The Golden Retriever — Restaurant in England

Disappointed & Let Down by Shocking Service – Won’t Be Returning

We were genuinely excited to visit The Golden Retriever for a Sunday roast after reading some great reviews - and loving the name of the restaurant. We even drove over 30 minutes to get there, expecting a relaxing and enjoyable lunch. Sadly, the experience fell far short of expectations — and to be honest, it completely ruined our Sunday.

On arrival, everything seemed promising. The pub looked lovely, and although we waited around 15 minutes for our already booked table, we took that as a positive sign that the place was busy and popular. We were initially welcomed at our table by a lovely waitress, Clarissa, who let us know another waiter would be taking care of us as it was his section. That’s where things took a turn.

Our waiter (Engin), greeted us coldly — despite me trying to start a friendly conversation and even complimenting his home country and greeting him in his local language. That wasn’t an issue in itself, but what followed was appalling.

We ordered a bottle of red wine, and as he began pouring it with no care in the world, my partner politely asked to taste it first. His response in a very rude tone...

“Why? You ordered it — you should know how it tastes!”

We were completely taken aback. This is standard service practice, especially with wine, and there was absolutely no need for the condescension.

After rolling his eyes and letting my partner taste the wine, he then proceeded to fill our glasses carelessly, as if pouring water into a dog bowl, and then slammed the bottle down on the table. It was aggressive and incredibly inappropriate. Things only got worse from there. My main course didn’t arrive with the others, and, as he never took the initial order he asked bluntly, “Did you not order food then?” The man, Alex with the other two meals turned out to be the manager and overheard my concerns with the rude waiter and asked him to go get my food.

He returned a while later with the food and sides, placing them down abruptly with no care or courtesy. The entire interaction was uncomfortable, and what should have been a pleasant, relaxing lunch became stressful and awkward.

We raised our concerns with Alex, the manager, who said he would bring it up in the morning team meeting. I also mentioned how unsettling it was to see the waiter casually seating himself beside other customers when taking their order — again, not something I’ve ever seen in a professional dining setting. There was no real apology to make things right or sense of urgency to address what had clearly been an upsetting experience for us. The waiter really made me feel so uncomfortable like I was putting him out even being there.

When I raised my complaint to Alex, I immediately asked to be served by another waiter. A different lady did check in briefly, (apparently that was our new waiter) - you would not have thought as much - she eventually returned a while after we had finished eating with dessert menus, asking if we wanted dessert before our table had even been cleared from the mains. Bizarre! At that point, we simply asked for the bill as it was clear that nobody really cared at all.

Throughout the meal, the original waiter continued to stomp past our table, clearly annoyed — making us feel even more uncomfortable.

It’s a real shame, because the food itself was excellent (we all had a Sunday Roast) — the kitchen team clearly did a fabulous job. But unfortunately, they’re being seriously let down by poor, unprofessional front-of-house service. Perhaps some tips on how to be friendly to your customer should be taken from Clarissa.

We won’t be returning — and I hope management takes this feedback seriously, both for the sake of future guests and in fairness to the chefs who deserve...

I’ve been a frequent visitor to The Golden Retriever for years, but after my experience on 13/04/2025, I’ll never step foot in the place again.

We came in for a Sunday lunch – usually a comforting, reliable choice. What we got was a cold plate of food. We politely asked for it to be re-done and served hot, only to receive it again lukewarm at best. The only thing keeping it remotely warm was the gravy. According to the manager Brandon, this is “normal” because the food is batch made and “hot held.” Sorry, but there’s a clear difference between food being served warm from a hot service pass and it being stone cold, and this was the latter.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, one of our party physically pulled a hair from inside a potato. Yes – inside. Not lying on top, not floating on the plate – woven through the middle of the potato. We have a photo proving exactly that.

When we flagged this to a member of staff, the manager stormed over and things went from bad to utterly disgusting. I calmly said, “I’m really sorry, I know we’ve already been a pain, but we’ve just pulled this out of our food,” to which Brandon cut me off and barked, “Come on guys, that never happened. You clearly don’t want to pay for anything so just leave and don’t come back,” before snatching the food off our table in front of us.

The aggression from him was so intense, it left one of our group shaken and genuinely anxious. His response was not just rude – it was hostile and intimidating. To insinuate that we planted the hair is beyond insulting.

So, to be crystal clear: I would like Mitchells & Butlers to review the CCTV footage of our table from 13/04/2025 between 17:35 and 17:42 to confirm that this accusation is absolute nonsense.

When we asked for his name, he smugly replied, “It’s above the door, you can look on your way out.” Brandon – if you’re more concerned about your name above the door than how you speak to paying customers, perhaps it’s time to step away from hospitality altogether.

Interestingly, I’ve seen your position listed on Indeed. Here’s hoping M&B are actively seeking someone with actual customer service skills and the emotional regulation required to not shout at people in a restaurant.

Shame on you, Brandon. And shame on The Golden Retriever for allowing this behaviour to represent your establishment.

Given how closely Mitchells & Butlers monitors reviews, I expect a prompt and appropriate response, because if this is the standard of management you’re endorsing, that’s a...

What a lovely pub. We love vintage inns. They just have this lovely comforting charm about them and the golden retriever lived up to what we hoped it would be. We got there at about 1pm on a Sunday and the pub was very busy. I'd say 90% of tables occupied and it's not a small pub. That alone speaks volumes about how nice the golden retriever is. We ordered drinks at the bar, we were served straight away and with a warm welcome. We hadn't pre booked a table as it was an unplanned visit, luckily there was a table available. At about 2pm the diners started to empty out. So midday to 2pm I assume is the busiest time on a Sunday. Even though we arrived in the middle of peak time, the service was impeccable, staff super friendly and very welcoming. The plates etc cleared away very quickly. As most vintage inns, The food was very nice and there is a good selection of drinks. My partner had a beef roast and finished it all! He even finished his veg which doesn't happen very often! I had sea bass with broccoli and spring onion mash, it was delicious! Indoors is huge but there is also a really big beer garden, a marque of some sort, I guess for outdoor but covered seating and there is ample parking. All in all, lovely place to spend quality time with friends/family in a lovely environment surrounded by equally...