Spread Eagle — Restaurant in South Staffordshire

I haven't been here for over 5 years when it was usually extremely busy, the meals tasty and the cake display full.

We booked a last-minute table for 2, online, no problem when we were 30 minutes away. Arrived and was shown to a table by a pleasant guy. I couldn't believe how quiet it was at 6 pm on a Saturday! My partner talked me into having the carvery instead of Hunter's Chicken, my usual go-to dish. The bar staff were lovely, and the carvery chef was lovely and pleasant, topping up the pots as I waited for the return of my partner. We both had turkey and beef. The beef was tough. The mashed potatoes tasted like they were powdered mash; the mashed carrot and swede were flavourless, watery and seemed mostly carrots. The mixed greens, leeks, onions and cheese sauce was dry greens and leek when I took some. I hadn't realised until I got to the table that it was missing the sauce. It registered after I saw the chef with a carton of pre-made cheese sauce to cut open and pour over the greens. The other peas and carrots were too soft and my partner likes his soft. The stuffing chunks were dry and hard. The gravy, brown-coloured liquid was flavourless. My partner LOVES a carvery and for him to leave half a plate, speaks volumes. The cake display was extremely disappointing. Half a coffee walnut cake?, a chocolate fudge cake and one other. Obviously the economy plays a factor at the moment but cut down on quantities made not the quality.

For the lack of custom at that time, the glass washer should have had time to dry the base of the glasses with a tea towel before removing from the washer. The glasses had stale water gathering up on the bases which can be off-putting.

I might try again but for a menu meal next time. Usually experiencing one bad meal I never return but I will give the Spread Eagle the benefit of the doubt due to...

I visited today for Sunday Carvery, we had to wait for a table to be allocated, (even though there were a number of empty tables throughout the bar area) once table was allocated had to again join the queue to order food this was a about a twenty minute wait, there were two queues and 4 tills at bar, finally managed to get to bar and get our carvery tickets and a drink, we then joined the carvery queue got our meal and sat down ( no complaints about the food it was very nice). After our carvery meal we decided we would like a desert, we would also have liked another round of drinks however we would have had to have joined the queue again to order these, I spoke to a waitress and said this system was not workable and would have liked to have spoken to the manager, but she was very defensive seeming quite annoyed that anyone complain, saying this was nothing to do with manager but was Marstons Policy. Other people around us were also complaining, needless to say it spoilt our lunch and we left without bothering to queue for a sweet or a further drink. The food and bar queue are the same so if you are only thinking of popping in for a Sunday pint I wouldn't bother as you will need to wait behind about 20 people ordering food, and unless you have an hour to spare queueing I wouldn't bother going in for a meal either. Shame because the food was good, but the management was terrible. Marston's if this is your Policy you need to review it!!!! I will not...

Upon arrival, the car park was easy to find and the area was clean with plenty of parking spaces. The signage to the reception to check in was easy to follow and there was someone at the desk to check us in and allocate a key, we stayed in room 219. We went to our room which was, again, well sign posted within the separate building across from the pub itself. The only issue we found was that there was no lift, we had some heavy bags and a suitcase. There was only my six year old and I, so it took me a couple of trips! The room itself was clean and there was toilet roll, hand soap and shower gel available in the en suite. The tea and coffee was stocked too. The room was basic but more than ok for a good nights sleep. The bed was comfortable and happily there were plug sockets next to the bed for charging phones etc. There was quite a lot of noise through the corridor during the night and I was woken a couple of times by people talking loudly and what sounded like someone running around and jumping above the room a few times late at night and very early morning. We also ate dinner at the hotel which was reasonably priced and tasted good. There was a nice park out the back as well which was a pleasant surprise for my daughter! Breakfast was great and the omelette was delicious with a good spread of continental breakfast which is included in the price of the breakfast. All in all, we had a good stay and the staff we spoke to were friendly...