Ego at Tumbledown Farm, Cannock — Restaurant in South Staffordshire

Where do I start... booking online was easy, even if a relatively sizable deposit was required. We dined the day after valentines. For context: vegetarian, table of 2 adults, eating off a set menu.

The staff were, simply put, run off their feet. One would assume that around major events eg valentines, that all staff would be working. Especially in busy periods aka Saturday nights.

We waited almost 30 mins for our drinks to arrive. Again nothing outrageous. A beer in a can, a mocktail and tap water. These had clearly been sat waiting for a while, the ice had begun to melt. Now while this may be a strategy to incentivise clientele to spend, this certainly didn't instill confidence in me.

Our cold starters took nearly 60 mins to arrive. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but cold starters don't need any cooking , and can easily be prepared prior to service. So why, I ask, does this take so long?

There was only 1 vegetarian main course option so we selected this, mainly as this was the only selection available. This arrived 1.5 hours after we sat down. The butternut wellington was the driest heap I have ever tasted. Presentation- 3/10 Taste - 2/10 I had 4 bites and gave to my husband. He only ate it as he was so hungry having had to wait this long.

The only saving grace of this dire meal was the dessert selection, which arrived approx 15 mins after order taken.

The service was only redeemed by the member of bar staff who was bringing drinks and taking payments, finally with some decent customer service skills and a smile.

We also noted similar experiences and comments from other diners in close proximity, with comments of untimely service, food arriving cold, tasteless and bland.

Whilst we can all appreciate hospitality is a rough industry, there are expectations and targets that should be maintained. The evening out was sullied by this experience, and like an airport, I am announcing my departure and reluctance to return. If this passes for acceptable, I dread to think what a bad day looks like here at Ego, and I have to wonder if other branches across the nation have diners with similarly poor...

Disappointing visit and service this time … Booked in advance for 3 persons, table near window in conservatory wasn’t initially ready when we arrived … we were unfortunately settled near entrance reception desk and my guests appeared initially happy and didn’t want to relocate when a table was eventually made available and offered. The problem was a shrill loud mobile phone disturbing us regularly as people rang in to make bookings. … then the musak grew louder and became particularly intrusive and irritating. We should have upped and moved when the offer was made … but my guests were settled and had bags … and didn’t initially think this area was going to be a problem. Our initial drinks order seemed to be slow arriving and I looked across to the bar to see the tray sitting there … for a while … the dozy waitress tapping her phone … oblivious near the till. I had to get up and prompt her to deliver them. When the food was expected … a bit slow to arrive … I just went over and asked her to please deliver it as soon as the kitchen had it ready as we like our meals hot - she assured us pleasantly she would … shortly after I then noticed another waitress delivering what looked like our order … to another table …. the plates went back to the kitchen hatch … clearly she had the wrong table … 2 minutes later … we eventually got our meals … not as hot as they could have been … having gone on a ‘open air tour’ of the dining area.

Clearly, some serving staff had a Tuesday ‘hangover’ to nurse … pity it was on our visit.

We hoped to dine a la carte … and get a 20% discount … but Administration cocked up the website … so log in to my account was troublesome …and I couldn’t access the discount code. You need to fix this … as staff can no longer do this at the tills.

Consequently … we had smaller portions … and left a tad hungry … At these prices … skimping on portion sizes is penny pinching in the extreme. … and shows Ego is slipping badly at being good value for money.

Fix these issues immediately … if you want civilised customers to return. People who know good food and...

60th birthday meal ruined. We arrived on time and were promptly seated. From this point on the 60th birthday meal went down hill. The orders were placed with the starter taking over 45 minutes to arrive with the waitress having to apologise for the delay. The poached eggs that came with the salmon fishcakes where hard boiler and cold with the waitress commenting that she could have poaches a egg better. The main course arrive 30 minutes later. This time the fries on my son's meal were cold and hard, and my own chicken kebab also being stone cold. Clearly the kitchen staff were having a very bad night, as we had a clear view from our table straight into the kitchen and all I can see was there was a lot of shouting going on. My chicken kebab was removed. 30 minutes later my replacement chicken kebab arrived .By this time everyone else on the table had long finished there main course. And I was full on chips and salad that came with my meal. I ask for the table to cleared. To top the night off i had arrange for the staff to bring out a birthday cake and sing happy birthday to my wife .. they then brought the cake out sparkle and all singing happy birthday there was unfortunately one thing missing my wife yes .....they brought the cake out when she went to the toilet.. all the waiting staff stood there totally embarrassed. They quick ran of into the kitchen to find replacement candles and returned to sing happy birthday with my wife presents at the table. The restaurant staff clearly need retraining and as for the kitchen staff and chef they clearly just couldn't cope!! If you want a meal on a special occasion don't book here they just can't cope. I expressed my opinion to the manageress who could only stand and apologise with a very imbarassed look on he face.. we left without paying. Poor organisation and...