Lovely food (for the most part), but the evening was totally spoiled by disinterested and blatantly rude staff...

We recieved a warm and friendly welcome at the front desk from the manager, and was taken to a cosy table in the corner upstairs. The place looked busy, the staff we had met so far were friendly... off to a good start. Our waitress for the evening brought us some drinks while we waited for the rest of our party. All good so far.

Unfortunately, the beer I ordered was warm, no biggie, I asked if they could swap it for a refrigerated bottle (the least I'd expect having paid an extortionate 7.25 for a bottle of peroni)... and that was it. From that moment on, our waitress for the evening treated myself, and the rest of the party with utter contempt. All smiles at other tables, checking in on them, then a rushed huff when seeing to us. Heaven forbid we wanted more drinks, we had to chase and stop her to ask, and even then it was met by an eye roll, and drinks returned with a slam on the table and a sigh.

We were nothing but polite all evening, but from the second I requested a cold beer, she had made her mind up that we were a problem table.

We decide to skip starters and get mains. For the most part, the food was delicious. The chicken twice was fantastic, the burgers looked great, and the guys at the table with meatballs swore they were some of the best they had ever had! Unfortunately the macoroni cheese came out cold, we would have let the waitress know, but she never came to ask us if the food was OK (and she was angry enough as it is).

I reluctantly asked for another beer, which was slammed on the table, and was again warm. I didn't dispute it, I didn't have chance. The waitress stormed off in her now familiar fashion before I could touch the bottle.

She eventually offered us desert menus, but 20 minutes later, we still didn't have menus in hand, so I cheekily collected them myself. The deserts were fantastic. I had mentally scored the visit 2 stars due to the waitress. But at this moment in time, the dessert earned back the 3rd.

Then came the bill. We noticed the sneaky 12.5% service charge (come on bills, nobody likes that), which we collectively agreed was not deserved. Of our group, atleast half had worked in hospitality, and all are usually generous tippers (probably 20%+ on average) But the audacity to assume a 12.5% tip, given the horrendous service, rubbed us all up the wrong way. I politely asked for the warm beer and cold sides to be removed from the bill, and the manager came over to talk to me.

Now the manager, to his credit, was extremely polite and understanding. He apologised for the food, and asked about the service. I was honest and said we weren't happy and explained why. Again he apologised, and admitted what we experienced wasn't good enough. He was a little perplexed as to the waitresses hurriedness, admitting she only had 3 tables to look after. But he assured he would have a word with her. I was keen to sing praise for the rest of the food which was accepted graciously.

That should have been that. We paid our bill separately using the app, got up to leave, when (I assume another manager, short, bearded, abrupt) rushed over to tell us we hadn't paid everything. We asked what was left unpaid, he could not tell us. We worked our way though the entire bill, and could account for everything. But this mystery charge remained. We reluctantly gave the benefit of the doubt and paid.

Cherry on the cake, as we were leaving, this bearded guy stood by the door and sarcastically said "See you all again soon!" Before muttering "or not", which was heard by the 3 girls at the tail end of our group.

For 3 of us. This was our first experience of bills. For the other 4, this was an excited 2nd visit. Having raved about the great food and staff from their last visit a few months ago. Needless to say we all left extremely let down.

Maybe the sneaky service charge has removed the incentive to actually earn a tip? Just an idea.