The Boot and Shoe — Restaurant in Lancaster

I really like the new decor. Light and airy and we'll appointed. Sheltered smokers' area is a humane touch. Got a nice welcome and interaction from a member of staff with white hair. He was attentive to our needs, friendly, but not over familiar. Unfortunately the young smartly dressed guy behind the bar was at the other end of the scale, leaving everyone else to get on with it whilst he happily ignored waiting customers. The food was hot and quickly prepared. The quality of the food is excellent. My friend enjoyed the hot American cheese sandwich . I ordered what I thought was an oven roasted veggie burger on a bun. It was actually oven roasted veggies but not in burger form. The veg slid about and dropped out of the bun. It wasn't a practical thing to eat. The veg were fresh and nicely cooked. Would have been better as a dish served on a flatbread with goat's cheese. I have been there before and had the chilli and garlic prawns, which were fresh and beautI fully executed. My friend's pie and mash looked and was reported to be good. I was disappointed to see that it was a pie lid rather than a full pie case. I find it hard to offer genuine feedback to a waitress collecting plates asking "was everything alright". They don't want to hear anything other than " fine thanks", as they are never trained to accept the feedback as a genuine response. I imagine that if they tell the chef that there is a problem they get a negative reaction. I did mention that the accompanying salsa to my roasted veggies was bitter. The response was that she had never tasted it. I suggested she ask the chef to taste it so he was aware of the customer experience. The chef didn't appear from the kitchen to thank us for the feedback. I noticed that for a newly refurbished establishment it was remarkably empty . I would suggest that the white haired fella get promoted to customer liaison to receive, report and act on the feedback. He definitely had the customer...

The environment is great with a number of great staff!

BUT...

Food from main menu was consistently inconsistent. I would advise the front of house manager (Andy) who constantly tried, but continued to frustratingly hit a brick wall wrt change. He has moved on and I don't blame him. The food would literally be either great, or poor. The most common problem would be vegetables that were shrivelled up, chips undercooked, wet pizza covered in fluid, items missing from a dish, e.g. a goats cheese dish without the goats cheese. I tried to support and inform this new venture and the front of house manager whom I liked and respected, but all I got from the head manager was: "that's just down to your personal taste."

Further, and more worrying, I repeatedly advised of a serious safety hazard in the disabled toilet. The emergency pull chord is way out of reach from any part of the facility. Its lower 24 to 30 inches are behind a 'Soiled waste ' bin (Heavy when full). Unless you are 'STANDING AT' the back corner, you cannot call for help in an emergency. Again the front of house manager could not get senior management to understand the danger of this. When I personally brought this up with the manager, he gave the constant answer, its legal because it's where the architect said it should be. Aren't you just glad that architects are infallible?!

I was very disappointed in the attitude and manner of the manager to constructive comment.

Ironically, the burgers and steaks were always quite literally the best I'd ever had. I'm trying to locate where Andy went. If his new management listen to him, it will be a great...

One of the most disappointing meals I have had!

Came over from Amsterdam to bring my mum here while visiting my hometown for my birthday. 2 years ago we ate at the Bowerham Hotel and had probably the best roast I've had for £8 each. Quite the opposite here.

£12.50 for a Sunday Roast (£2.50 extra for 3 meats) Already for Lancaster standards this is quite expensive but providing the quality is good I have no problems paying a bit more. Quality however was disastrous.

I am presented with 6 slices of meat, 2 of which are slabs of fat and nothing else, and was given 2 types of meat not 3. Complain to the kitchen I didn't get any Turkey and was given 2 fresh slices with gravy, no worries.

But the rest of the meal was very substandard. Roast Potatoes that were small, limited and worst of all clearly not fresh. Vegetables that were frozen/reheated and slabs of uncooked carrot.

I am no chef but even I managed to reheat myself a better Christmas Dinner than this... when I pay £35 for 2 meals + drinks in Lancaster I expect top top quality, this was shocking.

Even complained about the poor standard of this meal to staff when paying for the bill and was offered nothing back in the way of an apology.

Quite frankly disgusting place, I will never be going back there and wouldn't recommend anyone else does the same....