The Fox House — Restaurant in Sheffield

Disappointed would be an understatement! Having booked in advance for a table of 8, we arrived promptly to be seated a cold annexe of the building. There was nothing done to make our experience more pleasurable apart from the duty manager saying "we can cancel your food if you don't want to sit here". Totally unacceptable that they would rather turn away 8 customers than try and find a solution. When we asked if there was any alternative heating solution the answer was a straight no. Throughout the meal, she inconsiderately kept leaving the back door open causing the temperature to drop even further. Having sat down for 15 mins, no drinks order was taken and we were forgotten about in this cold, dingy part of the pub. Only when I managed to get the attention of the manager, she came to take our order. Her demeanour was off from the beginning, bad energy and a face to match. She took our drinks order, whilst telling one member of the party to speak up. The drinks arrived after a long period, whilst forgetting a simple glass of water. The food arrived at different times for the party, which I guess is understandable as it was a busy Saturday lunchtime. Apart from not having certain items on the menu, when I made enquiries she seemed annoyed to be asked, which was later confirmed in a conversation after the meal. I believe this woman needs some serious customer service training if she is going to be working the public and should understand that a customer is able to ask questions and shouldn't feel put out by doing so. The meal was mediocre at best, nothing that reflects the prices that they charge. Following our meal we ordered desserts and coffee together. They too came out separately, and at this point we were ready to leave. I went to speak to the duty manager to tell her to cancel the desserts, where she decided it was a good idea to rudely insult me. I quote " I could tell from when you walked in, that you were going to be a problem". Not referring to any member of the party but me, she mentioned that I asked too many questions, I explained to her I'm entitled to ask questions, I'm not being funny but if she can't answer basic questions to a customer without feeling aggrieved then she should not managing anything. I felt her comment was rude and inappropriate, I felt that she targeted me based on my skin colour and that she be spoken to about her actions as this is totally unacceptable. She then provided me with £30 off the meal as a way of shutting me up. At this point we were all fed up and ready to leave. Please avoid this place if you value your self respect and your hard earned money. We will not...

My visit was a mixed bag. The pub itself is so very welcoming. Every single member of staff we came across were so incredibly polite, warm and welcoming. What a fantastic team you have there. Sadly the chicken breast in the chicken forestierre was so dry I could not eat the full dish, despite being very hungry. I also thought the mini mango torte was bland and tasteless. I did not mention the chicken at the time as I was part of a group of 6 and it seemed that others didn't have any issues with their meal. We had booked rooms for the night and were pleasantly surprised in seeing our friends rooms on the ground floor, complete with sofa and large bathroom. However our room turned out to be a nightmare. We could not get to the toilet properly without walking sideways due to the bathroom being so tiny. The sink was so close to the toilet that we could have brushed our teeth whilst sitting on the toilet. We laughed this off and it didn't matter for one night. What made us vow never to return was the bed. We're both seasoned travellers yet we agreed that it was the worst bed we've ever stayed in. The mattress felt the same as an unyielding block of concrete and our hips shoulders and backs were very painful after just an hour. We discussed sleeping in the car, or taking it in turns to sleep in the chair. Sadly we could not return home as we'd had a couple of glasses of wine with our meal. There was no possibility of getting another quilt to lie on or a topper either as it is obviously a lodge attached to a close pub at night. I'm still suffering with terrible back, hip and shoulder ache now. I was particularly disappointed as I was in desperate need of a rest having dealt with a very sad and difficult family situation in the weeks running up to our break. I'd also already decided to book a night away with my husband at the fox house (we were staying as a group of friends) but despite our friends having a better night in their not quite so hard beds, I have to say that I couldn't book to stay here again, unless the beds were updated. Even a Premier Inn doesn't skimp on a good quality mattress. Thankfully the lady who welcomed us at breakfast was so wonderfully kind and welcoming and the breakfast (smashed advacado, eggs, hummus etc) was truly delightful and one of the nicest breakfasts I've had in a long time. So all in all it was a mixed bag. Faultless staff, decor, ambiance, views, drinks and breakfast.... but a shockingly poor mattress and awful evening meal left me with no desire to return....

Several weeks ago my partner and I booked a table at the Fox house pub. We arrived 20 minutes early before our booking and waited ages at the bar to be served. The tables outside the pub and inside the pub were full of dirty plates with left over crusty food gone stale. My partner and I were sat near a table with our drinks and no one came out to clear the table. They were 2 bar staff behind the counter pulling pints but the service was extremely slow with miserable scruffy looking staff. It were like being at Peace Funerals. When I approached a member of staff at the bar to ask if she could remove the plates, she gave me a vacant look and said everyone had been busy serving. After waiting just under an hour, no one came out to us to guide us to our booked table. One of the bar staff eventually came out from the bar to take away the dirty plates, he had a scowl on his face and didn't even wipe the tables down properly and was very rude. This pub from what I can remember of it used to be a lovely clean classy pub that had character back in the day with friendly staff. Sadly it is dirty which makes me wonder how dirty the kitchen is. It's definitely not at a patch on how it used to be. The toilets were dirty too. If I was the manager at that pub I'd give the pub a deep clean. I'd employ better cleaners and I would be a lot more selective in who I employed. They should at least have 2 people clearing the tables at busy times and there should be a waiter/waitress at that restaurant counter taking food orders and escorting customers to their table in a fast and efficient manner, with a nice smiley face. When customers pay alot of money in a restaurant, especially when celebrating a special occasion with friends and family then they should receive top quality customer service with a smile 🙂 After standing at that restaurant counter, no one was there to greet my partner and I so in the end we finished up leaving and ended up going somewhere else for a meal with much better customer service. We won't ever step foot in this pub ever again. It's really not the Fox House pub I loved and remembered. It's more like a...