The Olive Branch — Restaurant in England

I visited on Monday 21st with my husband and two friends for a special get together as we hadn't seen each other in a few months. We chose to sit in the garden as it was a nice evening. They have cushions for some of the seats and parasol heating under the umbrellas. I have visited the Olive Branch a few times in the past and mostly found it a quite pleasant experience. On this occasion I was the designated driver so not drinking alcohol. On arrival at the bar I requested the mocktail menu as the soft drink option was uninspiring. The bar lady told me she couldn't find a mocktail menu to give me but she could read it off the screen. She named some but didn't know what they were made up of so asked a colleague who was clearing up tables. I chose an 'English country garden' I think because it had elderflower in it. The bar lady referred to the 'purple folder' for the instructions then asked a male colleague to actually make it whilst she served my friend who was waiting this whole time to order the other 3 drinks. This colleague visibly groaned and made a face about having to search for the instructions in the 'purple folder' then made a big show of trying to find it, flapping through the pages and huffing at the obvious inconvenience I was causing him. To which end I became so irritated that I said forget it! And just ordered a soft drink off the main drinks menu. This arrived in a can that was presented to me without ice or maybe lemon or even a glass which I had to ask for. I could have more choice and better service in a supermarket if I'd wanted a canned drink. I had just returned from a holiday in Asia where everyone in the service industry made my visit to their establishment a memory to treasure. What a shame that my return to the UK has just re-enforced the very behaviour I choose to get away from...poor attitude to customers and something similar to rudeness if requesting anything that required more than just pulling a pint or pouring straight from a bottle - basically no real effort and something I can do in my own home. Which is why so many of my friends question why we should bother to go out to drink in the first place. You may think this is someone just having a rant and you would be partially correct unless you bothered to read my reviews of other venues then you would see this was actually quite fair... especially considering that the main purpose of this establishment is to serve drinks and food is just a side venture to support...

Went here for a birthday meal. Starter was nice squid tacos. Others mains looked good (burgers pub grub) an I wish I’d gotten that as I had the prawn spaghetti and it was strange to say the least the spaghetti had either been cut up or snapped going into the pan, so was in tiny bits very odd, the sauce was just olive oil it was literally swimming in it so greasy. Was expecting something authentic I guess like Italian kitchen but it wasn't’.

Then came the drama with the bill. We were a good party of ten and we paid separately. When it got to the end there was some money still left on bill (over £30) we couldn’t figure out what this was for neither could the staff. The head waiter got quite shirty and was just in general quite rude even saying well “until this is sorted I won’t let you leave 😳”. She had already showed the same attitude earlier on when discussing a small change to our pre order (we scrapped the change in the end as it was too much drama) anyhow the extra turned out to be drinks that were paid for at the bar at time of order but the card machine broke and it didn’t go through so they moved it onto the bill. This would have been fine had they let us know that straight away. But they didn’t, it descended into an argument and much embarrassment.

Having worked in pubs myself for many years if I’d made an error like that, then tried to blame the customer causing a scene I’d say the least I could do would be to apologise and maybe waiver that £ but no neither of those happened. We left thinking wth went on there. Don’t think we will be returning for a group meal there soon tbh. Shame as it’s a lovely pub, beautiful building, some food was nice but being made to feel like we were trying to cheat them out of a measly £30 when we had already spent £100s was just not on it’s not what I want from a service...

We visited with friends and unfortunately the experience was disappointing. On arrival we were shown to our booked table but not given menus or asked about drinks. After waiting 30 minutes, one of us went to the bar to ask what was happening, only to be told we were seated in a self-serve area (something we hadn't been told at the start). We were then moved into the restaurant, given menus, but still no drink order taken until much later. Our server, Georgina, explained she was new. She was very shy but pleasant and did her best, which we appreciated. Drinks eventually arrived at the same time as our meals. My "small plate" was extremely small - just a tiny piece of cauliflower with some onion, beans and rocket. When it came to dessert, we all ordered the Eton Mess, but were then told it wasn't available. Three of us chose alternatives, but portions were very small considering the price. Finally, when it came to paying, we discovered they don't accept cash - something not mentioned on the website or clearly displayed in the restaurant (only "card only bar" was shown). This caused embarrassment for my friends who only had cash. When the manager, Tom, came over, he was abrupt and dismissive, telling them to "get your friend to pay and pay them back" before walking off. His manner was very rude and unprofessional. We could see him marching around the place without any customer service at all. He shouldn't be in a position of management with that attitude. The only positive of the lunch was Georgina, who was polite and tried hard despite clearly being under pressure. Unfortunately, the overall service, poor communication, small portions, and rudeness from the manager mean we won't...