Battle Axes — Restaurant in Hertsmere

Extremely disappointing experience. We were nearby at 5pm on a Saturday when we asked for a table we were told only in the bar area which we were fine with but there were a significant number of free tables throughout. Sorry this review is long but I still can’t get over how bad things were.

Food The food was bad, poor quality, covered in sticky sauces (sorry there really is no other way to describe). It was lukewarm bordering on cold which did not help. When one member of our table asked for it to be heated they came back with the food literally 30 seconds later and said it’s the correct temperature. When it was requested if it could be made warmer as they preferred food hotter the request was refused. We didn’t bother asking for the rest to be heated due to this.

Kids meals were disappointing, also cold, carrots were hard and over peppered so they were not appealing to children (and my kids love veg).

The desserts were even worse than the mains. I had a Bakewell which had been microwaved to a lukewarm temperature, was soggy (probably from the microwave) and fairly tasteless. Another member of the group ordered sticky toffee pudding again this was stone cold. When they asked for it to be heated they were told if it was heated then we wouldn’t get our teas (we had been waiting around 20 minutes at this point). We said we would just get a refund for the sticky toffee.

Teas came without milk when they eventually arrived and when individuals asked for milk they were met with disdain.

Service

Worst I’ve had in a long time. Food took forever to come after waiting at the bar to order for ages where there was literally no one else there we then had to wait for our food. Drinks took as long as the food to come as well even when we had paid at the bar. Hot drinks took even longer.

Servers were unnecessarily rude and not once did they explain wait times or apologise for the length of time it took.

Any requests were treated with disdain as if we were making totally unreasonable complaints rather than just making small queries such as ‘would it be possible to get children’s meals to come first and altogether’ or we ordered a beer a while ago would it be possible to get.

After we had waited 20 minutes for desserts and three teas we asked the nearest member of staff how long it would be and repeated the request to get the children’s scoop of ice cream first. The staff member was the manager and her response, shouted at the individual who asked saying ‘I only have one pair of hands’. Not I’m sorry for the wait but we are short staffed or even let me check. Shouting at paying customers for a fairly reasonable request is just totally unnecessary.

The worst was so they didn’t have to refund the cold sticky toffee they slammed (literally slammed) and ice cream on the table in front of the individual who had the audacity to request the dessert paid for. They hadn’t asked if this is what they wanted and aggression was not required. Not once did we raise our voices or complain just made a few requests which were not unreasonable so I have no idea why they felt it was ok to be so aggressive to paying customers or provide terrible service.

We will not...

Well worth the wait... Following a fun packed 'outdoors' day with our youngest we looked for an out of the way, 'family-like' place to have an evening meal. A Google search for such a location within 5km of Elstree studios revealed this unusually named venue. Revues were OK though a repeated focus of concern was the speed of service. As we had no particular need to rush, Google Maps took us scenically to the spot. Arriving at around 6:30pm, first impressions were fine as we entered the modestly sized free car park. Set in the Hertfordshire countryside the place has the look and feel of a large, classic village pub with a beer garden perfectly capable of seating a hundred. A similar number could be catered inside on what appeared to be more than 20 family sized tables. Upon arrival, the beer garden looked busy though a dozen or so were saying their farewells and leaving for the car park. The restaurant was about one-quarter full when we were quickly seated and left with three menus, one for drinks and two for meals; one for adults and one for younger diners. Drinks were ordered and delivered within 15 minutes of sitting which was fine, as we let the atmosphere of this joyful establishment relax us into our dining experience. With the arrival of our drinks our food orders were taken. Given the speed of service reports we chose not to have starters but skip directly to main courses. Our three meals were all modified variants of what was offered on the menus so it was to be a good test of the kitchen's attention to detail. As we waited, we noticed more guests arriving and noted too that only two team members (Karen and Leah) were available to attend us all. Not once did they appear frustrated or pressured and were always with good demeanor. When beckoned for additional drinks they stopped and were immediately attentive to their customer's requests. Within about 20 minutes our meals arrived. This was certainly within our expectations of service speed and not of any concern. Leah commented that she'd checked with the kitchen to ensure that all our meals were exactly as ordered. Portion sizes were ample and none of us were disappointed with the flavour of our food. Within 15 minutes of finishing we were once again approached and asked if we wished to view the dessert menu. Given the lovely meals we'd just enjoyed we were all eager and tempted by dessert. Once again, the good pace between our orders being placed and the arrival of our desserts was perfectly acceptable and the deliciousness of those desserts was in line with that of our meals. All in all, the place is great, the service is great, the food is great. The balance between price, quality, quantity, taste and overall experience is absolutely perfect. Including gratuity, we paid less than...

Its a nice pub with large indoor dining room and ample outside space.

We came early afternoon and although the place wasn't particularly busy it still took 5 minutes before anyone acknowledged us, even though staff passed by us waiting in the doorway a few times. We were eventually seated but asked to move nearer the window as it was a lovely day, there was an empty table by the window but we were told we couldn't sit there as it was booked. Which didint ring true as the dining room was barely 1/4 full so accommodating a reservation wouldn't have been hard, turned out to be a lie as even though we were there for nearly 2 hours, nobody came to sit in that seat in fact no groups of 4 came in at all!

Service took a long time. It was 20+ minutes after we were seated before anyone took our order. Which then took another 10 minutes just for the drinks to arrive. We ordered 4 starters, but only 3 came out. We waited for the 4th. Nothing. Eventually, we got someone's attention and asked about the 4th starter. Apparently, it had been ordered as a main not a starter, and even though it was a cold starter it would be sent out with the mains. Which was fine as by the time we were told this the other 3 starters were finished. One person was left just watching us eat.

We said to just cancel the starter and bring out the mains. The mains came out..WITH the cancelled/late starter. The food was decent. Not great but not bad either. Chips were lukewarm though. Pie filling was really nice but too much pastry. Burger was nice and juicy though.

To their credit we were told that the late starter would not be charged and that persons main was also complimentary. We ordered 2 desserts, and they were also given for free. They were also delicious!

So a mixed bag here. Service wasn't great but management dealt with the issue swiftly and with no fuss. Mistakes do happen, it's how they're dealt with that counts, and I can't fault how it was handled.

Perhaps...