The Spotted Dog — Restaurant in England

Visited for Sunday lunch at 12.00 on 26th November 2023 (first people in, so no rush on). This was a very personal occasion. I lost my mum in July and my 92 year old disabled house bound father has not been able to leave the house since. This was his first venture out and was to be his Christmas dinner early. Firstly the positives. Having visited this venue before I was incredibly impressed with the refurbishment. Gone was the dark oppressive run down decor. Replaced superbly all round, it looked great. Wheel chair disability access was sound, no problems there at all. Staff were ok generally but all starred like rabbits in headlights as we walked to our table. Then it went wrong. We ordered 3 roast beef, I think at £18.95 each and one child's Sausage and Mash. All dishes were served luke warm. Even the roasts were not hot! Don't get me wrong the taste was lovely, but the food was cold even the child's dish. Which incidentally would not fill a mouse it was a tiny portion. We were asked the customery question by a very young girl, "was everything ok with the food"? I kindly and quietly pointed out our disappointment and dissatisfaction. At first she just stared dumbfounded. Then replied, "well it will be a little more". I asked what she meant and she informed me, we would have to pay extra if we wanted the food heating up! I nearly lost it. I asked to speak with the Manager. Meal now ruined. The Manager never came. I searched for them at the end of the meal to express our joint dissatisfaction. To be fair he was very apologetic and suggested he didn't get the message. He was kind with his words especially to my dad. Apologised profusely and took the price of the drinks from the bill (3 cokes and one Moretti). We left utterly shocked and annoyed. I have to pay extra for our meals to be hot! With the cost of living rising, meals out for us are prescious enough. You hope that those odd occasions will be positive. I think the food is priced at the higher end personally but I maybe out of touch. However hot food should be. Heat is not a side order that's extra. We won't be...

As a family of five celebrating a birthday, our experience at The Spotted Dog was far from what we had hoped for. Having visited the restaurant previously and enjoyed our meals, we were looking forward to this occasion with high expectations. Unfortunately, several aspects of our visit led to disappointment.

The wait times for our food were excessively long. After finally receiving our starters, which were already lacking in key ingredients, we then faced an even longer wait for our main courses—an additional hour and a half.

Throughout this time, we felt neglected as no one checked on us to see if we wanted more drinks or if everything was satisfactory. The plates from our starters remained on the table for extended periods without being cleared away, further contributing to the feeling of poor service.

The quality of the food did not meet our expectations either. When it came time for the main courses, they too fell flat; they lacked flavor and presentation.

In summary, what should have been a delightful birthday meal turned into a frustrating experience due to inadequate service and subpar food quality. It is disheartening because we had previously enjoyed dining at The Spotted Dog and expected better on...

Ruined birthday meal this evening. Prosecco was flat (this was rectified when highlighted). Wine order forgotten about. Mains were the only okay part of the meal! The dessert was shocking, we both ordered creme brûlée which was okay however a few bites in I got an overwhelming smell of garlic … the shortbread biscuits on the side smelt of garlic, it was horrific and obviously not what you want as part of your dessert! When highlighting this to the staff we were given an apology and told that the biscuits had been stored in a tupperwear with something garlicky!! I don’t believe this at all, I think they’d been baked with something garlicky as the smell was so bad. There was no gesture no nothing from the staff, personally I think the least that could’ve been done was not to charge us for the desserts!! We’ve been left with a bad taste in our mouths - literally!!! Won’t be returning sadly. The venue itself is beautiful it’s just a shame the food and service have let it down on...