Virgins & Castle — Restaurant in Warwick

Very disappointing Saturday evening spent here (19/02/22)

Surly attitude from the moment we entered and dared to inquire with a female staff member as to where we could find out about the table we'd booked.

Ordered starters and mains, but had to constantly recall the waiter to remind him bring drinks and the food we'd ordered.

Two of us had already finished our starters whilst one was waiting for the bread to arrive which should have accompanied her soup, which was then delivered with dairy butter to a table of vegans!! The 4th person in our party didn't receive their starter at all, so again, we had to keep calling the waiter back to ask where it was.

After waiting over half an hour for a drink I'd ordered and again having to call out to gain his attention, the waiter snapped at me in an angry retort which he shouted right across the floor to me in front of the other customers !!

Another male waiter then approached, & I duly re-ordered my drink which I'd explained had not yet arrived (to ensure I didn't receive 2 drinks!).

This waiter came back after yet another 15 minutes and banged it down on the table in front of me so hard that my friend sitting next to me actually looked up in shock, and we then both observed him storm off but then look back at me with a scowl !

Having noticed we were watching, he then came back to the table, but when I pulled him up on his poor attitude and asked what the problem was, he offered no apology and just wandered off to clear the table next to us whilst shaking his head, as if WE were the problem. Suppose he was mates with the first incompetent waiter...

Similar issues with the mains, with us having to call the waiter back to ask for missing items; 2 of us had burgers which had none of the coleslaw as advertised, but a pile of red cabbage on the plate instead, and the burgers had no relish which we also had to request be brought to us.

Another of us had ordered the plant-based board, and again there were items missing which we had to request be brought to the table, plus there were no condiments provided so we had to ask for those too.

In the meantime, one of our party went upstairs to use the facilities, and overheard other staff members there bemoaning 'demanding' customers. Extremely unprofessional !!

Not ONCE did ANY of the waiters approach us to see if all was satisfactory with our meals or to ask if we needed anything else, and quite clearly they found it irritating that we had to keep recalling them in the first place. BUT if we hadn't done so, we would have STILL been sitting there waiting for most of our order.

Nor did they inquire as to whether we would like any desserts, having obviously decided by then that we were too much of a 'problem' for them to be bothered with.

I do appreciate it was a busy evening, but customers should not have to continually remind staff to do their job and bring the food which was ordered, and quite frankly, if you are going to work in a customer service environment, it does bode better for business if staff actually take care of their customers, instead of taking out their stress on said customers.

We spent over £130 for this experience; the food itself was pretty good, but the evening was spoiled by not everything not arriving as it should have, and by the very negative attitudes of both management and staff.

Will NOT be returning, but appreciate that they likely couldn't care less either way since customers are...

We had a very disappointing Sunday lunch which was sadly terrible all round.

I’d emailed 3 days ahead to advise if a dairy allergy but got no reply nor was it acknowledged at arrival. The staff member serving us knew nothing about the menu, drinks or allergens and after several back and forths where we had suggested how to confirm allergens we were able to order.

The food took a very long time to arrive but when it did it was terribly cooked. Raw cauliflower, uncooked pastry, soggy anaemic potatoes which tasted and looked as though they’d not been in the oven.

We requested more gravy, which was the tastiest part (my dad, mom and I had all ordered vegetarian meals) and when it arrived we put it on our meals only to discover it was meat gravy. The server was apologetic but made no attempt to rectify the situation and paid full price for something I couldn’t eat. When I mentioned the soggy pastry I was told I should have said and they’ve have done me a new plate - I didn’t because I could see by the state of the other 3 roasts there was no point as standards are low.

The service was dire, the poor waitress knew nothing and had clearly not been trained in customer service (she didn’t even know the brewery that the pub belongs to). Sadly her incompetence added to the poor, quiet atmosphere of the place not helped bad indie music played loudly.

I think everybody knew this was not a good meal, the waitress included and it was terrible meal for a birthday celebration. My parents who had been previously before the change of hands apologised for suggesting it and we all left...

Booked for Sunday lunch as the reviews were great. We booked an early slot for lunch early as my guest had to drive home mid afternoon The menu listed most options were available Gluten Free on request. Out of 6 or 8 starters, my guest who is gluten intolerant, could have soup. They had no ingredients to make any gluten free items that day. The staff weren't aware of the menu items and as the kitchen couldn't make them fresh, it made us wonder what was home made and was served pre bought. The roasts were good, veggies were tasty, but the Yorkshires were not fresh, reheated as they had gone very rubbery rather than crisp The gravy served on the side was awful and more like a savory custard in consistency so it sat on top of the Yorkshires rather than soaking in to make them more yummy They had run out of horseradish by 1230pm? There are shops in Kenilworth they could have bought some surely? A table of three couples arrived and sat next to us and settled in with drinks and went to ask for menus only to be told as they haven't booked for food they cannot order anything. Ive never heard of a pub restaurant not serving food to walk in customers. Very odd. Again, wonder if there is a problem in the kitchen The staff were friendly, but came across a bit unsure of their menus etc, so a bit more training would help that, and make sure they have ingredients in that customers would expect - for example horseradish sauce when serving roast beef I'd go back for beers, but doubt Id go...