Old Red Lion — Restaurant in Stevenage

I am beyond disappointed with my experience at The Old Red Lion. From the moment we walked in, the service was shockingly bad. The staff seemed completely uninterested in their jobs, acting as if serving customers was an inconvenience. While ordering drinks, we were abruptly told, "Can’t have that," with no explanation, and the staff member simply walked away, leaving us standing there, waiting for someone else to assist us. When we finally did get our drinks, they were sloppily made, didn’t match the menu description, and looked like no effort had been put into them. When I pointed this out, the response was dismissive and indifferent.

Things only got worse. We ordered three large Cokes, yet they arrived barely half full. When we went to order food, the same staff member who had previously ignored us suddenly decided they could serve us, with no apology or acknowledgment of their earlier behavior. The food itself was nothing short of a disaster. The onion rings were not presented as advertised, the chips were so overcooked they were inedible, and the Cluckin’ Mac n’ Cheese Stack—which was supposed to come in Texas bread—was literally just a dry portion of mac and cheese shoved between two slices of toast. The steak, despite being ordered rare, was unbelievably tough. Every single person at our table agreed that the food tasted off and was just not enjoyable.

What made this even more frustrating was the complete lack of attentiveness from the staff. Our table was left cluttered for far too long, and at no point did anyone check in to ask how our meal was—even though it was a quiet Wednesday afternoon.

I have worked in hospitality for years, and that’s what makes this experience so frustrating. I know how hard the job can be, and I also understand what it takes to provide good service. I’ve worked as a server, behind the bar, and in kitchens, so I fully appreciate the pressures that come with the industry. That’s exactly why I rarely write negative reviews—I know that bad days happen, and I know that working in this field isn’t always easy. But what I experienced at The Old Red Lion wasn’t just a bad day. It was a complete lack of care, effort, and basic customer service.

I had heard great things about this place, which is why I was excited to visit. But based on this experience, I can’t understand why it has any good reputation at all. The standards were simply not there—not in service, not in food quality, and certainly not in hospitality. I truly hope they take feedback like this seriously because, as it stands, this was one of the most disappointing dining...

Not good. Minimum standards are not being met. Two main courses were ordered and there were problems with both; we complained about the worst of the two meals.

Medium rare steak was rare, peas were cold. Other items from that meal were warm. Fries were very hot and crunchy and better than normal.

The Slider Meal For One was returned to the kitchen. Both times that the slider meal came to the table, there was no burger sauce or red onion. The BBQ dip appeared with the 2nd meal. The burger buns were microwaved inedible. On 1st presentation, the lamb and beef burgers were jelly-like on the edges, uncooked and cold. The pork and choritzo burger ordered the 1st time was no where to be seen and warm pulled pork arrived instead. Again, the only item that was hot were the fries.

After the 2nd meal was finished, a meal check was carried out and it was stated that there were issues with the meal.

After the 2nd meal, we were offered free drinks or desserts which were refused. At no time did a manager come to our table.

Free drinks or dessert maybe should have been offered after the sending back of the 1st meal and when the 2nd meal was unsatisfactory, a manager should have come to the table. The Slider For One meal should have been removed from the bill.

The same meal was delivered twice and twice had issues, the lack of customer care from the management and the fact that uncooked, once frozen meat was on my plate has put me off ever eating at that Hungry Horse again.

The last Stevenage restaurant that presented me with uncooked meet swimming in gravy has not had the pleasure of my company...

We came in a few weeks before we intended to attend to sort out a table for Christmas and was told we had to do it online. We went online and could only book for 6, I was never told to send a request for a table for 11. We had to book 2 tables separately. I came in 3 weeks before the date I booked to explain that we would like for the tables to be seated together and the manager just gave me a load of attitude and was not very helpful. On the day, the manager started to blame everything on the way we booked it. The food came out cold. The starters all came out together but the main course was a different matter. Firstly 6 meals came out together and cold. 20 minutes later the other meals came out. This was 9pm after we had booked for 7pm. We had to ask for cutlery and to clean the table but they never cleaned it properly.

They didn't have lemonade or coca-cola, they had a very poor selection of drinks. There was one toilet out of order and the other had a hole in the glass window. Every time we tried to raise our issues we were knocked back and made to feel it was our fault. The bar staff were absolutely lovely but it was the lady in charge that made us feel like we were a hindrance. For a Christmas meal, there was no festive atmosphere and no music. We also had to ask for our mains to be cleared and for our pudding to come out. These came out at 9:30. Some of us had the same desserts and there were various levels of...