Toby Carvery East Hunsbury — Restaurant in England

I have never been treated so badly by what seemed to be the manager. Firstly we arrived and the queue was out the door, we had booked and when I booked there was lots of slots so I wasn't expecting it to be so busy. I'm always very understanding how it can be difficult for staff when places are so overwhelmingly busy. However, when we got to the front and told the lady our booking reservation she was looking for a free table asking another staff member if some customers had left yet and when she responded no the lady swore in front of my son and said they should have paid and left by now... Eventually we were seated, this was our first time at a Toby carvery so we didn't know if you ordered at the bar or if someone comes to your table. We waited 20 mins so I thought we must order at the bar, but as I went to go up I saw the table near us being asked what drinks they'd like to order, so I sat back down and waited. After 30 mins of being seated we were finally asked what drinks we would like, then when our food order was taken we all ordered a carvery we weren't told any details, like where to find the carvery station or if you were given a ticket etc. I asked someone and was told we can just go up, my son went first as I don't eat meat and was told my pie would take some time to cook and they'd come to the table to let me know when to go up (in hindsight I should have just gone up when my son did as you queue for half hour) When me and my husband went to queue we had to ask a server to put cutlery on our table. When we joined the queue for the carvery our son was almost at the front where you collect your food, so I would say our table was unattended for maximum 5-7 mins, but my handbag, our drinks and our cutlery was all there, when my son went to go back to the table they had cleared it and sat other people there, so our drinks had been chucked and my belongings put behind the bar. They then moved those people to a different table to let my son sit down and said sorry that they thought we had left (which is strange because we had ordered and not paid yet) they had moved my bag which my son had asked to be returned, when I came to the table 15 mins later my bag had still not been given back (which had my money in and phone) so my husband said to the original lady from the beginning who I assumed was the manager (dark hair and red/pink lipstick, not in same uniform as others) "excuse me" and she literally shushed my husband and told her she was busy, luckily another lady did see and intervened and asked if everything was ok to which I told her I just wanted my bag, this lady did give us 20% off at the end but I'm sorry I've still had to write this review because I cannot believe how bad the service was, this was our first and definitely our last time at this...

Don't know how to begin. Use to come here regularly and after moving haven't been for some time. Took the father in law out to Rushden crazy golf which was amazing as I didn't see him on Christmas day. It was also his birthday on the 1st, being the first person born in Northampton 1959. We decided to go to Toby..the home of the roast! Should of stayed at home for a roast. First impressions where poor,run down externally and untidy. Did want to judge a book by it's cover and had great experiences here previously. Walked in to find no one around. Wandered thru to the bar to find 3 members of staff in the corner? Maybe they had been naughty?. Was patient at the bar and was obvious to the staff we was there. Finally I asked for service and was told to wait. Ordering drinks was difficult however found a seat and sat down. Generally looked uncared for. Sat with our drinks whilst staff dicked around in the corner taking pictures and avoiding work. Asked about the carvery again seemed a burden. We walked through to the eating area,with empty tables not cleared of plates and not at a busy time of day.. early afternoon. The young man from the kitchen was the only good highlight of the visit who was welcoming,polite and served out meat well..thankyou!! Moved on to the veg which looked a little sorry for itself. The carrots had past it and all broken and mildly black around the edges. I called thru to door to the kitchen to an older man with a tall chef hat. Said hi chef may we have some other carrots please as these are past it,after a mild huff he stated these would take 5mins. Said thanks that's great could you let us no when there ready whilst we eat. No carrots ever appeared. 2 out of 3 meals where eaten and was really disappointed with nothing positive apart from the service provided by the kitchen lad. Wouldnt recommend and worried about food hygiene,theres so many easy things to turn it around but just neglected. Used the toilet before leaving to find a leaking urinal all over the floor,a long strip of toilet roll and no hand soaps working just a refill left on the side. The heater by the hand dryer was filthy and had its own ecosystem. Was going to take pictures however as a bloke in a toilet taking pictures didn't want any misconceptions.you have cameras if you watched them or walked around yourself you can see for yourself this is what your...

We visited this Carvery recently with a Groupon voucher for a two-course meal for two adults and two children, expecting a pleasant dining experience. Regrettably, the visit was fraught with issues that made it frustrating and disappointing.

Despite having a confirmed booking, no table had been reserved for us. Instead, we were offered a makeshift arrangement by the entrance, even though the restaurant was mostly empty—and remained so until we left. This lack of preparation was unacceptable and left a poor first impression.

We ordered starters, which took over 20 minutes to arrive. The staff claimed the chef was overwhelmed with orders, but with only three occupied tables (already on their main courses), this explanation seemed disingenuous. We decided to proceed with our main course, hoping the starters would arrive in the meantime. However, even by the time we finished, the starters still had not arrived. After waiting for 45 minutes, we gave up and canceled them, only to find out they hadn’t even been started.

We ordered desserts next, which did arrive but were of poor quality, further adding to our dissatisfaction. To make matters worse, many items on the menu were unavailable, significantly limiting our options.

The management’s lack of attentiveness compounded the experience. The manager was visibly present but seemed more focused on cleaning tables and glasses than ensuring customers were being served properly. The final frustration came with the bill. Despite presenting our Groupon voucher, we were incorrectly charged the full amount, an error that should never have occurred. Only after a supervisor intervened and explained the process to her colleagues was the issue resolved, but it highlighted a concerning lack of training.

This visit was deeply disappointing. While I understand occasional issues can arise, the sheer number of missteps during this experience suggests a lack of leadership and operational efficiency. If improvements are not made, I fear this establishment may face serious challenges in the future. For now, I cannot recommend it, either to friends, family, or even casual...