Inkwell at Lichfield — Restaurant in Lichfield

On a previous visit we were very impressed with food 5* service 5* and atmosphere, dog friendly welcome 5*.

On todays visit sat 1st march 2025 food 3* service at table and from kitchen 1* we were welcomed, not like last time but atmospere was fine 2* However, as a party of 5 adults we were put in a corner of 3 tiny tables, we pulled them together but it wasnt great, didnt ask to be moved as i assumed it was a busy service. We ordered food and starters came out to the table one short, no cutlery, had to ask while starters are going cold, when the final starter arrived it should have been the same as onother one on the table but was presented shabbily and missing bacon and bread. This we had corrected at the time. We waited ages for the starter plates to be collected, i had to ask for the table to be cleared, and it was then i notice that the pub wasnt infact busy on the whole at that time. Mains came out promptly but with no cutlery yet again, when cutlery arrived in a box, there wasnt enough for the group so we had to ask for more. Fish and chips were amazing, the other 3 meals as expected and tasty, but one of us ordered the more expensive choice of lamb steak with mini pie, vegs and roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary costing £21 +. This was very disapionting, the pototoes were not roasted, they were deep fryed chunks (looked like cubed chips-see photo) with no rosemary or garlic to be seen at all. Mini pie was good but the actual lamb was just a few chunks put ontop of the potatoes. Disapointing and very overpriced, potatoes were dry and not edible. Seems i cant add a picture which is a shame because they represent our visit experience perfectly. Deserts we ordered came fine and lovely, being picky i needed more custard for the crumble but wouldnt be a problem on its own, but with all the rest, i did feel skimped.

Between these two visits, i dont know whats happened, but i wont be going a third time. Worst of all was the lack of interest we felt was shown by the kitchen and waiting staff to get things right. The girls were polite but either untrained or uninterested in how to perform thier role in...

Came as a party of 5. The service we received was very poor. We ordered drinks, then food. We had one starter for a young child and asked for that to come and then bring his main with ours. The space between that and the mains was an hour approximately. When we asked how long it would be we were told they would be next out, at no point were we asked for any further drinks. People who had come in much later than us had meals beforehand. When the mains were brought out there were several issues. We had ordered 3 trio roasts and one pork roast. One trio roast had been asked for with the carrots and parsnips with peas but no seasonal veg, it came out with no vegetables. This was resolved quickly however we then noticed that none of the meals had stuffing or apple sauce. All the trios were missing red cabbage and no horseradish had been provided to two of the trios (one had requested it without). No one came over to check on the meals and we had to go and get a waiter after 15 minutes. When we raised this the waiters response was “ok” there was no apology and no offer to bring the missing items. I asked if we could have the items missing from our meals and only the stuffing was brought out. Again no apology and none of the sauces or cabbage. The waiter left swiftly. We asked for the bill, this was brought over and again we were never asked how our meal was or how the bill was to be paid or split, it was assumed it was paid as one and we had to ask this to be split after being given a card reader for a full amount. The waiter then went off to change this. This may seem like a small issue but after the rest it just seems a standard service to provide.

Overall we had a terrible experience with service, I would expect when paying over £100 to have any missing items rectified and an apology at the very least, no further offers of drinks or to check how meals were. Due to this we never ordered deserts (with the exception of our child) which we had all planned to get (4 adults) because the service had been so poor. It’s such a shame as we have had good experiences in the past but this would really make us reconsider...

The venue and setting is lovely but we had an awful experience. To start with 2 starters didn't come out with the rest, then they came out after a member of our party had to go and find someone to question this, as nobody checked on the table, then the mains were incorrect and not how we ordered them. We ordered a roast with gravy on the side, this didn't happen so had to send the meal back, ordered the lamb rump and pie at nearly £22, in the menu states that it comes with rosemary and garlic roast potatoes and veg, the veg consisted of 3 mangetout and 3 carrot batons, the potatoes were fried potato squares so the meal was not what was advertised on the menu and completely overpriced for what we were presentsd with. We informed the server of this and the response was 'yeh I know' with no further action etc. When we finished our meals which were expensive considering they were substandard and not as advertised or requested, we were left with a cluttered table for a very long time, to which we then had to start clearing and tidying ourselves, nobody came to see if we wanted desserts etc and we were left. Then when we asked about the birthday cake that we asked to be brought out following the meal, this was eventually brought out when half of the table were missing as they were outside or in the toilet, and without any plates or a knife etc. It would have taken a second to check the party was complete at the table before bringing the cake out etc. This ruined what was meant to be a celebratory moment, which we will not get back. We went to the Inkwell to celebrate a family members birthday and this is the only reason we didn't further our complaints as we didn't want to upset the birthday 'girl' any further. The whole experience was a shambles and completely overpriced for the food and service we received. Would not recommend and...