The Highlands — Restaurant in England

Having frequented The Highlands for many months we had been anxiously awaiting it's reopening following a MAJOR renovation. On entering: WOW! The Highlands now looks amazing with an incredibly tasteful colour scheme, furnishings, all new seating, tables, well, EVERYTHING looked stylish and upmarket! We were so impressed as we sat down and took in our new plush surroundings. As it was a Sunday we decided to order the Lamb roast dinner and mushrooms in stilton sauce for starters. We soon wished we hadn't. The diced mushrooms (2 each at most) arrived in a ramekin. We both looked at the tiny dish in disbelief. Surely some accompanying crusty bread would have helped bolster such a measly portion? Then things got worse. The main course arrived. It was well presented but, again, the portions were miniscule. Especially the farcical slither of lamb! Surely someone was taking the p*ss? Anyway, after taking a photo of my plate (if only to confirm my eyes weren't deceiving me) I began eating and discovered the food was barely warm. And then things got worse. Yes, even worse. The waitress approached and asked if everything was ok. I responded with a "No" and shook my head. Unbelievably, she just turned and walked away without saying a word! I'm not one to cause a scene but this was not on. I stopped her and asked why she had ignored my complaint and hadn't enquired what the problem was. She looked like a deer caught in headlights and clearly had received no training on how to deal with such a situation. I decided not to cause the young girl further distress and paid for our "snacks". Suffice it to say, we will not be returning to our once beloved Highlands. Yes, the pub was a bit dog eared but the food was first class. And that's...

Absolutely rubbish.

From the moment we made our order, and almost an hour to get our food at the table, the experience was dreadful.

We went to the bar and placed our order with the gentleman who wrote it in his little book. He turned around to type the order from the book into the POS system and was going make the charge, when we reminded him we need to order drinks too, before giving me the bill.

The food eventually came for three or the four-member party. He gave the meat lasagna to a vegetarian and the veggie lasagna to the meat eater. I'd ordered a chicken skewer starter and a curry main course. The curry came first, but as we were still waiting for the final plates for the child in our party, I just ate the curry, expecting the starter to arrive later.

We told him the horrible mistake with the lasagna's which we found out was the last veggie lasagna, so he told us they'd make another veggie pasta dish instead. At this point we asked where the four other small dishes were and apparently, he explained the chef had 'lost his head'. A further wait for the correction and two of the missing dishes, and again I had to ask where my starter was and the child's chicken tenders. The tenders came and he said after almost an hour he hadn't ordered the skewers at all, and I didn't order them. We did see him write it down as it was my first request. Maybe I should always request a receipt to check in the future.

Overall, the service was appalling, and the food was simply rubbish. Not...

We had to travel to Blackpool for a family event and needed to stay overnight so we decided to book into The Highlands (as we had previously had a family meal at there and had a really good experience). ||It turned out to be everything we needed.||The staff were friendly and helpful (we were offered a 'snack' meal even though it was past time for that menu) and enjoyed that in the big comfortable bar area.||The room we had (No. 5) was small but fine for an overnighter and both the room & shower/loo were spotlessly clean.||Although only an overnight stay we had kettle/tea/coffee/biscuits/tv/gels as well as being offered the backdoor key for our anticipated late return.||We arrived back after our party well past midnight and had a great night's sleep in the very comfortable bed, (very minor quibble; a thicker window curtain would have kept out the bright nightlight from next door).||We had a late breakfast served up to us that was a really good; a freshly cooked 'full English' with lots of toast/tea/coffee.||We will be going back to Blackpool in Feb and have already...