The Two Brewers — Restaurant in Epping Forest

What a pity... A couple of weeks ago A friend and I visited the Two Brewers during the week and enjoyed decent food and warm, affable service. This experience led me to book a midday table last Sunday to enjoy a last lunch with a visiting friend.

The roast potatoes were certainly not freshly done - at least from the day before, hopefully not from last Sunday - which was a shame as crispy fluffy roasties are my favourite. Huge Yorkshire puddings, puffy, the edges tall and slightly crispy featured on both our plates and the shredded red cabbages was vinegary, but the rest of the food was a uniform beige bland. The sweet chilli sauce of my squid and melon starter was from a bottle and the squid overdone, but the combination could be delicious. The waffles and sticky toffee puddings did not disappoint at all.

The service throughout was overly attentive, with 3 waitresses - an echo of the warmth from my first experience plus 2 others - and ultimately we were asked to leave before our coffees arrived. At this point we were informed that Two Brewers have sittings and we were holding up a reservation. We were lectured by an officious woman about how Two Brewers timed sittings work, as if we were at an induction meeting. I understand that some restaurants do this and I choose not to eat at those places with the pre-theatre exception. I certainly would not have chosen such an arrangement for my Leisurely Sunday lunch. This information would have been better conveyed at the time of booking and certainly not before we had finished our meal. This waitress - my guest imagined she was the manager - came armed with our bill then scuttled off to fetch our coffees. We, embarrassed and feeling unwelcome, decided we could find coffee elsewhere, but when we suggested this to her upon her return, coffees on tray, she grudgingly said that we may as well have our coffees after all.

Why did we stay? We were enjoying each other’s company and really did not want to spend any more time than necessary discussing such disrespectful, rude, disorganised behaviour.

This was a mediocre meal, heightened by an excellent staff member and brought to rock bottom by clumsy management who demonstrated disregard for the customer. ...

Dear Sarah and team,

Wow what a fantastic day we had on Saturday on our wedding day - our new favourite place to be!

Right from the start, you have been outstanding. You understood our requests and helped turn them into reality. You allowed us to have a say over our menu, catering for all our guests’ needs and the room looked amazing on the day. You helped us set up the night before and were so warm and welcoming. You have become a true friend to us since planning started.

Sarah, you have the perfect balance of being professional, with a keen eye for detail but also warm and compassionate. You knew how important the day was for us and I could tell you made it your personal mission to make sure it was perfect. You even took in the flower delivery in the morning and laid out the table beautifully.

You ensured we were given privacy on the day when needed for our speeches and yet always on hand if we needed it.

The food was exquisite and everyone said it was cooked and presented to perfection.

All of this was overseen by you and you even popped in to see us before your shift ended to say goodbye and wish us luck.

I don’t think I have ever seen someone who takes such pride in the service they offer.

The ambiance of the Two Brewers is second to none. It’s like a warm hug. All the lovely locals were wishing us well and saying how happy we looked. We truly were.

Even the manager popped by to say last orders and check if we wanted anything. We felt completely at home all day. We could not have had a better time.

We will be booking “our room” for all family events in the future and you have definitely gained some new regulars!

We love you all for everything you did.

Please make sure you pass this onto your supervisor, as you certainly deserve significant recognition for all you did.

See you soon and sending you lots of...

I was extremely disappointed and shocked how much a solid 5 star that we have been to several times as gone down hill. (My 2022 5 star review follows this one) Went today for family meal for my sons 20th Birthday it started off very well, we had some of the picking plates for starters which were very tasty. Table was cleared and waitress thought it was acceptable just to dump a pile of cutlery for our mains in a heap on the corner of the table. Four out of five mains came up, one wrong and one missing a side. After 5 mins I went to find the waitress few minuteslater the final main came up and the wrong meal had been sorted out but the steak was stone cold, waitress informed me that my side would still be a few minutes as they had used my side to complete the meal that was wrong that came back with cold steak. Manager came over to see what the problem was he was nice and assured us that he would sort out the issues and offered 2 out of 5 of us a complementary drink and would do something with the bill (not really the point as we came out to all eat together and celebrate a birthday) The young waitress thought i was aceptable to moan how hard she has been working describing the blisters on her feet and moan about her job (great dinner table conversation) food was ok notthing like the excellent delicious food we have has on previous visits. Deserts were fantastic unlike the waitress handing out spoons from the dished end. Managers idea of doing something with the bill was one free desert. Honestly what a dissapointing experience over £50 a head your better off going Wetherspoons December 2022 Only been here a couple of times over past few years most recently for my sons 18th birthday excellent food and great service made a excellent memory for sons...