Miller & Carter Fleet — Restaurant in Hart

I have now been to the Fleet M&C twice. And I can only say I'm disappointed.

There is an air about the M&C brand that exudes class and special occasion. I mean after all they have a dress code! The prices reflect that experience and I am happy to pay for that. After having an excellent experience at the Bagshot branch previously, I was all for giving our more local Fleet branch a go for another birthday treat. And I was hugely disappointed. The service was either a rush or non existant. I will say it was busy but on a Thursday evening this was not what we expected. Juniors running riot, People wearing tracksuits (why have a dress code as standard if you won't enforce it) and the heating being questionable. The service was poor and delays to food. Which is fine when busy I will accept that. We had a voucher to use and there was a drama regarding the payment using the voucher.

I'm one for second chances but after our first visit being not of the standard I expected, I thought maybe it was a one off we shall try again. Fast forward to yesterday evening. A group of 7 of us including a junior, to again celebrate another birthday. Saturday evenings are expected to be busy so we expected a wait. Ordered our drinks and mains at the same time to make it easier for the waiting staff. The drinks came except one. Managed to corner our waiter and asked about said drink oh sorry I don't think it was on your ticket. (After asking what was on draught) This was rectified, out junior was getting restless with the wait and so we asked if there was any crayons or pencils we could use. Responded with I dont know I'll go have a look and come back to you. 15 Minutes and nothing so asked another lovely waitress and she was back in a minute flat with some crayons and a big takeaway bag to draw on. (Apologies, I missed your name but thank you!) Wait another 10 minutes and the original waiter comes back and says oh no we don't have any colours to which we replied it's ok your colleague found some for us. Our mains then arrive, well our steaks arrived which was thought a little odd as normally the salad wedges arrive first. Nothing is said so no matter we shall wait. 5 minutes and cooling steaks still nothing. Corner a waiter - "excuse us, we are waiting on the rest of our main course?" I'll go see. Another few minutes and nothing - now nearly 10 minutes have passed and we have been served and before our mains go cold and our steaks are ruined we tuck in. A manager then strolls over and said ah you're waiting on your salad wedges we've run out of lettuce so they won't be coming. But can get you a round of drinks on the house when you wish or we shall sort something. Fast forward to another very delayed beer arrival, this one had been forgotten about. Along with another table being delivered salad bowels with their mains (not just our heads turned at this, we asked another server and turned out they had requested baby gem as an alternative. - we were not offered.

Finish our mains and head for dessert. Luckily these went without any further drama and we were offered £30.00 reduction of the bill by the manager.

My main point is that the service was poor on both visits, staff seem to be over stretched and not able to provide the level of service that I would expect from a company such as Miller and Carter.

We will be returning to Bagshot where the experience of the visit has always been...

A Christmas Horror Show

After ordering and paying 2 months prior, we sat down on Christmas Day for the big meal. The ‘canapés’ arrived, which were nothing more than a finger skateboard worth of toast with half a thimble of pate.

Next up, prosecco! Unfortunately, not enough flutes were available - so one party member drank from a red wine glass.

The starters arrived within about 20 mins of sitting, however having ordered a couple of months prior (and without a confirmation email of the order), we couldn’t remember which dish was for whom. The waiting staff awkwardly put each dish in front of a guest and we were left to it. After hunting down our waiter, the host then approached our table and told us to simply share the dishes! We pushed back and eventually were given the order sheet so we could coordinate the plates as they arrived on the table, by ourselves.

Strangely, two cobs (side dishes to the main) arrived before the starter plates were cleared. We were told to make room to set these down. Ordered a bottle of red upon clearing.

Three mains out of four were faultless in taste and temperature. The steaks were seasoned well and the sides were really tasty. The fourth however was the turkey, which was edible, but served with nearly a whole plate of undercooked veg. Almost at the end of the main, and no sign of the red! Eventually, one of our party managed to get the attention of a waiter. She chased for the wine and was promptly told it was waiting on the counter for us. Just before rushing away, one of the party told the staff member about the undercooked veg, but this was met with a shy nod and a scurry back to their station.

The wine finally arrived and was placed at one corner of the table for one of the guests to pour, along with four fresh(ish) glasses for us to pass to one another.

Plates were cleared 15 mins or so after finishing and we then waited nearly 30 mins for desserts. Despite the entire restaurant being pre order only today, we were told the delay on the desserts was because of an influx of orders. Four spoons were placed at one corner of the table for one of our guests to dish out as soon as the desserts arrived.

Adding to this, mid meal, each of the guests realised our arms sticking to the table as it hadn’t been cleaned properly in a good while.

An awful meal with poorly experienced staff that didn’t want to be there that day.

It can’t be a great feeling delivering that kind of service to people who aren’t able to cook at home (for whatever reason), I wish their team better managers, who are genuinely interested in delivering quality. The food here was mostly great, just delivered without any care and attention.

We were regulars, but this place has gone downhill in the last few months and won’t be eating...

Reflecting on tonight's dining experience at the restaurant, I'm left profoundly disappointed, to the extent that if I could rate it lower than one star, I would. Despite the glowing recommendations we'd heard, our evening was plagued with a series of unfortunate events that overshadowed any potential enjoyment.

Upon our arrival, we were promptly seated, only to be left waiting for over 20 minutes before even being acknowledged for a drink order. This initial delay set the tone for the rest of the evening. When our starters finally arrived, they were accompanied by our mains, which had been inexplicably delayed for over an hour. The simultaneous arrival left our meals lukewarm at best, a far cry from the culinary delight we had anticipated.

Despite our attempts to salvage the situation by ordering additional drinks with our mains, they never materialized. Throughout the meal, there was a noticeable absence of any staff checking in on our table to ensure our satisfaction or address any concerns we may have had.

As if the main course fiasco wasn't enough, the dessert course proved to be yet another exercise in frustration. After placing our order, we waited an additional 30 minutes, only to find ourselves having to remind our waitress of our dessert selection. It was as though our table had been forgotten amidst the chaos of the evening.

Finally, when it came time to settle the bill and bring an end to our ordeal, we were met with yet another lengthy delay. It took an additional 30 minutes of flagging down staff members before we were able to obtain our bill and make our exit.

In light of tonight's experience, I must caution against future visits to this establishment. While the food may have the potential to impress, the disorganization and lack of attention to customer service severely detract from any redeeming qualities the restaurant may possess. It's a shame that such promise could be overshadowed by such a...