The Cricketers — Restaurant in London

I had been wanting to go the The Cricketers for a while, after doing some googling around pubs in Richmmond. The outside is beautiful, reviews on the food are good, and it’s in a superb location looking over the Green. Unfortunately, our experience was far from pleasant and probably the rudest I have ever been spoken to by a waiter.

Upon entry, we spotted a table towards the back of the pub which was empty and headed over to it. In an aggressive tone, the waiter told us to wait until he had cleaned it which is fair enough, so we stood back. Once we sat down, the only thing he told us was that the table was booked for 3:30pm so we’d have to move (At this point it was 2:25pm, so we were not worried as on average we spend about an hour in a pub from start to finish). He proceeded to chuck a reserved sign on it and ignore us for a further 15 minutes. In this time frame, I witnessed him clear a table, take payments at the same table and then pour their drinks into plastic cups to take to the Green. Next, he went over to another table and explained to them about the pie of the day etc… and took orders from the table. He continued to walk past our table, turning his head to avoid eye contact each time.

Eventually we asked very politely if we could order drinks and food as we’d been sat there for 20 minutes and were conscious that time was ticking, and the table was reserved for an hour later (as he had sassily pointed out initially). The response was incredibly rude, bitter and quite frankly unprofessional, as he said “Oh…. you want me to serve you?? Ummmmm….. I mean sure if you want but you really need to say so because it isn’t really table service but ummm yea”.

I cannot even begin to describe the tone in which this was said, but it was enough for us to stand up and walk to another pub down the road without hesitation, where we endured lovely service and food.

I do not know what happened here, as the man in question had been serving other tables, so I am unsure why the rules were different for us. I can only assume it was because we were a group of three young people (This is no excuse as were were polite the whole way through). There was absolutely no indication via signage that we should go to the bar to order food or drinks, nor was that explained to us upon entry. However, since we watched everyone else be served in a civil manner I have to assume this was a decision made by this waiter out of malice.

The Cricketers could be a wonderful pub, but I would seriously consider re-assessing your...

I came sometime at the end of last year and ordered a veggie burger, it was the best burger I've ever had (it's rare to find a good very burger ). It was juicy, filling and satisfying.

Having been raving about this burger, my friend and I decided to return. As they changed the menu I was a bit sceptical. I ordered the only veggie burger on the menu, the same drink and the same sides . When it arrived I was disappointed to say the least. The burger came in WHOLE WHEAT SEEDED BUN (my opinion is that a burger is suppouse to be junk food stop tryna make it healthy). The burger Patty was fake meat, it was soft, squidgy and broke into pieces when I open the bun to put some sauce on. They had vegan-nised it. Fair enough many people are becoming vegan but don't make all the veggies suffer. The chips were meh. But overall I was truly disappointed having been patiently anticipating this burger.

My friend also ordered a chicken burger which was so dry she couldn't finish it. When we did complain the waiter just said he will give feedback to the kitchen, there was no apology.

As I had been raving about this burger for so long, my friends had previously agreed to taking a trip to The Crickets, but I'm glad I went because I'm sure everyone would have been very dishearted too, especially as...

If you’re looking for poor and unprofessional service , this is the place for you. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel like an inconvenience rather than welcomed customers, and the pub was hardly overcrowded to say the least. After being seated, we waited for 20 minutes, watching the server attend to other tables, whilst blatantly ignoring ours.

When we finally attempted to place an order, the server’s attitude was shockingly rude. Rather than simply taking our order, he responded with a dismissive, “Oh, well if you want to be served you should just say” In a tone that would fit in on the real housewives of Beverley hills, yet proceeded to walk off and still not serve us. This level of unprofessionalism made it clear that customer service was not a priority, so we decided to leave without ordering.

It’s disappointing, as the food did look edible, but it wasn’t worth enduring such poor service . Instead we headed to the White Cross down the road, on the river with a lovely atmosphere...