The Astley Arms — Restaurant in England

Been meaning to try this place for ages as the food offer looks great so what could go wrong, eh? Well, the Staff. All of them. The STAFF ARE AWFUL. I mean they seemed to go out of their way to be unhelpful. We were dining as a family of 6 with 3 kids including a toddler and a grandparent. When one of us asked where the cutlery was after coming back from the carvery.."should be on the table"; where are the high chairs?.."in the front opposite the window", anyone serving at the carvery?..."someone should be there shortly". No one looked happy. No one table checked to see if we were OK after our other meals arrived. We were handed an empty bottle of vinegar and salt shaker when asked for a range of condiments. Asked to see/speak to the manager at the end of our meal to provide him/her with an opportunity to apologise and explain if there were mitigating circumstances that affected their ability to provide an enjoyable experience and were shocked to be told it was the guy pulling pints behind the bar (who was actually one of the more unhelpful ones earlier). As my wife waited to speak to him at the end of the bar, another member of staff who had now finished her shift and was now eating at the bar herself (with her legs practically pitched over the bar) began sniggering and muttering to him about us. Shocking so my wife didn't wait to waste her breath and we all left. I would AVOID until they train their staff some basic manners, let alone...

Disgusting attitude from all staff as soon as we entered , glaring and miserable, told the lady we had a table booked for 11 people and she glared and muttered something under her breath and stormed off , came back and said to find our own tables , which were separated from each other , paid for meals , 2 of our party got their carvery after queuing for 15 minutes for peas?? Then the rest of the party were told there was no carvery for another 30 mins (bear in mind the other 2 were eating theirs) Then told there was no chips left for the kids. Only meat available was Turkey which we weren’t told about whilst paying, nor chips!! Not all our party like Turkey , the staff were rude and unhelpful glaring and arguing with us. On leaving the restaurant after we asked for a refund ., walking past the kitchen had a strong smell of marijuana and there was a member of staff I’m presuming it was the manager as she was dressed in black standing in the entrance door of the restaurant smoking a cigarette blowing it in our faces .We booked a family meal for New Year’s Day , some had travelled miles. Only 3 out of the 11 of us had a meal , the rest had to sit and wait for them to finish before we went elsewhere for a meal, Never will we be going back nor will we recommend. Your staff need retrained and I’ll be surprised if you get new customers returning, this spoilt our new year’s celebrations,...

Yesterday, my family and I visited this establishment, and while we encountered an unexpected issue involving a faulty pepper shaker, which led to pepper getting into my child's eye, the staff's response was nothing short of outstanding. Sharon, in particular, went above and beyond to rectify the situation. She promptly acknowledged the issue and made an immediate gesture of goodwill by offering the children complimentary ice cream.

While the gesture was greatly appreciated, it unfortunately led to the children refusing to eat their carvery meal. Additionally, there was some disappointment when the dessert we initially ordered was unavailable. However, Sharon's commitment to excellent customer service continued to shine through. She and her team not only refunded the cost of the child's meal but also upgraded our dessert to a sundae and even allowed us to take home the refunded meal.

Sharon's ability to turn an unfortunate event into a positive experience was remarkable. Her professionalism, attentiveness to the children, and swift handling of the situation left a lasting impression on us. Should we find ourselves travelling back up north, we will most certainly return. Sharon and her team exemplify exceptional service, making every effort to ensure their guests...