The Golden Fleece — Restaurant in Kirklees

“We really must check that place out…” And we’re so glad we did! Exceptional food in a relaxing atmosphere.

My wife had spotted the Golden Fleece when we had taken the A road towards Leeds a number of times and I had recalled visiting many, many moons ago and liking it but not being overly impressed.

This return journey, however, yielded much better results and I suspect we’ll be going back a lot sooner than previously, the visit was that much enjoyed.

We booked for a midday table for three (a celebratory meal for my fathers birthday) which was just as the doors opened - and this proved to be the best decision as the venue (the Golden Fleece can’t just be described as a ‘pub’) got very busy with a Sunday lunch crowd that knew exactly how good the fare was.

And - my gods - the food!! I went for the wonderful and delicate pulled pork bhaji/black pudding balls starter but had to try out the Prawnography prawn cocktail, partly because of the cheeky title but also because of the description of ‘the best prawn cocktail in the world ever!’ Well, I’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much!

And, yes, I think they may be right! A combination of battered, fresh and cocktailed prawn, all wonderfully fresh and tasty, paired with fresh crisp salad, sumptuously displayed - and lots of it! The batter was a particular standout – very light and tasty – but the whole thing was well worth paying the extra starter price for.

The prawn cocktail actually was part of the Sunday menu deal which makes it an even better appealing option. My maincourse consisted of the beef and gammon roast dinner – other meats are available but if it melted and tasted as good as the beef/gammon did, I’d love to know who their source of meats are as it really was next level, I barely needed a knife to cut it. The veg was honey glazed, again beautifully prepared, and the other meals ordered by our party were equally enjoyed. Forget compliments to the chef, I wanted to go and buy the man a pint or two!

Combine this with a warm and relaxed, old style setting and incredibly attentive and positive staff, And you have the makings of a visit which will last in our memories for many moons to come. Visit the Golden Fleece to make your own, you won’t be...

Went for lunch today. Prebooked online. It wasn't busy. Plenty of empty / available tables but no room in the carpark so we were advised to park on the road. Twice we sent the same soft drink back as they were flat. Both the waitress & the bar staff came to apologise. Finally we chose a different soft drink then had to chase up the rest of the drinks order. I stress it was not busy. Again the waitress & a different barman apologised. The menu wasn't overly clear but the waitress explained & we placed our order. After waiting a good 50 minutes the food came. We questioned the two lukewarm fishcakes as we were told there would be three. Seems the waitress was misinformed. Another apology. Finally we asked for the bill. When the waitress ask how it was it & we explained it was our first visit & we would not be returning she said she would get the manager. He never showed. The bill came. It was wrong. Another apology. The waitress said she would remove the price of the two returned drinks & take off the lemonade. This did not happen. Instead another manager came over with feeble excuses. Then said we could not pay cash & tried to make a joke about queen's not carrying money. So unprofessional. We normally have desert & coffees after meals but on this occasion we left & went elsewhere. The staff did more talking & apologising than we did . The service was below substandard. The food was slow but okay. The whole experience is not one to be repeated in our lifetime. Just glad this is not my local. What a debacle. Big thank you to Tia. You are wasted at that establishment. We had a £5 tip for you but you had disappeared. You were the only member of staff smiling & adhering to a one metre rule. Dave you are meant to manage not pass the buck onto another member of staff to sort out the issues. Also not impressed that staff serving food were not wearing masks or visors. Finally I had to apologise to my friends for choosing a substandard venue for our first luncheon out...

We were really disappointed with the food and the service when we arrived we had to stand by the bar for ages to be seated because the gentleman who did eventually come to greet us was too busy having a chat. Once seated the lady behind the bar took our order and brought us our drinks she was very helpful and pleasant with our kids. When the food came we had ordered 2 plain kids burgers we got a cheese burger and a burger bun with no burger in it at all. This was quickly resolved. The adults burger came and the menu describes it as Muscovado belly bacon, cheddar cheese, pepper- corn sauce, chips, house chutney & traditional burger garish we had ordered it with out cheese but what came was a burger with a slice of tomato and some lettuce and cost £27. We did ask about the bacon and this was then brought out separately but to be honest the burger was not great and wasn't even worth £5. We ordered deserts and had to wait over 45 minutes for these to come. We have eaten here before and have loved the food but on this occasion it was terrible and I wouldn't go again. The only good thing we got was the steak pie which was lovely although we were asked if we wanted chips or mash with it which we ordered chips but got a bowl of vegetables. It was all a bit of a...