The Pied Calf — Restaurant in South Holland

Absolutely rotten experience today. Went in at lunchtime to catch up with friends and have a bite to eat, sat down and was chatting for about 15 minutes or so before the short haired lady came over and asked us very rudely if we were planning on ordering, I thought she was going to say there was an issue with the kitchen or something so we all responded and said that we was ordering but just looking, she then even more rudely pointed at my bottle of water on the table and said that I wasn’t allowed to have my own drink, which I understand is a policy in most hospitality places but as a 30 week heavily pregnant woman I did not appreciate her absolutely snotty and rude tone, regardless of the fact that we ordered a meal with drinks, I certainly did not appreciate that I was told I was not allowed to drink my water when I need to stay hydrated especially in this hot weather. She walked away as I was still talking to her when I tried telling her that I had this water because I’m pregnant but she stormed off as I was talking. When we went to the bar to order our food I assume she realised I was pregnant because she was right as rain with me after and throughout the rest of our visit but that doesn’t change the fact that she was absolutely bloody rude and no apology on her part either. In case this is reached by management, we were served by the short haired middle aged lady, quite short, height wise and a face like a...

It is a decent place to grab a meal with a friend; the menu has special deals for seniors, and you can buy two mains from a set menu for a great price. The sundae was huge, the chips extra crispy, the service quick and professional.

Why the low rating, then? Well, the rating is for the owner of this pub chain. I was lured to this pub by the American Express Shop Small offer, which listed Pied Calf in Spalding as one of its Shop Small locations. However, the wait staff politely explained to me that it is the company policy not to accept American Express as a payment method. This, after going to the trouble to list itself on the American Express website as one of its Shop Small locations! I find this deceitful and underhanded; a place should not be attracting customers under false pretenses.

With this went my last patience with American Express, too. I had tried to "Shop Small" in four other listed locations nearby, and all of these places refused to accept my AmEx card. I cancelled my credit card while polishing off my sundae there and...

Booked as looked good online, initially the young man behind the bar was welcoming and friendly, the chef that brought the food was also friendly and accommodating changing one of our plates due to allergies that we hadn’t notified of without being asked. However the beers we ordered were without doubt ’OFF’ and we couldn’t drink them! Tried complaining first time ignored and on our second attempt, when most landlords would have approached us noticing they were still full this one went away and came back to call us liars because he claimed one of his regulars tasted it and said it was fine, he just walked away without any apology or offer to swap them and we left with the untouched beers on the table behind us!!!! Having booked this for 5 guests dining and drinking I would have thought he would appreciate the trade, however he wasn’t at all interested and I certainly wouldn’t recommend The Pied Calf to anyone that is expecting to be treated as a...