The Hayhurst Arms — Restaurant in England

Well….what can I say, we visit here most Sundays, so this is difficult to write, so here goes…. sometimes we have food here but mostly just drinks, today we decided to have some food and boy were we disappointed….place has really dropped off the edge of a cliff, service was terrible, the 2 kids on the bar were nothing shy of embarrassing, chap called (Tom) and a younger girl were just short of getting a room together, people around us complaining about there drinks not turning up while “Ken and Barbie” were flirting all over the bar together and clearly other staff were getting frustrated with them…..we ordered food and most of it was good, however the fish cake for nearly 14 quid was just one fish cake and garnished with cheap vegetables to make it look expensive, we got some burnt chips after we had eaten the meal, a chap from the management clearly seen we were not happy and kindly took the chips off the bill……I spoke to (Tom) at the bar and told him that’s it’s a shame to see the place go down hill….he asked why and I mentioned the service was poor, he replied with the table we sit on gets forgotten about, although it’s right next to the bar, and although we didn’t book a table and were in the bar…..we still pay the same price for food and drink as everybody else, so there is no reason to be treated differently…..we left shortly after this as Tom and the girl in the bar were clearly talking about us, which made us feel great, it was also nice that they were clearing up around us, obviously wanting to get finished, bin bags being swung around while we were eating was wonderful, this was at 7:15 so a long way away from there 10:30 closing time, Management were having a knock up meal in the back room and not arsed about the shambles going on around them.

we paid the bill and cleared off, safe to say we probably won’t be going back anytime soon

Awful shame as the brunning and price pubs are normally good…..they better get a grip on this place before...

Service was sub par, some of the waiters couldn't have looked less interested in doing their job.

Ordered 2 gin and tonics which I was astounded to find out when we got the bill that they came to over £22 on their own, nearly 1/3 of the cost of the whole meal. You'd expect it to be delivered by someone related to royalty for that price, but no, just normal tasting gin with fever tree tonic, at least they can rob you like royalty...

Once we had devoured our main course, the less than uninterested waiter came over and asked us if we were finished with our meals, and once we had told him we had, he proceeded to take our plates away. After 15 minutes I realise that he's not coming back to ask us if we would like any more drinks or a dessert, in the meantime I had started to admire the decor, which was made to look homely and comforting, but reeked of corporate, such as the obvious fake walls which had been put up in a hurry and left with gaps so you could peek through them to the table opposite ours, and the very inappropriate artwork which I don't think anyone who works there has looked at otherwise they would've taken it down. In the end I had to go to the bar and wait in the queue to be served for another 5 minutes. I ordered 2 coffees and a dessert.

5 minutes after having returned to our table, the waitress who served me came up and apologised as they wouldn't be able to serve us coffees as they had ran out of milk, we could wait a further 20 minutes for a staff member to return with fresh supplies, I told her to cancel our coffees and proceeded to wait 10 more minutes for the dessert to arrive.

The food is nice here, but expect to pay through the nose for spirits, and don't expect the waiters to return or...

EDIT: They have contacted me and offered a complimentary meal; will edit my review once that has been taken!

Nice staff but the food was awful - overpriced and awful quality. My first dish (coconut feta fritters with risotto and asparagus) arrived without the asparagus, which I had to ask for. It arrived - three tiny pieces, overcooked and with no dressing on it. The fritters were dry, but not crispy, and mushy and flavourless inside. Risotto was dry and not at all creamy, just oily, and barely warm. I sent the first dish back, and ate the expensive (£5.95!) but mediocre truffle Parmesan chips in the meantime.

Chose soup instead, which was fine but nothing special and tasted so much like one from a well-known supermarket that I wouldn’t have been surprised if that’s where it was from. It was accompanied by a once-crusty roll that had clearly been warmed up in the microwave, as it was completely squishy, and the soup must have been microwaved too because it was hot in patches rather than consistently.

I have never sent a dish back in any pub or restaurant before, and tried to explain (twice) what the issues were, but though the staff were very smiley they didn’t seem in the least bit interested. There was no apology from the lady who came to ask what I’d like to replace the first dish with, and no hint of any sort of discount to compensate for having to reorder and wait an extra ten minutes while my companion ate her food. Had I not been in a rush to get to an important meeting I’d have queried this.

I do not write negative reviews without first giving the establishment the chance to rectify the situation, as I did here. Overall I was very unhappy with the experience and will not...