The Pantry 8020 Brigg — Restaurant in England

What an excellent experience we had, celebrating my partner's 31st birthday. I chose this place for a surprise brunch, as the sample menu appeared exciting and unusual, not your bog standard brunch options. However, an interesting menu isn't enough on its own, but it was enough to entice me in.

There was a bit of a faff with bookings, as I originally booked another branch but that was moving and the new place wasn't open on the day I wanted to go, but I received a personal email from the general manager and my booking was moved to the Brigg venue.

When you arrive, you are greeted with a very esthetically pleasing venue. Clearly every part of the venue had been thought about and designed. We were promptly greeted, our booking checked and we were quickly seated to a lovely two seater table in the corner of the room. The table is a good size and decorated with fresh flowers. My only complaint would be that the seats at the front had raised bumps at the front which made them slightly uncomfortable to sit in but did not detract from the overall experience.

I was pleased to see that the menu for the day was equally, if not more, exciting compared to the example menu on the website. It was clear with so many fantastic options, it was going to be difficult to pick. Whilst trying to decide, our drinks order was taken and some advice on what was available as one item was out of stock on the day.

Our drinks arrived quickly and were fantastic. We both chose cafe con leche, which is a Spanish coffee made with condensed milk. It was not as sweet as I was expecting, but that allowed the coffee to still shine through. The coffee itself was well rounded and not too bitter, beautifully presented with art and a perfect temperature.

Our order for food was then taken, which after struggling to pick from the options as they all sounded excellent, we went for items which we just couldn't get anywhere else as they were so unusual. In fact, it was so tricky we ordered a third item to share!

I went for the Crispy Pork Belly Benedict, the birthday girl went for the wild mushroom croissant and we chose the bread and butter pudding french toast to share as a 'brunch dessert'. We also were excited by the in-house smoked salmon, so ordered a side of that too.

The wait time was reasonable. It wasn't exceptionally busy but certainly wasn't quiet. Once the food arrived, my goodness it was a feast for the eyes.

The food was plated with precision and finesse. It was clear the thought which had gone into each and every item on the plate, and this was even more evident in the eating experience.

My Crispy Pork Belly Benedict was pure perfection. The salty, meaty pork was complimented with the sweetness of the chilli jam, enhanced by the richness of the egg yolk and hollandaise. The nori and hash browns brought welcome texture making it a pleasant experience all round. The nori added an earthiness to the meal whilst adding additional seasoning. The egg yolk was runny perfection and overall the the dish was outstanding. The best brunch meal I have ever consumed.

My partners wild mushroom croissant was punchy umami, cheesy rich goodness, served upon a flaky, buttery croissant. The egg again adding much welcome richness to the dish. We were both astounded by the quality of the food.

Whilst we were consuming our 'brunch mains', sat between us was this beautifully presented, bread and butter french toast, longing for us to devour it.

Once the time came, we dove in and were greeted with an explosion of flavour. The bread still had crispy texture and flavour of a traditional bread and butter pudding. The pistachio cream brought a nuttiness and richness to the dish, the vanilla ice cream enhancing each bite. The pistachio cream drizzle aided the pistachio flavour throughout with fresh raspberry and dried raspberry bringing a zing to the dish.

I have to say, this venue has it all. An interesting menu, great service, a beautiful design, perfectly present food and the flavour to back it all up. All for a reasonable price. We will...

Appalling Service. Unhelpful Staff. I am updating my review today prompted by two reasons. I’ve calmed down enough to write a fair and succinct report. (Following Yesterdays Visit) The more detailed review left earlier by another customer who shared similarities to my experience. Ergo, I too used to frequent Steele’s and keen to experience this new venture. After failing to secure a table twice in the first week, I arrived at 08.50 feeling fairly confident in securing a table. I entered at the opening time of 09.00 as the first customer. My greeting was: ‘Have You Booked?’. No ‘Good Morning can I help You?’, just a stone faced Employee with a diffident and accusatory tone. I responded that I hadn’t but was hoping to just have a cup of coffee only? The response was ‘No we are fully booked today’. I looked around in disbelief at the empty premises and said ‘Whilst I’m sure you have bookings secured with some imminent arrivals of customers, surely a stampede isn’t anticipated is it? Further, ‘so are you sure I can’t just have a cup of coffee?’ This Young Lady then looked down and perused her booking sheet and said, ‘Well you can have a table but only until 10a.m.’ I felt like just turning around and leaving but tamed the truculent emotions and acquiesced. I sat drinking an excellent Cappuccino observing the staff members going about their day. I stayed 20 minutes. In that time a table of 4 with a booking entered. Then an Older Gentleman entered and asked for a table. A different (smiling) Member of staff replied ‘ yes come this way please’. ( I’m a very interested bystander at this point). This customer was quickly followed by a lady entering and asking from the doorway, ‘Do you have a table for 2 I can book please in 15 minutes?’ She was told yes we have!! I was not amused. Why the unhelpful belligerent greeting I was met with? Why told ‘no tables?’. Had I not persisted and just accepted as a fait accompli I would have been none the wiser. To conclude this saga (only so detailed to elaborate on my low rating and the axiomatic disgruntlement), I will add that the remaining staff looked more friendly and dare I say ‘approachable’, premises were clean and tastefully decorated. Atmosphere definitely lacking, felt more like a Clinical enviro than a place of social recreation. What would reduce the rather uniformed cramped canteen seating perhaps, would be at least two areas with clutters of small armchairs with a coffee table affording more relaxed and inviting ergonomics. Further Staff Training may help with Inter personal skills, but Character and Personality Charm...

3/ 7/ 23 As regular customers of The Steel Rooms, my husband and I were keen to visit The Pantry feeling very positive about sampling something new and exciting especially as customer reviews have been so good. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm was quickly quashed when no warm welcome was offered, just a curt, " Have you booked?" from an unsmiling member of staff on the service desk by the front door. We ordered two large soya lattes which came in a standard cup with no sugar on the saucer or on the table. We were, subsequently, given two sachets each. The atmosphere felt flat and canteen- like with so many tables placed closely together in uniform rows from the back wall stretching across the room. The decor is crisp and clean and contemporary and looks very smart and business- like. Although this is not to my taste, it cannot be faulted, even though it is somewhat predictable.

The young lady who took payment for our coffees behaved in an exemplary manner, gentle, smiling and efficient. A pleasure to deal with which left us feeling more positive. However, this was swiftly undone when, on the way out, the same member of staff we had encountered at the service counter on the way in, loudly called to us, " Have you paid?" Not only was this extremely rude and insulting, it showed that no training had been given at all in staff/ customer liaison. This young lady certainly needs it if she is to be front of house and dealing with the public. Unfortunately, this left us with a very bad taste...