The Halfway House — Restaurant in Oldham

I've come here a few times and have recommended this pub to friends & coworkers. Their food usually tastes fresh and made to order. The presentation is nice and the menu has a lot to offer. The service is usually stellar. Until today.

I usually start with the salt and pepper chicken bites. They're breaded but have a great chilli spice to them. I've tried a few mains and they've always been delicious until today.

I decided to try something new and get a salt and pepper chicken burger. I assumed it would be breaded with chili spice like the appetiser. She said it came with salad. What they brought was the driest piece of plain, unbreaded chicken breast- the most overcooked piece of chicken I've ever had in my life. No salad. It was so dry I couldn't swallow it. It actually made me throw up as it was stuck in my throat and wouldn't go down.

I asked if I could exchange it for the chicken bites and our friendly little brunette waitress suddenly turned frosty. I explained it was too dry and I couldn't swallow it. She seemed personally offended as if she had cooked it herself. She took the burger away (it DID have the one bite out of it.) When she brought the bites, we asked for drink refills and she shot daggers at us.

At the end, they charged me for both the burger and the bites! I explained to the young man that I couldn't eat the burger and asked for it to be taken off my bill. That little waitress couldn't get to the register fast enough to INSIST I pay for both meals because "We had to cook it!"

Of course they had to cook it 🙄 but it's not my fault that it's inedible. I can only guess that she has a .... close relationship.... with the chef because she really took it personally. She was so aggressive and demanding that I asked if she was going to have to pay for my burger herself out of her own wages since I returned it. I thought she was going to have to buy it herself the way she was acting. She was hell bent on charging me for a burger I physically couldn't eat and said I must have a medical condition if I couldn't eat it! Honestly, she was shocking. In the end the cashier took 1/2 off and she was livid that he did. Honestly.. think angry chihuahua. Yap. Yap. Yap.

I wish I would have taken pictures but since the food and service have always been good in the past I really didn't think there would be an issue. Next time, I'll snap pictures for proof even if I trust the restaurant.

It's a shame really because I've had so many good meals and memories there. We're moving to Scotland Monday so this was my last meal there. My friend and I were having a "goodbye" lunch. I hate that it was such an awful experience when it...

Absolute shambles, if I could leave zero stars I would. I booked on the Wednesday for Saturday 29/3/25 for 5 people. The meal was booked as a treat for my mother. On arrival the main pub was really busy, standing room only. We made our way through to the main restaurant reception to let them know we were there. We stood there for a few minutes while getting a few funny looks from a lady who I’m presuming was the manager/landlady until she eventually asked if we’d booked to then be told we wasn’t on the list. I showed the lady my call log and the time and date that id booked. She then told me that it had just happened to someone previously and she had to turn them away also. I explained to the lady that the restaurant was empty and we’d obviously booked and were there and we wouldn’t be in there long so there was no reason to not seat us and just accept they’d made a mistake and rectify it. The lady wasn’t having any of it and was really passive aggressive towards me. She eventually tried to find us a table in the main bar area which was really overcrowded. With my mother being elderly and disabled it was no good to be sat surrounded by people stood over us drinking and enjoying their evening and also the fact we had 3 other young girls in our party that felt uncomfortable so we didn’t want to sit in the corner of the bar. I was then told by the lady there was nothing she could do to which I replied well you could apologise, she then completely lost it and jumped two feet off the floor throwing whatever she was holding in her hands on the floor shouting I HAVE APOLOGISED. She hadn’t at all, the passive aggression and rudeness was so unprofessional. Neither me or any of my party will be returning to The Halfway House in Royton ever again. The whole evening was ruined for all 5 of us and my mother was really upset. I understand mistakes are made but there’s a level of professionalism and respect expected by paying customers who have gone out of their way to make plans/travelled for a Saturday evening at this Restaurant. JW Lees and said manager /landlady should be ashamed...

Went yesterday 29/12/16, made a same day booking for 5pm. Arrived 4.50pm and were politely greeted and taken to our table. Drinks ordered and menus left. Order taken for starters and main which were delivered promptly and very tasty. During the mains the waitress left, end of shift, not sure when the next waitress arrived. Plates for mains were removed by the barman around 1/2 hour after we'd finished them. Asked about desserts, barman went away and returned 15 minutes later to inform me of the 4 choices. Other members of the party weren't at the table at the time so I said I would tell them what the choices were. Barman returned and asked if I was ready to order whilst I was still on my own. I said we would be once I'd passed the choices on and we had decided. Whilst I was telling him this the others sat down. I then ordered the desserts another 15 minutes later when the new waitress approached another table and called her over. When ordering Sticky Toffee Pudding asked what it came with, ice cream, cream, custard etc and she didn't have the foggiest. 20 mins later, still no desserts, asked barman where they were, he checked and said they were on there way. Waitress came 5 minutes later and told us the same thing. Desserts landed 10 minutes later, one Sticky Toffee Pudding cold with congealed toffee sauce, the custard arrived in a gravy boat that still showed traces of gravy!! A chocolate brownie that was cold and powdery and a further Sticky Toffee Pudding that was barely edible. At no time were we asked if we wanted further drinks. Had we booked for 4.30pm and had the initial waitress for the whole meal then the rating based on the first 2 courses would've been 4*. However the thought that we would return was quickly extinguished and is now at...