Kingfisher — Restaurant in Milton Keynes

Not good. We booked this place for a family get together before Christmas to exchange gifts and have a nice meal together… what a mistake! On booking we asked for a table of 13, and specifically asked not to be separated.. What we were given was a table of 6, table of 4 and 2 tables of 2! All very well it was on a ‘stage’ where we were all in the same area, but most definitely not together! We all ate separately and didn’t see each other face to face properly. It would not have been difficult for a pub of this size to push 3 tables of 4 together and seat us all together and possibly 1 on the end of that. We had all driven 1-2 hours from Wiltshire and Hertfordshire to be together and that’s why we chose the location as it was about halfway. On arrival we were informed that if we wanted roast dinner there was no beef available and turkey was the only option. That was ok as we had already decided to order from the regular menu, but that too ended up being a problem. Most wanted steaks but these were also in short supply. After 2 orders they had to run back to the kitchen to see how much steak was left! Our waitress was excellent and the only reason Iv given 2 stars and not 1 is the fact she came and wrote down our orders at the tables (4 of them) after we went to order at the bar and asked for a pen and paper… however, as we were all on separate tables the food came out very sporadicly so those of us that had something in front of us had to get on with it before it went cold. The main reason for me writing this review is the shocking customer service I received from one server there.. she would get zero stars from me and the rest of my family present. I had received my meal, a sirloin steak (cold) that should have been medium rare. On cutting into it, it was medium well and definitely on the well done side. I called her over to show her my steak was well done, to which she replied “no it’s not” and walked off!! I watched her go back to to kitchen shaking her head like we were a pain in the arse for being there and not ordering the easy roast they are geared up for on a Sunday. The nice waitress did apologise and tried to make things right, but it was a bit too little too late. We (mostly) ate our meals as we were all hungry after our journeys but definitely not you would expect from a Green king pub and certainly not what we are used to from a Green king where we live! Filthy finger prints all over the toilet doors and dirty windows are least of this pub’s problems.. rude staff are what makes or breaks somewhere like this, but I’m sure the locals love the place…. A lot of money was spent in that pub today but there will not be a return of business which is as shame as location great for us but.. 1 member of staff ruined the whole experience and we most definitely won’t...

Attended for a friends 30th birthday drinks. Was served rather quickly. Unfortunately this was the only plus. Whilst being served, the staff didn't appear to care about the requirements of the customer, which was apparent when I was met with a hand and asked "Gis a sec" while a mobile phone was seen to before the customer was. In addition to this, I understand that any job has it's own stress factor, however no amount of stress at work should allow you to freely swear in front of a packed establishment. What if there had been children about? This brings me on to my next point. The party of people I was with were advised that due to the lack of identification, we would need to be off the premises by 9pm. Just to clarify, only 1 of us was underage. I understand the legalities around this and fully respect the owners right to enforce these rules. The issue I have is consistency. Approximately quarter to 9 the bar person came out to advise us we had to leave. When we advised that we still had 15 minutes we were presented with a dirty look and walked away from. Then as soon as it was 9, we were making out way away to be met again by the bar person who aggressively advised us that we needed to go now! We were, so we did. My problem is that this person then walks past 3 tables of families with children of clearly primary and middle school age and said nothing. This is not a fair way to treat customers. Not a good first impression Kingfisher! Sad to say I will not be returning...

UPDATE Dec 2024 Not been in this pub for ages as I wasn't impressed on previous visits and although the staff were great and the main drinking area is fine sadly not a lot has changed with the men's toilets. They still smell of urine, the radiator on the wall is rusting away and tiles are falling off the wall (see photo) a shame as this could be a really nice pub with a bit of regular maintenance. Unfortunately if your an Ale drinker your now out of luck as they appear to have every lager you can think of but only one bitter on pump Green King IPA.

Where do I start, first there was a lack of glasses and although the staff saw some sitting in a rack on top of the dishwasher they decided to give it a sniff test to decide if it was clean or dirty as they weren’t sure if they were waiting to go in or had been taken out. (Most of the glasses it seems were still outside on all the tables). Men’s toilets stank of urine, clearly not cleaned properly or a drain problem. Garden benches past there sell buy date, flaky wall paint (graffiti where the brewery sign has been broken), flower troughs and trellises but no flowers just weed? Basically the whole building just looks very tired and in need of a renovation. Overall impression is very poor and although it’s in need of money being spent on the major stuff that’s no excuse for not carrying out basic maintenance such as cleaning, glass collecting, gardening etc. Shame as the beer is fine and a great pub if you like...