The Hole In The Wall — Restaurant in England

OK venue, but serving staff were a right miserable bunch, my food was poorly served and took nearly 50 mins despite ordering on the app, I had the Tapas and it turned up without the sauces, leaving it dry and unappetising, after asking where the sauces were, they turned up half an hour later with no apology, the fat tattooed server never smiled, she was a right misery, she should not be front of house with customers. The manager was surly and unwelcoming and the " free" drink that was supposed to come by signing up for the newsletter was refused until we ordered food. Food was manufactured/ pre-formed/frozen fare so at best average. There was a group of us and we probably spent £300 +. The serving staff on the night were an unsmiling unwelcoming bunch...so...average food, and miserable unwelcoming service...won't be going back, if you want a cheapish drink I guess its fine....oh yes, one plus..and the only plus in my opinion, the pub is dog friendly...

** 23rd April...Edit, "owner???" responded and commented about my description of the server, ok hold my hands up to that and apologise, however, she was a "misery" didn't crack a smile once, most unwelcoming, the guy on the bar...manager?? was surly and unsmiling, the ad for signing up for the newsletter and "free" drink did NOT make it very clear that you can only have a drink with a meal, and as we were all ordering food anyway I cannot see what the issue was. the FACT was I waited too long for my food, when my food came it was served incorrectly without the sauces and when I very politely mentioned this to the server she was not apologetic and just grunted and wandered off, the rest of my food arrived later with all the sauces that each dish should have come with in the first place. I can absolutely guarantee that NONE of my party were rude to any member of staff, our group are all decent reasonable people and as very seasoned travellers around not just the UK but in some cases around the globe are well versed in their expectations of service and in particular staff attitude, and in consequence will not allow themselves to be "talked down to" by surly disinterested staff, obviously the manager and staff did not like being told that their attitudes were less than satisfactory, but at no time were ANY of us rude. I reiterate the particular staff on that shift at the pub on that evening were surly and disinterested and in my opinion need a re -raining course in customer care. if you work in the that industry and are "front of house" your job is to be welcoming and cheerful, if you don't like being like that then get another job. Further edit 24/05......this is a copy of a review left a few months ago so obviously the food issues are not just a "one off" :

"Was going to this establishment with high expectations after recently being renovated. On a quiet Tuesday I was surprised to hear that food would have a 30 minute delay but that didn’t seem an issue. Food arrived finally after an hour and the smothered chicken which I had ordered was no bigger than Warwick Davis’ foot as well as having no bbq sauce which was stated on the menu. Genuinely better food and service at Wetherspoons on a busy Saturday. Would...

Found this place after trawling the interweb for a town centre pub/restaurant that offered quality and affordability. Was very surprised at the value the menu offered and the positive reviews on Google. So let me add mine to the list.

From the outside I was under the impression that the premises would be compact and more than likely cramped on a Sunday afternoon. We had booked a table , so weren't worried about getting seating. When entering I was very surprised at the size of the place. It's like a Tardis!!! Plenty of room and seating. And that was even with the Vault having a private function on. So we couldn't go down the dungeon unfortunately.

We were served by Poppy and Scott, and they were very polite and professional. Their service was everything we could ask for, and we did ask for more. More sauces, more plates, more drinks (This was not us being awkward by the way, I'll explain)

The food was very nice. We ordered the Chicken wing sharing platter with three dips and a few sides. Here is my first very small gripe. The food was served nicely, but it would have been nice to have been asked if we would like an extra plate each to share our meal on. Most restaurants do. Hence we had to request them. Maybe something your staff could ask when serving platters?

The wings were not the scrawny thin ones you need a microscope to find any meat on. No these were Meaty buggers indeed.... every one of them. Here comes my second gripe. The dips, in the tiny little tins and only half filled, was seriously not enough to use for all the wings and all that meat. (Maybe just a little more dip in the tins please chef?) So then we had to call for Poppy's assistance once more. More sauce to dip the final wings. One plate of wings and two of us... we left here absolutely stuffed and fulfilled indeed.

Overall a very pleasant experience in a nice town centre establishment that has good quality food at very respectable prices. Commendable service from all the staff on the day, so a big thank you to Poppy, Scott and the Bearded gentleman that serve our food. We shall certainly be returning in the near future....

We stopped here this evening for some food. The wine and lager we had were great. However, we ordered our food and then after nearly an hour, we asked the barman if there was an issue with our food. He was very apologetic and went to check with the kitchen. He informed us that there was a party of 15 in and our food would be out in two minutes. My boyfriend's chicken burger and side order of onion rings was brought out, minus the advertised coleslaw. We then waited another 5 minutes for my sausage and mash to come. Unfortunately our order of crispy king prawns was missing. The barman again was apologetic and returned a couple of minutes later with the prawns and missing coleslaw. We were offered a complimentary free drink, which we gratefully accepted. You'd like to think that after such a wait and with items missing, the food was well worth the wait. Unfortunately, my sausages were burnt, the prawns weren't fully cooked and missing the sriracha mayonnaise. The onions rings were greasy and the peas and mash were just ok. The food was at best adequate and not worth the £26 we paid for it. We gave this feedback to the barman and he said he would relay this to the kitchen.

It is also worth noting that the barman was new and absolutely trying his best. He's the reason service has three stars. Had it have been based on the woman working with him who was quite rude and unhelpful when he was asking her questions, it would have been a one star.

Had we been informed before we ordered that there would be such a wait, we would have enjoyed our drink and eaten elsewhere. Communication needs to be worked on, we would have appreciated an update about our food. Given the time of year, you need more staff when catering for larger groups. I don't know how the food was being prepared but the dishes were coming out one by one.

It is a shame because the menu looks good on paper and is reasonably priced. The amount we paid...