The Elephant and Castle — Restaurant in St Albans

Staff friendly and helpful but meal absolutely dire. 1 to 1.5 slices of shaved meat with reheated veg, and deep fried spud chunks. Think Wetherspoons on a bad day but double the price.

We went a few weeks back and both received 1 small slice/shaving of beef in a £21 per person meal (£14 roast + £7 starter). The slice was propped up with cabbage underneath to make it look bigger. My wife gave a good review on Facebook for everything but pointed out the 1 slice. At the the time, had I been bothered, I would have highlighted the deep fried "roasties"

My wife had a good response from the owner, saying 1 slice was not policy and offering us a complimentary roast if we came back.

We went back today and honestly had a worse experience.

To start with, the squid in panko breadcrumbs starter was in batter. This had been OK last time. No-one said "we've run out but can substitute, is that OK?" To be fair they were OK, just not what was advertised, or ordered. A little overpriced at £7 for 5 or 6 deep fried, battered squid rings with 1 small pot of flavoured mayo, and no salad. For our main, we again ordered 2 roast beef, and remembering we'd had to wait 10 mins after receiving the meal for the horseradish to be delivered last time, we specifically said "with horseradish", and the waitress confirmed. 30 mins or so after our starter, 2 roast beef arrived cold, and with no horseradish...we asked again.

While the waitress was gone, my wife said, where's the gravy? We'd been given a gravy boat last time but none this time. So 5 minutes later a waiter arrived with the horseradish. Then we asked for the gravy, and he said the waitress would be out soon. 5 minutes later, the waitress was serving another table so we called her over...could we have some gravy? Another 5 minutes and we realised the waitress had appeared again, serving someone else...can we have that gravy? Oh, you want "extra" gravy? No, we just want gravy, no "extra" about it.

While we waited again, now more than 20 minutes after a cold meal was served, my wife pointed out that if you put her 2 slices next to one another, they matched...it was 1 slice cut in 2. I did have 2 slices, but 1 was just a half slice of chewy meat. Eventually the gravy arrived.

Last time we were here, my wife thought the carrots were tinned, and I said, no, no, they'll just be Brakes...and indeed, I checked, everything in the plate is pre-prepared by Brakes. If you have a roast here, think Wetherspoons, but double the price...£14. I checked one of the pubs I used to work at on Richmond Hill, and theirs is £14.49..fully prepared and cooked on the premises, with 2 to 3 slices of thick sliced beef. E&C, 1 to 1.5 slices of shaved meat with reheated veg and deep fried spud chunks and stuffing.

They give you deep fried potato chunks and call them "roasted potatoes", deep fried stuffing balls that wouldn't have looked out of place in the barrel of a flint lock, and their yorkies and veg are reheated pre-prepared Brakes Brothers produce...appalling.

To top it all off, they tried to charge for the complimentary meals, and when we sent the bill back, they also tried to charge me for my first pint, that I returned, due to it having sediment in. I had to go in to discuss the issues and get the bill rectified.

I vowed not to return last time, and was persuaded by the complimentary meal...never again, not even for a complimentary meal...the worst roast I've had. The only positive was the staff trying to help. Even then though, they're saying "why didn't you say?" ...we did - that's why we were offered complimentary meals and came back this time.

Appalling!...never again.

Morning now and thinking just how bad it was...I wonder if the owner intentionally asked us back as some kind of revenge for my...

Lovely location. Such a shame about how this is so badly run. Service is very poor. Feels like no one in charge and in need of a decent manager. Owners seem to have employed inexperienced staff to fend for themselves. Didn’t seem to cope with what looked like a not particularly a busy Saturday evening. Lots of food off the menu. Orders for drinks and food were late, brought at different times or just completely ignored. Staff not prioritising, clearing tables when not busy and not focusing on guests waiting. Wrong cutlery brought to table, no condiments and napkins etc offered. Very rarely don’t leave service charge but when I asked to remove this from the bill, one girl seemed to be more interested in checking on how her nails looked than asking why I didn’t want to leave a tip. Would go for drinks but would avoid going for an evening meal in future. In their defence we had a round of drinks on the house in the end and one member of staff did apologise. Overall, felt like we were in an episode of Fawlty Towers. Have been here often for drinks and food and it seems to be a downward spiral in terms of service and...

Had an evening meal here with friends. The pub is in a lovely rural location with lots of outdoor space and is dog friendly - dogs even get their own menu! Service was friendly and helpful all evening and the Farr pale ales particularly good.

We ate inside, and while the food was generally okay, the battered fish and chips had to go back as it was cold, which the pub kindly replaced and took off the bill for us. The meze board I had for a starter was three bowls of dips and small triangles of flatbread (for £12), while my fish pie main was a bit heavy on the salt. I also thought the Men's toilet needed a facelift or revamp to make a lot bigger and cleaner - the Ladies' was reportedly in poor condition too.

This is a highly-rated pub and I really wanted it to be a great experience, but it didn't meet our expectations. I'd go again but other pubs and restaurants in the area have set the bar...