The Queens Head — Restaurant in England

A group of us convened here on a weekday lunchtime mainly for the purposes of catching up. As there weren't too many other customers, we were largely left to chat, which was exactly what we wanted; the long-suffering waitress a paragon of patience as she returned half a dozen times to see if we'd actually looked at the menu yet (let alone picked anything!)

Having finally got around to seeing what was on offer, I, somewhat unwisely, went (what was for me) off piste and picked the burger (what could possibly go wrong, I wondered). What went wrong was pretty much everything. The chips were ok I suppose but the "seeded brioche" was mass-produced (of the type that never seems to get stale) and flabby, and the burger itself would have been more useful as an ice hockey puck. I was brought up never to leave food on my plate but, sorry Mum, there's a first time for everything and this was that time. I was not the only one amongst us to leave an uncleared plate but at least my partner's steak sandwich was a hit, with its pink-cooked, tender, juicy meat ... I'd pick it myself were I...

We stopped by for a quick drink. They refused to take my order at the bar and took 10mins with chasing to take an order outside. We sat at a free table but were kicked off. There were several free tables but all reserved, some for more than an hour later. We were invited to join someone on their table as they were leaving soon but were kicked off again We were told we could sit on a wall next to an empty table but not at the table. Ridiculous! Despite being regulars they clearly didn't want our business so we went elsewhere we were welcomed. We like the location (hence 2 stars) for walking but there is the Kings Head close by so next time we will go there. We also learnt that when the legal requirement for masks ceases staff will continue to wear them. We are keen to try to get back to normality and have no intention of going anywhere where staff are continuing to wear masks, especially when there is no science to support any benefit and good reasons why they should not be...

Excellent venue, we were there when the chimney caught fire - great entertainment! I'm not sure I want to return to this pub/restaurant until the menu is sorted out; with no reference to food prices, I could see that the cuisine is a little 'lost', it's neither pub 'nosh' nor could be considered particularly sophisticated, probably better described as trying to be a bit clever but not making it. The fish and chips were greasy and still stuck in the timescale of great fried bubbles of batter, not yet a thin crust which might be a more favourable choice. The ladies at table chose the belly of pork which was presented beautifully but not of 'manly' portion. There was a strange presentation of mashed potato which had a dark reddish colour; likely mixed with beetroot and an attempt at being trendy. All-in-all it's not a bad place to visit, but in my opinion the 'chef' needs to change direction and keep it simple - if you...