed to be able to book the time slot i wanted but warned me that it was very busy at that time & I might have to wait for a table. I completed the booking a few days before Easter Sunday but never got any confirmation - no text or email. I called the pub again twice before Easter Sunday, both times when connected to speak to someone, the phone rang out and went to voicemail. Both times I explained i was hoping to get confirmation of the booking abe asked for someone to call me back. No one called back. I visited the pub briefly on Easter Saturday evening and an employee was able to confirm my booking was in place.

Arrived on Sunday morning. One other family having brunch. One other person in the pub. Otherwise empty. Not what I was expecting given the challenges in making my booking! I asked where everyone was - waitress replied, it's the holidays, everyone is away or at home. Tell that to the booking system!

The waitress who served us was friendly ... BUT ... in choosing our food, she said first "no tomatoes ... can't get them anywhere" - an issue a few weeks ago yes, but now? Back in full in shops, so that was ... well, you know. Next; "Oh, sorry, no smoked salmon - we got a new menu and erm ... well ... " she looked sheepish. By now, frankly, the whole experience was a pathetic shambles. What food we did have was luke warm.

The waitress only charged us for kids size portions (cause that is so we got tbh) and the venue itself is a lovely building. Hence 2 stars not 1.

As I say, I suppose this might be an exception to the norm,...

Wow - My friend and I were both very pleasantly surprised with our visit to The Rose and Crown in Wick. It's become a bit of a standing joke that everywhere we seem to visit for a meal ends up being some sort of disaster BUT NOT THIS TIME!

Upon arrival we were greeted by a roaring open fire which made the bar feel warm and cozy and a very friendly young man welcomed us and offered to take a drinks order before showing us to our seats.

The pub was busy, which is always an indication of what it's like, especially as our visit was on a Wednesday lunchtime. There was a lovely atmosphere and the place was nicely decorated and furnished which gave a great aesthetic.

After being shown to our table, a super friendly waitress (I think from her accent that she may have hailed from somewhere in Eastern Europe) brought over the menus and told us that a couple of dishes had been very popular so were no longer available. This wasn't an issue as the menu had plenty of things to choose from and after deliberation, our orders were placed. We had starters, mains and desserts and enjoyed every single mouthful! The food arrived in good time, was well presented, plentiful, tasted delicious and my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A special mention for the sticky toffee pudding which was so delicious, and probably one of the nicest which I've ever eaten.

All in all we were so pleased with our visit and really enjoyed ourselves. The parking was easy, the staff were lovely, the food was amazing and we will definitely be back plus I've recommended the place already to family...

Was looking forward to this as had a great Christmas meal here a couple of years ago. However, I found the menu uninspiring and only dish I fancied was slow roast lamb shank shepards pie. I put aside it was the most expensive dish on menu at £24.25 expecting succulent lamb either flaked into or embedded in the minced lamb, gravy and topped with cheese crusted mashed potato. Instead a shallow dish arrived with lamb shank resting on top poor side up, and the dish was only half full of potato with only a thin trace of minced lamb and gravy. The lamb was pink and rubbery, not falling off the bone at all. The potato was not crispy. The buttered greens had burnt bits and portion was small. For first time in my life I sent a meal back and while I was offered another choice there was no apology, and as family meal I ate side order of onion rings and just asked for chips so as not to wait. When chips came it was with smallest pot of sauce I have ever seen so bland eating alone. While the main, side and chips were taken off the bill, this was not explained and I still had to pay for desert and coffee. The other meals were OK, average pub food, not gastro pub level. Much more attention needed to meals at this price point. We decided to go elsewhere for our quarterly family...