The Cottage — Restaurant in England

My wife and I have been customers of The Cottage for many years, dining in and taking out. I’ve had birthdays here, work meals and dined out with friends, so it’s safe to say that we are loyal customers.

Over the last 12 months or so, there seems to have been a significant change - I’m not sure if there’s new ownership or management, but both customer service and food quality is certainly not as good as it once was.

Issues in the past with our meals or takeouts have always been rectified and there had always been a willingness to make it right through either replacement dishes or goodwill vouchers. There was even a time before they did delivery that the manager drove out to our house with a replacement or missing meal.

Despite having the odd issue here and there, we have always remained a loyal customer as a result of their keenness to make right and issues and put the customer first.

Recently we have been ordering takeouts with delivery via different apps; Just Eat, Uber Eats or their own websites service and we always specify a delivery time because we like to put the children to bed before having our meal delivered. On four occasions now, the instructions weren’t listened to and meals have been delivered 1-2 hours early which is really frustrating.

I called the restaurant last night as it happened again to explain how we set a set a delivery time and it came too early. The guy on the phone couldn’t have cared less, showed no sympathy and was so unwilling to help or make it right. They were rude on the phone telling me to sort it out with Uber Eats.

I sent an email with a video showing them exactly how the scheduling of a delivery is selected in Uber Eats so they can see how their customers are using their service. No reply and no acknowledgement.

To top it off, the food was less than average and cool when we came to eat it. When spending £40 on a takeout, it’s definitely not what you would expect.

I’m really disappointed in how this once amazing restaurant is going down hill both of food quality and customer service, where it used to be #1 in all areas.

I hope you read this and at least acknowledge my issue as I rarely write reviews online especially with businesses whom I have been loyal to for so many years.

I’d like to continue being a regular customer but unless things change, it’s likely...

Excellent Service, great food, superb atmosphere. Excellent food, fabulous staff and superb atmosphere. A very busy Saturday night and a venture away from the normal local scene as we ventured a little further afield to Warrington.

Set in a splendid Tudor building this is a lovely Indian restaurant with character and vibe. The food didn't disappoint.

A fairly extensive menu was whittled down to starters of King Prawn Puri (always get the puri separate) succulent de shelled king prawns diced in a light, spicy sauce worthy starter although puri was slightly cold. Accompanied by the obligatory lamb chops fabulous and thumbs up around. But best of all was the Seabass, we were slightly reluctant to try but persuaded and this was phenomenal, slightly spiced the flakes of Seabass were heavenly a must try and will no doubt be a firm family favourite.

For the mains we were recommended by our amiable server Shafi the Lamb Naga, did come with a warning that it's a hot one but if you like it with kickers spot on tender lamb cooked with a blend of north Indian spices and naga chillies can't beat it with a garlic and chilli naan. Add a side of Dall, could eat this again. I'm not a fan of peshwari naan but my daughter is and that went down a year with the very delectable Moghal Lamb, melt of the bone, lamb shanks oven baked with medium spiced, onions and tomato creamed sauce served with baby potatoes. Oh we were fighting over this one. Medium strength dish served with massalla potatoes.

Finally I'd recommend a portion of hot gulam jaman and ice cream to finish off what was an excellent evening.

I'd go back and those who haven't tried it, ...

Turned up tonight in a party of 3 at 21:50. Restaurant totally empty ( surprise for a Saturday evening especially as advertised closing was 23:00). We were greeted with a less than warm and enthusiastic welcome and immediately informed of the restaurant closing time. What appeared to be senior staff ‘hovered’ in the background almost trying to visually harass us during ordering and eating. This made the whole experience intimidating and unenjoyable. Bearing in mind the restaurant was empty other than us this was quite an uncomfortable experience. We ordered separate curries from the menu but were convinced that each contained the same or very similar sauces. Albeit the food was generally good, we just wanted to quickly complete our meal, leave a minimal tip and leave promptly. In all as above we arrived at 21:50 but had left within an hour due to the intimidation we received. The apparent senior staff were just interested in completing their shift! If they are indeed owners, it is indeed a very poor experience for customers and doesn’t bode well for the business with no doubt difficult trading times ahead. The approach to customer value may reflect the total lack of actual customers at what should be a busy a weekend evening and against what historically was a place of good food and experience. Last visit and will share with family and friends to...