The Mustard Pot — Restaurant in Leeds

The mustard pot do not like children, but dogs are welcome and well catered for…

What was meant to be my mother’s birthday lunch resulted in myself and my 2 young boys having to leave my wife, parents and sisters family mid roast as the mustard Pot simply didn’t want to be inconvenienced by children on the premises during Sunday lunch.

As young boys (3 & 1) do they get a little bored with adult small talk and want to go and find something fun to entertain them, so under full supervision they walked around the seating areas of the pub to see what was going on. Harmless enough and not causing any patrons any discomfort or making too much noise. However the manager saw reason enough to ask us (on 2 occasions) to return to our seats as they were getting in the way of service. This was quite abrupt and a little unsympathetic as tying them to their seat against their will is quite difficult for energetic toddlers.

In an effort to occupy them I hurriedly finished my food (which was quite good BTW) and took them outside to let them play in the garden. What came next was quite funny looking back on it. Another staff member was sent to tell us to not walk on the only enclosed grass area the mustard pot has (it had been seeded recently, but no signage was present to inform customers). I must admit I was now throughly annoyed as we had effectively been asked not to play inside or outside, leaving only the car park or chair restraint as an option.

I returned to the bar area to speak to the staff to say how disappointed and unwelcome we had been made to feel. However before I could even get one sentence out I was cut off and offered a number of arguments as to why we have been treated the way we had. There was no empathy, no customer care, no genuine attempt to listen to me as a customer. I was told that they didn’t like my “attitude” and that they were acting in our best interest, there was no offer of solution or resolution from the manager of the mustard pot and in brief our children should just sit still at the table eat their meal and only move around the restaurant to go to the rest room.

The parting comment from the manager stole the show however, as I walked away from our conversation the manager said and I quote “Its not our fault you cannot control your kids”! I was in disbelief, so much so that I asked the manager to repeat what was just said at which they replied “Its not our fault you cannot control your kids”. I was gobsmacked.

Upon that I left to take the 2 children somewhere they could play. My wife attempted a conversation with the same manager and was met with the same robust response I was and as such they too decided to leave closely followed by the rest of my family who were throughly unhappy with our visit.

Note to “The Mustard Pot” if you would prefer children not to visit your establishment please just be honest and own that decision don’t treat them as an inconvenience to you, your staff and...

Absolutely terrible experience. Went for Christmas dinner, table of 2 so not a huge party. Been there 3.5 hrs for 2 courses. Poor service started when you walked in the door; plonked in the corner, dirty table, no ‘setting’ but a cracker. Asked for a wine menu, wasn’t given one but asked what I wanted which was French rosè so he offered a Spanish white?? Anyway after back and forth went with a NZ Sauvignon as apparently they had no rosè. Starters came within 30 mins and were okay, but prawn salad not as described at all. We waited a further 1 hour 45 minutes for mains… ordered 2 months in advance and were bought the wrong meals, which they swapped but said the extra sides we ordered were unavailable. After literally going to the kitchen ourselves we managed to negotiate some sides, which when bought out to us weren’t even cooked!!! We sought a member of staff (who we thought was the manager) and explained it was uncooked (very politely) and he picked up my partners knife and started sifting through our food to insist it was slightly undercooked but edible and we should’ve been happy with it ??? Later agreed to remove sides as a cost. The mains themselves were avery dry and we had to order 2 lots of extra gravy, and in the end left most of it. Following this, we waited about 45 mins after tables cleared for desserts but ended up going up to the bar to ask for them to take away and pay the bill (minus sides). My partner explained the service we’d received and was met with abuse. He was told he was part of the ‘complaint culture’ and a few of the managers friends were sat by the bar and actually confronted my partner… saying he was dire and becoming very aggressive. In the end we paid £110 for 2 courses each because they refused to knock anything further off despite us not even having the desserts to take away!! We paid and walked out, stood in the cold waiting for a taxi. Literally the worst service and attitude, obscenely rude, overpriced, and wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Heard multiple other tables complaining, absolute shambles. Even the singer was 2 hours late. Try deer park for Xmas dinner instead - that was great last year and much much better service. You go out on Xmas day to remove the stress of hosting, but this became the most stressful 4 hours, and most expensive ‘snack’ before having to come home and cook...

Booked for Christmas dinner. NEVER again. Waited 3 hours and 25 mins and left without any pudding. No apologies or explanations as to why everything was taking so long. It was particularly difficult as we had our 5 year with us and it was simply too long a wait. The starters were not as advertised. Certainly not king prawns! No soft boiled egg either. Pate was meant to come with toasted brioche, we received what looked suspiciously like Hovis granary. My husband requested (in advance) tomato soup which didn’t come and no offer of even a slice of bread. When dinner eventually arrived it was dry with undercooked vegetables. We asked for gravy and were given a bowl of gravy (no jugs left apparently) I asked what I was to do with that and the waiter responded with ‘just tip it’ before walking away. At no point did anyone check if we were happy with our meal, or to check anything for that matter. I did feel sorry for the singer (despite him starting very late). It was very difficult to rouse any enthusiasm from a disappointed and hungry crowd. The music was good but too loud and we couldn’t hold a conversation. We ended up leaving after 3.5 hours with no pudding and no ‘salted caramel fudge’. This wasn’t even offered as a take-away option. In the end we paid £250 for a poor dinner and 1 round of drinks, which was considered a discount! Our deposit wasn’t even deducted. Over-promised and under-delivered. We were very much looking forward to going as the Mustard Pot as it has always been a favourite of ours- warm, family- friendly with excellent food and great service. Unfortunately that was the complete opposite of what we received. Absolutely no one who currently works there could say it was good value for money or that they would’ve been happy for their family to wait 3.5 hours for a lukewarm, dry meal. In addition, before it is assumed that we are also part of a ‘complaint culture’. I am certain there will be more complaints to follow and I hope this is taken as an opportunity to reflect and own the mistakes that were made and learn from it. If not, I fear they will continue to drive...