The Countryman — Restaurant in England

I’m so disappointed to have to write a review like this but I work in customer service and hospitality and was severely let down by the manner of staff today. Firstly the service was incredibly slow. Two waitresses in particular were constantly circling through the area where we were dining but with no intention of actually doing anything, for example, we were sat with our menus patiently waiting to order and multiple staff looking at us and walking past so fast, you could never catch them! I felt like I was in the middle of a F1 racetrack. The same happened when we finished our food, when wanting to order dessert and also when waiting to pay the bill which we ended up doing when walking out. We should not have to ask to order food or for our plates to be taken. I would understand if the staff were completing other tasks but as I’ve said, just circling the restaurant without intention. There just didn’t seem to be any want of anticipating customers needs. The customers on the table next to me had an issue with their service and the bill to follow. They had ordered the bread and butter pudding (I also ordered this) where there wasn’t a great amount of creme anglaise. This would have been better if served with a little extra in a small serving jug. The customers asked for some more but at no point were told it was an extra amount of money, which they should have been informed of no matter how great or small of the cost as this was not clearly stated on the menu when I looked. By the time they received the extra creme anglaise, it had been quite a while and they notified the waitress that their pudding was cold. To note, the creme anglaise was served in a soup bowl… how on earth is anyone meant to pour that gracefully? It was quite obvious that they didn’t enjoy their dessert and no offer of rectifying the issue of it now being cold, was offered. When they received the bill, they noticed they’d been charged for the extra creme anglaise which they questioned with the waitress who had absolutely no intention of rectifying it and honestly came across as quite defensive. She bluntly told them it was extra and that they could speak to a manager after payment. The customers tried explaining that this wasn’t right but the waitress had no intention of making this better, even just by asking a supervisor to speak to them. She then sarcastically said “have a nice day” whilst walking away from them. Barely a sincere apology in sight. I know this comes across as minor over custard but the principle behind it and the manner in which it was handled was merely amateur. To make matters worse, which these customers did not witness… the table behind them made a joke to the waitress as they seemed to feel bad for her being a little younger and dealing with a customer complaint (she’ll have to overcome many more in life, no matter her age!) the waitress proceeded to say “if they can’t afford the extra £1 for custard then they should not come in here”. Firstly, how dare she comment on the financial status of a customer but to also mock this in front of other customers and for surrounding guests to hear. No matter how big or small the amount, this is not a topic to mock with other guests. This is where The Countryman staff lack professionalism. What disgusting behaviour and I have never felt so embarrassed for someone and for the pub. This is not the way to behave. No one knows the financial status of other and this should never be judged! We don’t get to have dinner together often and it was ruined by experiencing and overhearing all of the above. Paying £80 feels like a waste… I do hope this isn’t mocked! One last niggle, when my partner ordered his dessert, the cheeseboard was plonked on the table on top of his cutlery… surely this is just common table etiquette to place the food NEXT to the cutlery, not on top to play hide and seek? I believe that The Countryman need to review their training procedures and ensure they are providing sufficient customer service training before allowing employees to be...

We turned up today 28/8 unannounced for Sunday dinner, roughly 1500,

Two for dinner please…. Placed in a two seater in the middle of the floor, not suitable so we went outside, when the first portion of food was delivered we asked the waitress is there were free tables inside, after being told all were reserved to be told ‘yes plenty where would you like?’

The two meals consisted of roast beef well done and roast lamb, side of red cabbage.

The speed of service was commendable - I want to stipulate this is not a destruction of the whole thing, the waitresses and speed of service were brilliant. The meat served was tasteful, cooked correctly and a pleasure. The Yorkshire puddings were the perfect blend of crunchy and soft with the gravy. Obviously home made and a credit to the chef.

Unfortunately that’s where the positives end. The potatoes were pre cooked and either left under a hot lamp or double cooked, they were awful! Three had hairs on which we set aside and showed the staff, we got an apology but that is it. The seasonal vegetables were diced small and because of that had been dried and over cooked, the mash was a small ice cream scoop.

The side of greens were limp lifeless again I assume precooked and kept in warm water.

I would recommend the pub for its character and the under waitresses but I have to say the price point of £16 for a roast dinner when the food was either inedible due to human interaction or state of food means for a very sour experience.

Would have liked something doing about the hairy potatoes...

Having made a booking for today at 5pm (second sitting) yesterday , I phoned at 1pm today to confirm Sunday roast dinners would be on and was told yes they would still be available when we turned up , upon arriving we were greeted and sat only to be told they had run out of Sunday roasts and according to one of the servers, they usually ran out of roasts at around 3pm, which was disappointing. It should be clear that second sittings doesn't mean roast dinners are available. After we were sat , it took a while for someone to come and take our drink order and similar with the food, even though there seemed to be a fair amount of staff just standing there. When the food had arrived, some of the meals were very small and disappointing for the price. There was a few other little things that the servers didn't quite get right. Our overall experience wasn't awful but wasn't quite what we had hoped for ,we hope whoever takes into consideration ours and a few others opinions...