Larder — Restaurant in Lichfield

One of the easiest 5 star reviews I've had to give. In many years of working in the industry and dining at many a venue. The larder is right up there with the very best.

On arrival you are warmly greeted by the head waiter ( name I neglected to get ) who shows you to your table and nicely remembered that it was the wife and I anniversary. He nicely introduced us about the restaurant and we was seated in the lovely upstairs room. The whole place is fantastic and the right atmosphere is carefully balanced from decor to music. You can tell the time has gone into carefully bringing the right level of professionalism without being too swank as they say. It is a place that will meet most occasions and the level of service is up there. The head waiter was very knowledgeable and knew his menu well and was very pleasant and attentive. I noticed the way he passed instruction to others also top level and could see he had the respect of the other seemingly younger service staff. Our server millie was a star. Again knowledgeable and attentive, warm , polite and on the ball. She did a really top job and she will grow to be a leader one day I am sure of it. Not sure if hospitality is what she wants to do but if she did she could very well go far. So massive thank you to Millie and who ever sees this review , I'm sure you know this buts Millie is a keeper. That said all the staff was great but millie stood out for me and my wife.

This review is long and we haven't got to the food but please take note that this place is worth the time. As for the food it was next level good. Detail , presentation , flavours are all spot on. The chili lime prawns was just magical and delicious. The wife's soup of the day , which I believe was butternut squash was absolutely amazing, didn't think such a simple soup could taste that good. I enjoyed a well seasoned sirloin that was cooked perfectly but the winner has to go to the wife's duo of lamb. Now I use the butcher that supplies the meat here and it is top notch meat but the way in which it was cooked was pure perfection. My wife enjoys many a meal but let's say isn't as enthusiastic to dining as me and many others but this lamb even stunned and impressed her which if you knew my wife is like receiving a Michelin star, she was properly wowed by the lamb. For dessert we both opted for the bannoffe profiterole. This was a lovely end to the meal and real treat. Perfect balance of light sweet flavours that wasn't over the top sweet.

Overall this was a top level evening that went beyond the expectation and exceeded the great reviews we had been told about before booking. The staff are a credit to the venue and the anniversary card was a nice touch and set the evening nicely . My old fashioned was probably one of the best I've had made for me and next time will maybe indulge on a taxi and enjoyed 1 or 2 more. Absolutely excellent, worth every penny and Google should have this place as a 5 star not the 4.8 , who ever knocked them down was a jealous rival or a customer suffering with delusions of grandeur lol really this place is awesome....

Afternoon 5 Taster

Visited Larder this afternoon for the first time with my friend.

Firstly the food is fabulous, great choice of menus and drinks list. We chose the 5 taster and could not fault and would definitely recommend.

I have awarded 3 stars as the service did not match the standard of food. Rather than having one waiter/waitress to the table there was 3/4.

When we asked for the bill, we were brought the bill but then waited at least 20 minutes for the card machine and had to actually ask for the card machine in the end as I watched the staff continue to lay tables for their next guests. Awareness is key to your customers.

On leaving the restaurant my friend said thank you to 3 members of staff on the way out at the top of the stairs , neither one of them acknowledged her. On walking down the stairs we were stopped, and was advised we hadn’t paid enough, it made us feel embarrassed and we felt like criminals leaving the restaurant. What an anticlimax to a nice lunch out.

At the time of payment we told the waitress we had paid a deposit, she deducted the deposit from the bill no questions asked. My friend when booking the restaurant had thought she had left a deposit, but in actual fact she was securing the table for if we didn’t turn up, The gentlemen advised us of this when we were stopped leaving the restaurant. It was just how it made us feel, this is a training issue. The waitress should have challenged this at the time of payment not to make us feel awful on leaving the restaurant. Even if she was a new waitress she should have asked a staff member if she was unsure not to make us feel the way we did on leaving

The food is fantastic the service...

Been a while since we’ve eaten here as last time we noticed a few things had changed. Today we thought we’d try again for Sunday lunch. Unfortunately we won’t be going again ! It was nice to see a couple of familiar faces but that didn’t make up for the shortcomings. I know every business struggles with staff but surely you would train the ones you have not to lean against a wall whilst playing with their hair when waiting to wait on the tables. As for the lunch which was not very hot ( this was an issue the last time we visited) the beef which although tasty , was very very fatty, you expect some but not half the portion which in my opinion has been cut down by half. You used to get two good slices of meat so the fat wasn’t an issue, but now for £22 I felt very short changed. I appreciate times are hard but at least the meat part of the lunch should be the star of the show, not the trimmings. Such a shame we used to love this place and visit often. This...