The Old Guinea — Restaurant in Hertsmere

AVOID till the manager is fired. One of the rudest experiences faced in a long long time by an awful manager who is bringing down the reputation of this restaurant. No complaints about waiting staff or food quality, simply a manageress who belittled customers. It starts with a bank holiday pre booked table being 20 mins late for a late lunch 2.30pm booking. After a delay of 20 mins I asked if perhaps they might want to offer us a round of drinks as the delay was starting to become untenable or to be seated. The table allocated to us still was fully occupied. The person manning the booking screen was asked to get the manager. We were ignored for 5-8 minutes by this manager and who felt it ok to come and go past us without any acknowledgement or engagement (why she decided to clear the tables and lay cutlery ahead of just a simple and polite word to say they were prepping the table escaped her, or to have delegated the task to the waiting staff) Finally invited to our seats and I asked to speak with her. She told me that she would come and speak to me once she had dealt with another late table and taken a picture of a group of people who had asked her. Naughty us, we must wait our turn. When it did come we explained the lack of customer acknowledgement, communication and customer care. I said it would have been nice to apologise and offer us a round of drinks or dessert to make up for the then 30 minute delay. I was then told that she as a manager would tell us what she would offer us and when. And that she was the top manager and that the other managers would have been available to us - none who identified themselves or come over to us. Her attitude continued to stink and she then never came to the table again, either at presenting the bill or to check if we were ok at any time. Blinded by her own self importance and arrogance. At the end we were offered a limoncello or coffee both of which we declined as we didn’t want or need. We therefore explained to the waiter that we would therefore not be leaving service - and to make the point that that waiter should inform the others that it is wasn’t in reflection of them but the failings on the manager. As we left the manager was at the check in desk unprofessionally talking about us - says it all - empowered to take responsibility and manage, but too arrogant and up herself to own the responsibility and face the customer - a situation easily resolved by some charm...

It is with sadness that I feel the need to completely rewrite my previous review and take it from 5 stars to 1. This evening, myself and two work colleagues returned to the Old Guinea as always when working locally. We visit several times a year and look forward to a lovely meal and great service. Tonight however, after our meal, we asked for the bill, and as usual asked for it to be split so that we could pay individually as we have to submit individual expenses to our employer. At this point we were told that this wasn't possible and we'd have to pay as a group and then sort it out amongst ourselves. This obviously wasn't really possible as we needed 3 receipts. We have previously paid here like this on every occasion we've visited. We asked to speak to the manager. When he arrived he was rather blunt and stated that the policy of the owners was that they didn't allow individual payments. We had not been told of this policy in advance of ordering and there is nothing in writing on the menu or elsewhere. He also very bluntly said " Gentlemen, you are not going to win this one" a rather bold and passive aggressive statement which as it turns out was incorrect. At this point one of us informed the manager that we had ordered separately and that we were happy to pay individually however if this could not be accommodated then we would leave. At this point, the manager changed his tune and rather indignantly agreed to let us pay individually as we'd requested. We paid and left, but of course we are now not likely to return. So, to conclude, the rotten attitude of the manager spoiled a lovely evening, has cost the pub 3 customers and initiated a very negative review. As a previous head of customer service for French Railways I was rather shocked and disappointed that the head of the team let the...

We’ve now visited this restaurant twice in recent weeks, both times for special family occasions — and both visits were deeply disappointing.

On our most recent visit for my wife’s birthday, we arrived at 15:00 for our pre-booked outdoor table, chosen specifically to enjoy the beautiful views. Upon arrival, we were left awkwardly standing at the entrance for nearly five minutes without being acknowledged. I eventually had to ask a member of staff if we could be seated.

We were told we couldn’t sit outside due to wind and the presence of a fixed umbrella. I asked if the umbrella could simply be removed since we didn’t need it, but was told it was mounted and couldn’t be moved. We reluctantly agreed to move inside — only to later watch them remove the umbrella from our original table, where another group sat down to enjoy the views. The situation felt careless and poorly handled.

Our food didn’t arrive until 16:30 — a full hour and a half after we arrived.

When I gave feedback to the manager, she was combative and dismissive, full of excuses and made no effort to apologise or make things right. No goodwill, no acknowledgment of the issues, just defensive and unprofessional behaviour.

To make matters worse, when we received the bill, we noticed we were charged for items that had been forgotten and never brought to the table.

It’s also worth mentioning that during a previous visit just a few weeks earlier to celebrate my mother’s birthday, we were told there would be a £2.00 per person charge just to bring out a small birthday cake we had brought ourselves. A charge to sing happy birthday — absolutely ridiculous.

After two poor experiences, it’s clear that customer care and hospitality are not a priority here. We won’t be returning, and I strongly advise others to look elsewhere for...