The Bold Dragoon & Restaurant 48 — Restaurant in England

If you were to look up the phrase "don't fix what isn't broken", it's very likely you would see a picture of The Bold Dragoon.

I had previously left a very positive review for the location but it seems a change in management and a change in direction for the restaurant has completely ruined what was once a cozy and family friendly environment where you could purchase a meal at an affordable price. The Bold Dragoon has tried to redirect it's focus to being a fine dining establishment, very jarringly so.

Starting with the biggest change: The menu. Previously offering large portions at outstanding value, the new menu offers terrible value for money, with an individual main course starting at around £15 and the meals often occupying less than half the space available on the plate. Not finding many meals I'd enjoy on the new menu without modifications or spending more money than I was comfortable spending, I opted for the lasagne. A staple meal in many restaurants and one that I consider a relatively safe bet. What I got was a small bowl of lasagne which I was able to compare in quality to a premade one purchased at the supermarket. Had my party not also opted to order a shared salad and chips, I imagine I would have come away from the meal still very hungry. There really wasn't anything exciting here. While I enjoyed my meal I certainly felt like I spent too much on it.

Going to the service, this was very disappointing for me. After taking our order, our waiter returned to our table twice to try and upsell us on sides before we even had our food. I'm unsure if this individual was still in training but it really felt like a manager or supervisor had pushed him to keep trying to squeeze money out of patrons in the restaurant. After our meals came, he briefly stopped by a few minutes later to check if there were any issues. We advised him we were fine but within a couple of minutes, another member of staff who hadn't interacted with us until this point also came up to us to ask the same thing. Multiple interruptions such as this regularly pulled my party out of their conversation.

Let's talk about atmosphere next: the Bold Dragoon is your stereotypical idea of an English pub, however the atmosphere change when you walk into a restaurant hits you like a truck. What was previously a lovely conservatory-like dining area had been replaced with a regal looking walled in area with high ceilings and glass doors facing the outdoor sitting area. I felt completely underdressed since the pub lends no indication that the restaurant experience was like that. It was almost like I'd entered a different establishment entirely! It felt tacky and tasteless. Even more so than the page in the menu that showed photos of the old conservatory getting demolished and the new area getting erected.

In trying to be something it's not, The Bold Dragoon has completely lost sight of what people loved about it to begin with. And I can't in good conscience leave my previous review up since it's now so misleading, and I don't want my review to be something that tricks people into going somewhere which has changed so much for the worst.

I wish the owners and staff at the Bold Dragoon all the best with their new direction, but I do not foresee myself returning anytime soon. It has lost the spirit of what made it such a draw in the...

I pre booked lunch for 18 ladies. I particularly chose The Bold Dragoon, even though there were other places a lot closer, because I had been there five times before and been completely satisfied in all respects. It has a varied menu, a lighter selection (Retiree menu) at lunchtime three days a week, and the staff are genuinely friendly but efficient with it, not least the food tastes good. The restaurant has always been very smartly laid up, clean, and crisp, as are the toilets. There was no delay in delivering the dishes to the whole group ant the same time, and no mistakes. The response I received from each lady I believe was absolutely genuine, that they enjoyed each course - some had two, some had three, each received what they ordered. At the moment I can’t find any fault - I’m looking hard. Except! They have a special “retiree menu” Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday lunchtimes - special rates and slightly smaller portions. The food, the portions and the prices all very good, nothing wrong with the idea, but oh the name! Sounds like a cheap aged persons special offer - hence I changed the name to “The Lighter Menu”. The spend per person below includes...

We paid £24.75 for a 3 course meal from the Christmas menu. There was no fresh warm rolls on the table. The starter was patè no toast on the plate. The toast turned up in a bowl in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves !!. A few of us had the beef with some kind of a stuffing with a stilton topping. The beef was awful very very fatty and tough to chew. (surly the chief would have noticed this when he was frying the beef) There was no home cooked vegetables, all were frozen including the roast potatoes. they tasted it! A few of us left our main meals as we were unable to cut through the beef or chew it. The pudding was cheesecake, which was very nice. We did complain and was offered to only pay for the 2 course meal @ £18.75 . Which I feel was too much to pay for a starter and a pudding. I came home hungry and very disappointed. A friend was planning to go there within the next few weeks with her lunch club next and wanted to know what it was like. I would not recommend it nor will I...