Darrington — Restaurant in Wakefield

Summary - some issues on food but set right by the manager who was excellent.

Venue - large sized chain pub, Hungry Horse's offer cheap grub, big portions and a kids play area.

Seating/Ordering - seat yourself and order at the bar or via the app, I couldn't get signal (O2) so we ordered at the bar, didn't see any signs for Guest WiFi which would be a nice touch and encourage the app if it's not already available.

Play area - Soft play, not big and a bit dark but not many pubs have one at all so it's a bonus. If you don't have kids, I'd recommend taking a table on the other side as the kids can get a bit loud.

Cleanliness - there was some food on one of the menus (pictured) and on one of the chairs but generally okay.

Choice - plentiful and the portions are big, not a diet friendly place by any stretch, vegetarian and vegan options are clearly marked. Prices are cheap and with the large portions the food is great value.

Food - I'd recommend sticking to whole meats, particularly the gammon and steak, onions rings and chips were also spot on, chicken portions were a bit odd, couldn't quite place my finger on it, possibly they had been defrosted? We had a few issues with the food, an egg was underdone and still had some uncooked white (couple of teaspoons), maybe needed an extra minute, I don't mind a slightly gooey-er yolk if it means the white is cooked through. My daughter's carrot sticks were old and brown, these were replaced speedily with a fresh batch, shouldn't have made it on to the plate, her burger bun was also rather dry. My wife's steak was cooked to medium but looked like it had spent quite a bit more time on one side than the other. Would recommend someone in the kitchen checking the plates before they go for obvious errors like the carrots.

Meal by meal.

I had the mixed grill (pictured) Steaks were good quality, gammon too, sausages were okay, peas, onion rings, chips and pineapple ring were spot on.

My youngest daughter had fish fingers, a mini corn on the cob and chips, everything cooked perfectly (pictured) her chips were a slightly smaller portion size than her sister's but I had plenty so that was easily sorted.

My oldest daughter had a beef burger, chips and veggie sticks (raw/crudité), beef burger and chips were good, burger bun as mentioned was dry, cucumbers were fine, as were carrots once replaced. (Pictured)

My wife had steak, chips, onion rings and salad, all great! (Pictured)

Kids had a fruit salad for dessert, wife and I were too stuffed! Served with fresh raspberries rather than strawberries on the menu but our two were quite happy with this. Pear and peaches are tinned but they were perfectly happy with them.

Service - friendly and attentive. Everything was brought out quickly and close enough together, particularly as the kids were occupied, only a short wait for the replacement carrots. We were asked if everything was okay and when I mentioned there were some problems the staff member notified the manager who came over and was very understanding and offered to comp both meals that had issues without the slightest hesitation and reassured us that that was not the standard they normally set. He turned a mediocre experience (2/3) into a highly positive one (4) and we will definitely be back again for the experience he pushes his team for.

Noticed a car had left its lights on in the car park on the way out so popped back in to notify the team and they said they would deal with that.

Overall, although we experienced some issues, they were put right effectively and generously, the manager seemed trustworthy so I think we just had one of those days where things don't line up quite right. I'll update my review the next time we visit and confirm that we just got a little...

Had a stay for a wedding (2 nights) breakfast included and all in all, it was worth the money of what we paid. The staff were incredibly friendly and helped when we needed it. Free parking, free wifi, good location, and was just ideal for a short stay.

As a a plus size girl, I like to give my honest reviews of places and struggles i face, etc, to help others if they are unsure, so here goes...

The room was clean, which is a massive tick for me. The only bit I struggled with was the flooring in the bathroom... so where the bath and toilet was, the flooring was raised, but as you walked on it, it would move under you and squish almost as if there was so much damp on the floor underneath I felt the whole time that my foot was going to go through it at any moment. It was also the same for my husband, so it wasn't just me and my size causing it, but when you are plus size, you just fear causing damage to stuff. Luckily, it never caved in, but it was a worry the whole time I was there.

The only other things were little bits such as the bed could have been a little softer as it was a bit hard for our taste but again that's not the hotels problem that's just our personal preference. We also had to ask for another towel as they only gave one bath towel and 1 hand towel, but we asked and got another one right away. I will advise that the rooms were pretty close to each other so sadly we had a screaming child from around 6am on the first morning, at which point we just got up because the scream sounded right next to us and it lasted for about 45 minutes. Again, it's not the hotels fault, just the luck of the draw of neighbours.

Drinks in the room were tea and coffee, etc, but there was a vending machine out by reception for those who wanted something else.

Breakfast was good. We didn't have any other food from there, but it seemed very popular throughout the time we were there.

All in all it was a good stay and I would...

When checking in the manager was half way through her break at 3pm eating at peak check in time! We were given a twin room that when we walked into was unclean and smelt. The carpets definitely weren't hoovered or even swept there was bits and hair all over. The shower door hardely opened and the shower was dirty inside. Everywhere was covered in dust. I asked to move rooms to a king downstairs as the stairs going up to the twins were steep and coming down was very difficult as the door hit me and nearly shoved me down the stairs. The king was cleaner but still not very clean, dust all over. The bath inside was dirty, the tea cups dirty. We went for dinner, the Sunday veggie roast, which took 30 minutes to come and the cashew roast was cold, not even warm, cold! They took it back and then we waited another 20 minutes for it again. The food was not nice, the mash was all stuck together so the packet stuff and overall made me feel sick. I left half on the plate. The roof started leaking and the mangers solution was just to get some buckets, not to check on the person in the room above to make sure they were OK. The breakfast was warm but not very nice, the bacon was chewy, the beans tasted very cheap, just not nice. The only good thing was the nice pastries. Staff look extremely unbothered and like they couldn't care less about their job or the people they were serving. To say its supposed to be refurbished the paint is chipping off the walls and skirting boards, the bathrooms just look unclean and with rust. When I let the bath out it was very slow to empty, checked the plug and there was skuzz and hair blocking the plug. The WiFi is spotty, it was work OK one minute then just turn off. I would never come back here again. The doors are very heavy and slam shut so I didn't get much sleep from that either. Oh and the water comes out of the tap cloudy which has caused me to...