The Cherry Tree — Restaurant in England

We arrived for a dinner booking as a family of four (a six yeah old and a baby) and ordered a drinks at the bar. We both had a Bloody Mary and as the lad put the celery in my drink I noticed the top of the stalk was brown and crusty and the celery was a bit on the floppy side. I asked if I could swap for a fresher piece which he did. We paid for our drinks (almost £30) and sat at the table at which point I noticed my partners celery was also crusty and floppy. I took it over to the bar and put it on the bar mat to wait for his attention and said “sorry could I swap this one for a fresh piece too please?” He replied “it is fresh I’ve just cut it off” signalling at the celery still whole, unwashed and out of the packet just behind him. I said “yes it’s freshly cut but it’s not fresh celery, the top is brown and it’s all floppy. Is there a fresher piece at all?” With that he picked it up off the bar, turned around, grabbed the knife, cut the top bit off and spun round and handed it back to me and said “there you go”. Baring in mind this had just been sat on the dirty bar where everyone’s drinks are put down. I looked at him quite stunned and said “you know what it’s okay” and went back to my family. I find that really poor service given the fact we’d just spent £27 on a couple of drinks and were about to spend £200 odd in the restaurant on dinner, a washed and fresh piece of celery was too much to ask. He made me feel embarrassed for asking and I found his manner and tone extremely rude.

We decided not to have our dinner there and out of courtesy I let the lady (I think perhaps the manager) in the restaurant know that we wouldn’t be staying for our dinner reservation. She asked why and I explained what had happened. She was apologetic and agreed that’s not good service. She took my email and said she would be in touch the next day but I’ve still not heard anything.

Ultimately, if you can’t ensure your produce going into drinks is clean and fresh when it’s uncooked and displayed under people’s noses I dread to think what produce is being used in the kitchen, disguised by cooking it,...

We had a family meal here on the Spring Bank holiday Monday (afternoon). There wasn't a table available large enough for 5 in the restaurant, so we ate in the bar, but as we had 2 dogs with us we needed to do that anyway, or sit outside.

There were Vegans in our party, and there was mains and deserts to cater for them and they were happy with the quality of their food.

I had a 10oz rump steak, which I asked to be cooked medium rare. It was OK on the inside, but burnt of the outside which spoilt it, and it was only served with chips, a flat mushroom and a few cooked plum tomatoes. No peas or salad garnish, which for £25 was poor. Even one of my Vegan daughter's commented that it didn't look very exciting. The other main courses including the Vegan ones, were OK for price, although the seabass a bit pricy like my steak.

The deserts were very expensive at £8.50/9.00, so I only had a Pastel De Nata mini desert for £3.50, and that turned out to be poor value for money.

There were several hand pulls for real ale, but only one was available, London Pride. It was served in good condition, but when I got the bill I was shocked to see it was £5.15 a pint! In my regular pub in Northampton this would only be £3.90. Soft drinks, tea and coffees normal pub prices.

My Vegan family would have given a higher rating for their meal/prices, but based on the quality and value for money for what I had, I can only give 3 stars. Also, the service was poor. Each time we were ready to order a course, I had to go to the bar and request the waitress to come to our table to take it. Once the food was ordered the time to be served was OK. The dogs were also disappointed as they didn't have only doggy ice cream left.

Recommended for Vegans and dog owners, but not for...

Really nice place, they've done a great job of the conversation/renovation from an Old People's Home to a classy bar and restaurant. Good selection of wine, spirits and beer.

However, we've visited twice and on both occasions the table service has been slow and below par, and the food doesn't quite hit the mark.

We made a reservation for a certain time, and were very slow to be acknowledged by the waiting staff. No one really seemed to have the responsibility of meeting & greeting. We were moments away from leaving, we'd waiting that long at an empty reception desk (maybe 10 minutes). Also, 2 groups of 4 people who were waiting behind us, gave up and walked out.

I mentioned the food, and our 2nd visit to the Cherry Tree reflected out first. Nice looking food, but really lacking in flavour. I had the slow cooked belly pork, which seemed overly dry and the crackling was inedible, like chewy plastic..... I did persist, but thought it better to stop and avoid breaking my teeth. My 19 year old son had the same problem, but he gave up much sooner than I did.

My girlfriend's pizza was very good though, probably the best tasting meal on the table.

Anyway, our drinks took an age to arrive, probably another 15 minutes after we'd placed the order. Again, another minor irritation that detracted from the overall experience.

I appreciate that the place had only been open for a few months, so hopefully they'll improve with time.

I've given 3 stars, but it should really be a 2.5. It's not a cheap place to eat and drink, though the surroundings are lovely. They do need to up their...