The Offley Arms — Restaurant in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Went there on Sunday for lunch. The main course was excellent and the young wait staff were polite, friendly and helpful. However, upon ordering dessert I was presented with a hot crème brûlée. It was sloppy, thin custard. The middle aged woman who appeared to be in charge, ignored me looking at her to come over to the table, so I took the dessert to her. I explained that the dessert should not be hot and that the sugar should be caramelized on top of cold custard. She rudely argued that how the chef served it and he knows best, adding if I wanted it cold I should have asked for it like that. I was given the menu and asked if I wanted something else. I went back to my table. A waitress came over and asked if I would like something else, I refused and asked for the bill. The young waitress apologized and said sorry I was unhappy. I explained again that the dessert should be cold, when the other woman came over and started saying again I was wrong and it should hot. I said I didn’t think she should argue with me, and she said I’m not arguing I’m telling you how we serve it. We got our coats, paid the bill and left. Not only do they not know how to serve crème brûlée, it is the rudest and most embarrassing service I ever experienced and will never go back. If you go make sure you stick with the main...

Ogh dear !! Didn’t quite go to plan. Met for Sunday lunch with family. Tried to check before hand on menu however nothing online beforehand. Should have guessed it wasn’t quite right. Menu was just roast dinner with no starters. Highlight was waitress who didn’t know if they had Malibu available .. once prompted she went to check at the bar. It took a bit of persuasion. Again one guest asked about cask ales .. met with silence. Roast dinners had items missing .. carrots/mash potatoes although agin once prompted servers were happy to get for you. Food was lukewarm at most. Roast potatoes were quite a crunchy experience. Once asked for dessert we were only presented with one dessert menu for eight people. They had lost a few. Not a problem as I announced the dessert menu for everyone. Apple crumble and custard was delicious. Saw another table refuse their food and walk out. What a shame as a fantastic location and could be so good. Manager/Owner did reduce the bill based on experience. Suggest shut down kitchen till you can...

Overall a poor experience. On arrival only 2 tables occupied, so not busy. Despite this the service was slow. Drinks order - had to search for the waiter to order drinks. When drinks arrived, no ice. Food order - after waiting for ages we played 'search for the waiter' again and eventually placed our order. Food arrived ages later, by now the sun had gone in and we'd lost an hour. Had to ask for cutlery and condiments, which eventually arrived 20 minutes later. On a plus note, the food was good, but tbf we'd have eaten a scabby dog. The Offley is a good pub with lot's of potential, but if the seemingly clueless management team don't support and train their young team, sadly this pub won't last. So dissapointed that after all the hard work to get this pub back open they are letting it slip away. Oh, and "so sorry" a million times,...