Cherry Tree — Restaurant in Newcastle-under-Lyme

I recently came here for a work related christmas tea with my colleagues and service users. 4 out of the 25 did not attend last minute due personal circumstances & illness so I cancelled their food order as soon as I arrived. I was already aware but was told 2 weeks prior to our booking that a deposit and food order needed to be made 7 days before the booking so they can make sure they have got he correct food and ingredients to fulfill our christmas party, however during starters, the food that was cancelled was coming out and they informed us that they did not have any turkey for the burgers but an option of chicken was offered and accepted ... during this time the timings of the main meals were coming out later than others, the cancelled meals were still coming out. Only 2 Xmas dinners were ordered but surprisingly 5 came out. During the serving of the puddings, they informed us that they did not have enough chocolate pudding brownie to go around and 2 would have to sacrifice their orders, which they did but I thought the whole point of pre ordering food was to make sure they had enough to feed parties?? Don't get me wrong the food was alright, it was edible and my steak was cooked lovely athough a tad chewy in some part's , i thoroughly enjoyed the xmas pudding brownie it went down a treat. There was a lovely man serving our food and asked me to clarify what desserts were orders and one of the girls came over and told him to use another piece of paper in the kitchen, quite rudley so I told him to use my order sheet so he all could get the correct desserts. The girl was quite miserable, no smile, not an once of costumer service friendly look about her maybe she could of done with a break? There was not alot of atmosphere in the pub, so it was a good job we had a good group of people. Maybe a bit of christmas music to get people in the festive mood to celebrate with their friends/groups/familys/colleagues etc...for future reference? Unfortunately another downside to the meal was that it was absolutley freezing cold and some of our party wore their coats throughout the meal. The guy behind the bar was lovely. He paid 15p towards the last of our bill which was very kind of him. Merry Christmas...

Cheap but not so cheerful.

The staff are very friendly, so it does feel a shame to have found our evening otherwise disappointing. We were seated quickly, and in a nice area. However, nobody had advised us that we needed to download the Greene King app to order any food or drinks, and we only worked this out for ourselves after perusing the menus for around 20 minutes without being approached by anyone asking to take our orders. The app is reasonably efficient to use, so I have few gripes about that, although it was a little arduous to sort out our own drinks, starters, and main meal orders for a party of ten. Had we been given the choice, it would have been preferable to place orders in the traditional manner. The starters and drinks arrived promptly and were enjoyable, particularly the camembert and vimto chutney bread sharer. Regrettably, the positivity ended there, as the main meals were not even nearly as palatable. The vegan katsu curry was inedible, with sauce strongly resembling chip shop curry sauce that had sat under a heat lamp for some time, and goujons which had become squelchy in the process. The cod was tough and bland, vegetable sides and chips had gone cold, and the steaks were tough. Pudding was pleasant enough; it's hard to go wrong with ice cream. However, it was awkward and irritating that the plates from our main course were not cleared away until the puddings had been brought out, leaving the waiting staff skillfully juggling between the two tasks. Perhaps on a quieter night, the quality of the food would be much improved, but we're in no hurry to take the gamble on...

I haven't been to the Cherry Tree for a couple of years due to it being hit and miss with the quality of food. However after visiting the Vue cinema today I decided to give it another try as it's only down the road. For my sons meal they didn't have any rice or jacket potato available due to ordering issues. The waitress advised me that the mash is frozen processed mash so I opted for the chips, even though he isn't a fan of chips... I had exhausted every other option! For my daughters meal (beef dinner) I requested that the peas and gravy be exchanged for corn on the cob. The waitress went to check if this would be allowed and came back to advise that this was not an option due to the costing of corn on the cob. I accepted this and asked what she could have in place if peas and gravy.... A different vegetable perhaps? The waitress then told me that there were no alternate option and if we didn't want the peas and gravy they would just exclude from the meal and her Sunday dinner would consist of Beef and frozen mash only. At this point I politely declined any future assistance and went to a restaurant a few miles away that had no food supplier issues and happily accommodated my request the swap peas for sweetcorn. I was right to stay away for so long and will never make the mistake of returning...