Sign of the Angel — Restaurant in England

I visited the Sign of the Angel when it was with different owners and thought what a lovely place it would be to take my husband. The service was exceptional and the food was delicious.

Unfortunately I can not say the same after our visit today.

We were early so approached the gentleman who appeared to be front-of-house to ask if we could have a drink in the garden - he asked us to wait a moment and then promptly went to look after someone else, never to return. A lady then appeared and just stared at us as we explained again that we were early and could we have a drink in the garden. We were given the drinks menu and told she would find us to take our order. No smile, no pleasantries, in fact we were made to feel very unwelcome and considered cancelling our reservation and going somewhere else.

After a lengthy wait she returned, this time a little warmer (we all have bad days I guess), our orders were taken and we waited, and waited, and waited for the three drinks to be delivered (they were not busy).

We went indoors for lunch and were shown to a table by the gentleman, then we waited, and waited for a menu or to be asked if we wanted a drink. Eventually our order was taken and another long wait ensued before they came.

You know when you go somewhere and nothing is too much trouble? This was quite the opposite. There is a sharing board which came with three items you chose from a list of around nine. We asked if we could have four items and pay the extra. This seemed to be a big ask, and we could only add something that was on the menu as a side - surely you say yes and then add an amount to the bill, if your till cannot handle that then you put it as a side it does recognise and just tell the chef that the order is different??.

The Catch of the Day arrived in thick overcooked batter with watery, tasteless frozen peas disguised as 'minted pea puree', the falafel burger was dry and tasteless. I will say, the chips were delicious, but if you can't get chips right then it's a worry.

The place really wasn't that busy so there wouldn't appear to be any reason for the lengthy waits - if they cannot cope then perhaps another member of staff would be an idea or just take as many bookings as they can service in an acceptable manner.

My husband has a pub and has had a string of wine bars, so we know the hospitality trade and were frankly surprised at the lack of love given.

On the online reservation system there is an 'any comments' section. I said that it was my husband's birthday and could perhaps a candle be popped into a cupcake or something - nothing - no mention, no Happy Birthday, no kiss my a*%.

Really,...

DO NOT STAY HERE. ||firstly , I know the GM will reply to this in his usual bullish defensive manner. See other reviews confirming this.||We are in business for 37 years in the refurbishment of luxury hotels in London and the UK so know what is the minimum to expect in hospitality , this failed miserably.||We arrived 4pm to nowhere to park , we hauled our luggage from quarter mile away with no offer of help. ||The total cost for 4 nights including 2 breakfasts each day and our small dog for 4 nights was in excess of £900 so not a small amount. ||Checked in , shown to room. ||Very small , bathroom was carpet and dirty , cleaning products and toilet brush on show and dirty. No TV very unusual , no dressing table , dirty wardrobe , poor writing H&S issues were very obvious with this.||Noise from downstairs very loud .||No bar, just an untidy room used also as a “reception”||No comfy chairs like a normal bar would have , just 3 rooms all with basic tables and chairs . Breakfast room still not cleared complete with used crockery and cutlery.||We told the GM this and left , refunded less than half of the total and took £355 for nothing . ||Never in my 62 years have I experienced such shoddy customer service . Most reviews are for dining , this is a completely honest review of accommodation, which I never do.||We drove 1.5 hours and drove 1.5 hours back to our previous hotel which is also a 15th century inn , 20% more expensive but 100% cleaner and nicer. No excuse for poor hygiene. We were really looking forward to staying in the area again and it was too late to find anywhere else in the area. The GM said “Harry Potter was filmed in the village , I could charge 4 times the amount” This does not negate poor hygiene nor is it the right thing to say to a...

A disappointing evening meal at Sign of Angel ! We had expressly requested a specific table by the fire as it was very cold, when booking for this evenings meal and in the afternoon we went in to ensure they had the booking and also that the requested table was reserved. We were informed all was in hand !!

Upon arrival we were not given the requested table and after complaining, the young waitress apologised and said she would speak to the Mgr and get him to speak to us - IT DIDN'T HAPPEN WE WERE IGNORED BY HIM ALL EVENING even though there were only 5 tables occupied.

The starters were excellent but when the main meal arrived it was only luke warm - and we went & found the waitress who took the 4 meals away to heat up.

At 9:15 (Pm) the log fire went out and the restaurant started to get cold ( it was just 2 deg outside) so we asked for a log to be out on the fire only to be told that due to restrictions they could not comply - so we froze !!

Xmas tree decorated but no lights on so no Xmas atmosphere Im afraid which was disappointing.

I asked for my wife’s and my own coats, which they had taken when we arrived to hang up and were told they didn’t know which ones they were !

After the meal we sought out the manager and complained - we had spent over £210 !! A half hearted apology followed and we were told that due to restrictions no fires were allowed after 9pm- hmm

Not a 2 star AA rosette standard service I’m afraid - minimal attention to detail by the manager, never once did he ask any of the diners if everything was ok OR seek us out to apologise to us for the table mix up, especially considering the small number of diners that were in...