The Rose & Crown — Restaurant in London

I never write bad reviews about places but I have to for this establishment. (this is a long review)

This pub needs to get their house in order if they want to serve food.

Our orders were taken and it took 40 minutes for the first dish to arrive. It should have been leek and potato soup although this dish was oddly brown. We asked what kind of soup and a waiter said '...leek? It was mushroom soup. Which was cold (it had a skin on it) and came without cutlery. After eventually getting a spoon and realising how cold it was we complained and they took it back. We asked if the rest of the meal would be coming soon. We were assured yes. 20 minutes later another soup arrived which was the right soup. But had no cutlery. So eventually we got another spoon. Still no sign of the rest of the food... We then asked how long the rest of the food would be. They apologised and told us there had been a mistake from the new waitress and they thought we wanted the soup first. No we initially said we'd like it all together. So we continued to wait and wait and eventually I had to ask for the manager because we had no food, she apologised and blamed the new waitress along with it being a bad day with one thing happening after another. (We did say to the manager that the new waitress shouldn't take the whole blame as, well, she's new and mistakes get made - plus the time we waited was not her fault) We were then offered the meals for free. Great fine thanks, hate to have had to complain, I would rather pay and have a pleasant experience. SO... we wait for maybe five more minutes and the food begins to arrive, the cod goujon sandwich had burnt bread and cold fish. my chicken burger had pink bits on one of the edges. We left shortly after. They said they'd give us another free meal if we came back, don't worry we'll save you the cost... The steak...

After an evening of looking for a place to eat on the green and visiting the 3 other pubs beforehand I wandered into the Cricketers. The other pubs I walked into first only illustrated just how good the Cricketers was. I was greeted happily by 3 members of staff in a warm and welcoming environment. I asked for a menu and a recommendation of a filling meal to accompany my beer and was helped perfectly. The price was better than all the other pubs both for drinks and food, and beforehand I took to the internet to study all the other menus whilst trying to work out the best place to go. I am new to the area and the green is within a 5 minute walk from my front door. I was told of all the pubs and their offerings in advance but thought I'd see them all for myself. I'm glad I did because the Cricketers was not the first recommendation. I was told that it had changed hands and was the lesser of the 4 on offer. As an ex-pub landlord and licensee, I am all too aware of how hard it is making a go of a pub in the modern era. I can honestly day that if the guys in the Cricketers keep on doing what they're doing then they will be a credit to the trade and to the green. On my return home I told those that advised me originally that the Cricketers was by far the most welcoming and friendly place I visited. The food was great and homemade with extra touches that the others didn't offer as well as better value. They had a great selection of drinks and a warm cosy environment, perfect for a night in a pub. I will return and tell all I can of the great job they are doing. I only hope the others take a leaf from the Cricketers book and try a little harder to offer folk like me a bit of variety otherwise I will only be going to the Cricketers when ever I...

Unfortunately, our experience in the cricketers was no short of apalling. We were greeted with rudeness by a waitress, who spoke with arrogance and aggression for ajoining two seperate tables together at the outside sitting area of the pub for the family to celebrate the completion of the Kew half marathon - a very off putting hospitality greeting for a paying customer. When we addressed this particular waitress on her rudeness, the attitude she exhibited was shocking; defensive and dismissing of how she had spoken to us, claiming ‘I am just doing my job’ all while wearing a miserable facial expression. If I were to be the manager of this pub, I would have been dismayed and horrified by how one of my employees had addressed potential customers, and, or at least wished to explore the nature of the conversation to find out what had occurred and attempt to make amends with the customer, or, if warranted, support my colleague. However, instead, we were greeted by a manager who not only looked like he was wearing his pyjama bottoms, but, who told us to leave the pub for being rude to his colleague. In no conscious thought did it occur to him to understand from the customer perspective what had occurred - a reflection of the poor running, inadequate managing and hospitailty service of this pub. This pub needs to review whose hands they are leaving their name in as we certainly will never return to such a unwelcoming and...