Blacksmiths Arms — Restaurant in Kirklees

Allow me to express my immense disappointment in the Blacksmith Arms, a place that I once held in high regard. It's with a heavy heart that I write this review after having visited the establishment nearly a dozen times. What was once a shining beacon of excellent food and impeccable service has now become a pit of mediocrity that I shall never step foot in again.

Let's start with the one redeeming factor: the food. The dishes are still, for the most part, satisfactory. It's a pity that the quality of the cuisine is overshadowed by the litany of glaring issues that plague this establishment. And yes, the view of Huddersfield is lovely, but let's be real—it takes more than a view to make a dining experience memorable.

Unfortunately, the list of grievances doesn't end there. The service, once a shining example of professionalism, has become a textbook case of how not to run a restaurant. The staff, once efficient and attentive, now appear to be completely clueless. Placing an order has become an ordeal, with staff members so baffled by even the simplest requests.

But the icing on the cake is the incident involving my vegetarian mother. She ordered a vegetarian lasagne, a simple enough request one would think. Lo and behold, the plate that arrived was the meat variant. Imagine the surprise when she realized she was eating meat after the first few bites! To her credit, she took it in stride and asked for a replacement. However, the staff's lack of apology and refusal to offer any form of compensation was both astounding and disappointing.

And let's not forget the consistent issue with flat cola. It's mind-boggling that even something as basic as carbonated beverages can't be served properly. On busier days, waiting times stretch into the realm of the absurd, testing the limits of patience and hunger.

My most recent visit was the ultimate testament to the Blacksmith Arms' decline. I invited friends over for a meal, hoping to salvage the good memories I once had. Alas, they dashed any remaining hope I had. They had the audacity to claim they were out of Giant Yorkshire Pudding, an excuse they've used during the last three visits as well. When I requested a discount on the roast dinner for the missing component, as why would one pay full price for a partial meal? I was met with outright refusal. Later, they conveniently produced one, but the idea of sharing it among two meals seemed to be beyond their capabilities. Trying to accommodate the customers needs does not seem to exist here.

I shall not be returning, and I wholeheartedly recommend that others steer clear of this establishment until they manage to reclaim the standards they...

I am so sad to be giving this review as for the past number of visits I have given fantastic reviews. Because of this I chose to visit with 15 friends for my retirement. We all had main courses and puddings which were delicious, and I had a lovely retirement celebratation. At the end we all ordered separately our tea and coffee. Unfortunately the waitress brought one large jug of milk for one end of the table of 16, but didn't tell us that was where she had put it. 2 people in different parts of the table asked 3 times each for milk. Eventually we had milk jugs brought. We still had no idea that the milk was up by those drinking coffee. We drank our drinks and paid leaving a tip. A waitress then asked us to pay for the extra milk they had brought. Now it's not a lot of money for us to pay but neither is it a lot for the place to stand. Costs were well covered by the cost of the drinks. We told them to take the cost out of the tip. On leaving, the staff were whispering together and looking at us, not being very forthcoming with their goodbyes. This completely took the shine off my once in a lifetime retirement party. The milk should have been brought to us with our drinks, or we should have been told it was to be passed down the table to those who had tea. As a former waitress maid to a chef, I know this should not have happened. This was a staff mistake and as such should have been corrected and an apology given. Instead we have been made to feel bad. My special day has been spoiled. As we went on my recommendation I am completely gutted by this. Please blacksmiths, train your staff right and do not pass the cost of your staffs mistake into your customers. To you, our party was just 16 people out for lunch. To me this was a much anticipated final farewell to my friends and colleagues, and can never be repeated. I am so sad. I didn't expect this from a place I frequent regularly, and have gone home with a...

First time to dine at the Blacksmith's having had a Sunday lunch take away in the depths of lockdown ! Ordered the steak and ale pie and it was gorgeous my girlfriend had the chicken and ham pie also blissfully tasty ! Great food in a nice clean covid secure pub ! Highly recommended! Went back and tried the gammon ! Was lovely! For me it's the best pub dining in kirklees when weighing up the food drink and value. Update we normally get to the Blacksmiths a couple of times a month as it's one of our favourite pubs for dining and to be fair it's normally top draw but we have noticed in the last couple of months that the standard has started to go down. Today I went with my girlfriend and her mum ! I went for the fish and Chips and I have to say it was awful! The fish was massive but the batter was really soggy with loads of grease/oil so much so that it made the fish watery! The miserable waitress ( staff are normally brilliant ) asked if everything was OK and I told her the fish was very greasy to which there was no reply. My girlfriends mum said that the chicken and ham pie was OK but not great. Went to the bar to pay the bill and was asked again if everything was OK and told the young lady serving that the fish had been poor and was very greasy and to be fair she knocked the price of the fish off the bill which was brilliant. I hate complaining especially when it's a place we really have enjoyed going to . Hopefully they will get back to the standard it was when we first started going . But we are going to give it a miss for a couple of months and give it a another...