The Black Horse, Endon — Restaurant in Staffordshire Moorlands

Sunday Spetember 14th, We booked in advance for our family Sunday dinner for 6 adults & 2 children as we hadn't been to the Black horse for many years and had seen the sign outside advertising the sunday offer after the pub has recently changed hands again.. I have to say we likely won't be for many years to come now after todays experiance

The food took an age to arrive after initially ordering, even though we pre booked and there was only 3 other tables mostly in couples throughout the pub so very quiet for a sunday afternoon

When the food eventually did come it was over a 15 minute window of a plate at a time, some of us had to start eating while others waited so their food didnt go cold, before we could do this i thiught it best that we didn't want to eat with our hands, so had to eventually go to the bar and fetch the knifes and forks for both tables as they handnt been set by the waiting staff and never brought them across when we asked.

We all finished our drinks in the time we waited but non of the staff came over to offer us another round of drinks so we decided not to bother as they were clearly disinterested in our business.

To top off the experiance one of the meals was completely missed, after asking 3 times where the final meal was it did finally arrive 20 minutes later, clearly forgotten and missed off the order, no apologies for this and by this point everyone else had finished, the food in generall was below average lacking quality and small portion size, along with this the kids pizza is basically reheated garlic bread and cheese so didn't get touched.

The staff were young and clearly disinterested and inexperienced with even basic customer service, again when the meals was finished no offers of drinks or dessert so we gave up, paid and left.

The lad at the bar apologised and said they were prepping for a big group in later in the day, clearly our custom didnt warrant the attention or service for the £90 that we spent, we will be back to the regular pub next sunday where they do value our custom and have a much better standard of food and overall service.

Its a shame this pub changes hands so regularly as it could really be a good business for someone if they have the right staffing and attentiveness, alas not this...

Very disappointed. We've eaten here many times and generally had excellent food and friendly service. Came a few weeks ago and the beer (Director's), though drinkable, tasted a bit 'off'. I didn't complain but mentioned it to the barman when I bought a different pint. Director's is normally a smooth, sweet, full bodied pint but this was a bit harsh and unsatisfying.

The landlady/manager overheard the conversation and took over asking what was wrong with it, I described as above, as best as I could. She persisted for several minutes trying to get me to describe in detail where I thought it was lacking (my food was going cold!). I don't know the language to describe the finer details of taste, I'm no beer connoisseur, I just know it wasn't quite right. Again, I wasn't complaining or asking for a refund or free pint, and she was fairly friendly but so persistent that I was made to feel like I was being interrogated! The second pint I bought didn't taste quite right either; I drank it. Meal was excellent.

So, last night we tried again. Welcomed in, ordered drinks, Chardonnay and a Directors. This time the beer was really not nice. After last time I didn't fancy mentioning it. We ordered food, then ten minutes later the waiter brought us the bill. I thought he'd come to the wrong table! No, apparently they now take payment before the meal because of people leaving without paying. I felt very uncomfortable with this; it's quite an unusual way to take payment. Pre-paying when ordering at the bar would be quite acceptable but to be presented with the bill at the table just before the food arrives and told it's because people leave without paying made me feel like they'd assessed us as a risk. This, added to the fear of complaining about the poor beer. I'll stress the waiter was very polite and apologetic but I was annoyed, embarrassed, I didn't feel welcome, wondered if it was just us being asked to pay up front, could sense others watching so I paid for the two drinks and we left to eat elsewhere.

I'll stress, the food is very good but the manager needs to get the draft beer sorted and if it really is always pre-payment for everyone then find a more normal way...

On the menu was a "Moving Mountains" burger with fake-bacon and cheese. One would assume there'd be a bit of salad and probably some sauce on there too. What arrived were two very thin, extremely dry, cheap (not Moving Mountains brand) veggie burgers, placed side by side on a dry ciabatta. The only garnish was a strip of overcooked facon on each hockey puck.

There was a short, black, curly hair on the plate. I've attached photos of each issue.

When we enquired about the state of the burger, we were told that that's how it comes. The waiter said he'd go and check with the chef, and returned to explain that they had no vegan buns in stock... as if this would have any baring on the fact that what was served had no resemblance to the description in the menu.

We showed the waiter the hair, and they said "sorry about that"

Normally I'd have expected a discount on the bill, or to not be charged for the burger, but this place has a "pay up front" policy. It's very unusual, but having seen the state of the food, I can see why they implemented this.

To round off our visit, as I was getting into my car, the landlady shouted over to ask if I liked my IPA, which they served to me in a warm can. I said "no, it was warm" and she replied "yeh, they only just arrived".

If you have stock issues, fair enough, explain that you've run out of moving mountains burgers, explain you have no burger buns, explain that the beer will be in a warm can... explain before you take your customers money, so they have the chance to choose something else. When errors are brought to your attention, apologise, and attempt to rectify the issue. It's...