The Cock — Restaurant in Milton Keynes

Dinner for 2 Wednesday 4th September||During a visit to Stony Stratford some weeks ago, my friend and I saw a jazz night at the Cock Hotel advertised, being a fan of live music, she thought it would be an enjoyable evening’s entertainment, more so, if we booked a table to dine before hand.||We made a prior online booking for 6.15pm and checked in on the night.|We explained that we wanted to attend the jazz evening but being unfamiliar with the Cock Hotel, perhaps, following our meal someone might direct us to where the band would be playing.|The waiter who showed us to our table said he’d personally direct us to the room.|We took our seats in a rather characterless, lack lustre dining room, shared with only two other diners.|We were promptly provided with menus by this same charming young man.|My partner knew immediately that she’d have the pork belly, I was somewhat undecided, so when the waiter took our order for drinks, she went with the recommended Zinfandel as being the right choice for the pork belly. I ordered a bottled beer.|The drinks were delivered to our table and our food order taken, I decided to join my partner in having the pork belly with a side order of rosemary coated chips.||In very little time but enough for us both to have started our drinks, the waiter returned to tell us there was no pork belly and would we like to make an alternative choice.||My partner thought, perhaps a curry?|Alas, they had no rice, so she wouldn’t be having that.|A hotel restaurant with no rice?|There are at least 10 restaurants in Stony Stratford, I’d guess, most of them serving rice based dishes, yet The Cock Hotel had no rice?||I don’t think it requires much imagination to work out that The Cock Hotel’s kitchen is likely to be a large freezer and an industrially sized combination microwave.||We both had Hunter’s Chicken, which comes with fries, we asked could they be substituted for the rosemary coated chips.|The waiter said that would be perfectly fine but would we still be requiring the side order of the same? Clearly not.|The two meals arrived promptly enough but there was no evidence of the rosemary coated chips, what we had were ‘fries’. The waiter assured us, against the evidence of our eyes and taste buds, that they were indeed what we’d ordered. They weren’t.|The portions were generous but the chicken was dry and overcooked, we both left some.||We inquired of the waiter when did the music start and he assured us it was 8.30pm. We sat at our table until 8.15, before setting out to find where the band was playing and to take our seats.|It was clear that the band had already set up and had began to play, the room was full with no available seating and there would be a £5 per person charge ‘to stand’, there was no offer to find us seats. Had we been in our twenties, not in our seventies, we might have thought it bearable.|We left.||If you enjoy live music then by all means turn up early, pay your £5 and get a good seat, there’s no shortage of restaurants in and around Stony Stratford where you can get a good meal but The Cock Hotel isn’t...

Upon entering the pub I asked to verify my booking. There had been some confusion between the booking system for the hotel and restaurant - apparently we may have booked through the hotel, however there was only one telephone number on the website. This was quickly resolved due to the fact there were only two bookings for the evening and as such, availability was in abundance.

In any case, we were directed to the bar area wherein we indulged ourselves with a few pre-dinner drinks.

After being seated we waited approximately 15 minutes before any order was taken. Having ordered two sharing platters, it wasn't until a further10 minutes later that we were informed one of these sharing platters was unavailable. This should have been made clear when the menus were provided. This just compounded our view of poor management.

The sharing platter consisted of two small pieces of cold white baguette with a couple of slabs of butter on the side, a bowl of olives, salami meats and stand-alone cherry tomatoes. The quality was poor and any effort to present the dish well was evidently lacking. The cherry tomatoes should have at least been diced in half and complemented by even a conservative number of salad leaves. The bread should have been warmed. Whilst the olives were pitted, they were unforgivably crunchy. Furthermore, the side order of garlic mushrooms comprised mushrooms coated in a breading which effortlessly separated upon taking a bite - this was evidence of poor-quality frozen foods.

The mains arrived an hour after we were seated. This was slightly odd given the fact the restaurant had only two tables of guests dining in the restaurant, including ours. Poor quality was further demonstrated on the plates of food. I opted for the fish and chips. The batter of the fish was hugely over-powering, disguising an unwelcome flavourless, watery-textured fish which seemed to linger relentlessly in my mouth.

My partner's steak was supposedly medium rare but in actual fact it was completely rare. If you have medium-priced steak on the menu you really need to have a chef who can cook it to the customer's preference. In exchange for this inconvenient cock-up they refused to discount the bill while providing us with a free round of drinks.

So both the food and service were poor.

The interior was well designed, offering a mix of contemporary and traditional country decor. However, the restaurant area was a bit stuffy and had poor acoustics - we were well aware of the other table's conversation and I'm sure that they were aware of ours.

Although the staff were friendly and helpful, there was no evidence of any active management. This will always severely impact a dining experience. Furthermore, it is clear that the chef needs to be better motivated to put a higher level of care into the quality and presentation...

We chose The Cock Hotel as our wedding venue, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the entire team for making our special day truly perfect. It was an intimate event for our closest friends and family, with a total of 50 guests, including us.||||From the lovely ladies serving breakfast, who were so kind and supportive when I was feeling nervous and offered words of encouragement, to the lad behind the bar, the cleaners, the wonderful gentleman setting the tables the night before, the lady at reception, and the coordinators, Sara and Tim – what an incredible team! (We’re sorry we don’t remember everyone’s names, but we hope you know who you are, as we will never forget each of you.) We cannot forget the kitchen staff, as the food was beautiful and delicious. The vegan and vegetarian guests were so grateful, and those with food allergies had their needs managed with extra care. Thank you so much!||||Sara was an angel from the very beginning. Over the course of a year, she patiently answered my countless questions and embraced all of our ambitious ideas. We even had the opportunity to decorate the room the night before after a last-minute cancellation of the event scheduled that evening, which was extremely helpful.||||Though Sara couldn’t be there on the day, Tim stepped in and was outstanding as the Master of Ceremonies. He handled last-minute issues with remarkable calmness, always with a smile on his face. There was nothing he couldn’t sort out for us, even during a busy bank holiday weekend with the hotel fully booked.||||Every member of staff we encountered, both during the day and evening, was an absolute delight, making us and our families feel incredibly welcome.||||Based on the incredible experience we had with all staff, we wouldn’t give them anything less than 5 stars, as they truly deserve it.||||If you’re considering The Cock Hotel for your event, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I’d choose it again 100 times over. We felt special, unique, and will carry the wonderful memories of the day with us for a lifetime.||||To Sara and Tim, our heartfelt thanks for your professionalism and attention to detail. We will be forever grateful.||||Best...