Wig & Walnut — Restaurant in England

I was really looking forward to visiting after the rebrand and reopening, the redesign both inside and out is very nice however the wig and walnut fell far below my expectations. My friend and I decided to try it out and have a celebratory birthday meal, we were seated on a very small table, every time I moved I hit my arm off the wall, the restaurant/pub had a lot of available tables but it seems as though everyone was crammed in next to each other (I found the tables very close together). When we were seated the lady next to us had to move all her belongings from my seat as there was no available space and throughout the time I was there I felt like I’d joined the table next to us for dinner. I fully understand the necessity to available maximise space but it was very uncomfortable.

I work in central London so I’m used to high food and drink prices in established restaurants, however for a local pub in the midlands the prices are far to high. £8 for a g&t? Harvester offer the same drink (same branded gin and tonic) for £3/£3.5 cheaper (understandably the pub offer a varied range of gins but this does not make it a reasonable argument to overcharge customers because of the additional stock). In my opinion the food was also very overpriced for local pub food and has made it unsustainable to visit other than on ‘special occasions’ / the drinks menu was also lacking the prices of soft drinks (while not the biggest issue, I think given the current economic climate all the prices should be available).

Understandably the cost of the refurbishment has to be accounted for, however I do not think the quality offered is on par with the prices being charged. Ultimately for a midlands based pub establishment with a considerable amount of competition in the local area, the wig and walnut did not ‘wow’ me, it didn’t leave me with a memorable food experience or an atmospheric reminder from my visit, and in my personal opinion I doubt I’d return, as a grange park local I’d much rather take visiting family and friends to other local pubs/restaurants where I feel the prices do justify the quality.

Also I’d like to add this my personal experience of the wig and walnut on a particular day at a particular time, I’ve seen some of the review replies, and just want to be clear this isn’t an attack on the staff or the brand but just what I experienced...

The interior is a significant improvement but the service was pretty rubbish and the food average considering the prices.

The chicken on the salads was dry for £4 extra each! I asked for extra salad dressing... twice (as was forgotten the first time) and was given olive oil, not the dressing on the salad.

The girl serving us was sweet but gave us two garlic ciabattas when we wanted 3 with cheese.

The payment was a nightmare! As a group of four, some of who had ordered significantly less than others, we wanted to pay for what we ordered. For some reason, we couldn't just pay what we owed on the chip and pin machine. After 10 minutes of staff faffing we were asked to note down our initials next to each item on the receipt so they could work it out on the till..... after another 5 minutes of faffing a member of our group just paid it and we transferred money to her. I've never been somewhere where it was so complicated to just split the bill!

Overall it was good company and the staff were nice enough but maybe still finding their feet. The food and payment system really need work though...

Was not really a fan of the Grange Inn, and thought to give The Wig & Walnut a chance, but what we found is an absolute joke.

Booked a table for an anniversary and was seated so close to a family we might as well have joined them for dinner, what made matters worse is the other half of the ‘restaurant’ was completely empty.

The menu is an appalling, please tell me why their drinks menu doesn’t have a price list on half of their drinks and the other half is more expensive than London prices?

The food menu looked horrendous, again same issue over priced pub food. Paying nearly £15 for a simple pub menu item.

I will definitely not be giving this place a chance again.

(Towards The Wig & Walnut. This isn't an attack on your staff, this is an honest review on a recent visit to your establishment. You may not like how some customers feel when visiting but you have to accept not everyone will like how you run the business with decor, pricing and other things. If you cannot even find the time or effort to reply then don't bother putting such rude and blunt replies to how the general...