Rising Sun Brewers Fayre — Restaurant in Watford

My husband and I are regular customers at the rising sun pub for breakfast and dinner. The services and the atmosphere would normally be warm and welcoming. We walked in this morning and greeted the server (Jane) with a smile and said Good morning to which she responded “are you staying upstairs?” Referring to the hotel and we said “no”. She then said “oh” as if we’re not welcomed to be served. She stayed in her position for quite some time away from the till as we asked her if we could pay so we can start dining in. She then said “but we don’t accept cash, only cards for payment so..”

We both then said “we can pay by card so that’s alright” The server then said “oh uhhh okay” appearing to be uncomfortable in utilising the till. She asked us if we wanted continental or full breakfast to which we said continental at first but changed our mind to switch it to full breakfast right after. At this point she started claiming she “cannot change the option as we should have known what we wanted to begin with because she’s already asked us, and it’s our fault because we should have known what we wanted in the first place, because every other customers know what they want when they order” we apologised and asked her kindly to just void the order as it has not been finalised and she said we’re just going to have to pay for what she placed in the order and just have the continental instead as it’s our fault. We asked if she could add more items on the list so we can make up for the balance to have the full breakfast and she said that can’t be done, we told her that we are regular customers to which she responded with “I’ve worked here for five years and I’ve never seen your faces” not to mention the look of disgust on her face as she looked at us from head to toe We asked for the manager and she replied “well there’s no manager here until 12 o’clock so…”

At this point, we’re already getting distressed as she kept telling us it was our fault and that we should just leave as there was no way for her to void it on the system and she won’t be able to serve until the manager can void the order which is at 12 o’clock when she (the manager) apparently starts her shift and that there is no supervisor around to do it either. Jane (the server) continued to attempt to correct our grammars and tenses as she carried on to make us feel unwelcomed whilst trying to make a point.

Three other customers then walked in, she did not use the till until we left and we witnessed her happily serving and welcoming them anyway and made it clear that we had to leave as we were told because she couldn’t have us in the establishment any longer.

We headed to the rising sun pub after receiving a bad news and we went there knowing the place and the ambient will cheer us up.

The communication skill that this server displayed is utterly unacceptable which made us feel discriminated against and after spending ten minutes of trying to make sense of what just happened and just wanting to really have a good breakfast, she did not even want to cooperate with us to begin with, we decided to leave as we were rejected multiple times instead of trying to making customers feel valued...

Not very often I give a score like this but I felt their breakfast service was awful; recommend not having breakfast here until either buffet resumes or they sort their issues out. Arrived at 7:45 with plans to leave by 8:45 as we had a booking at Warner Bros Studio HP Tour. They took our drinks order and then a few minutes later our food - 6 hot breakfasts, 1 cereal, 1 yoghurt, 1 toast, 1 croissant with jam, 1 pancakes with berry mix, and a pain au chocolat. Drinks arrived few minutes later but with 1 orange juice too many, the only coffee had milk instead of being black and a hot chocolate hadn't been mixed so balls of powder. Around 8:15 we received the cereal, "toast" (if this was steak it would be classed as blue), the jam but no croissant, and informed they didn't have the requested yoghurt - no alternative offered. Around 8:25 we enquired about the hot food and lack of pastries/pancakes; we were told the food was being cooked and the waiter returned with a pot of berry mix but not on pancakes (these were tart, partly frozen, but eaten as time was now getting tight). At 8:40 nearly an hour after arriving we received our hot food. For two of our party they mixed the item quantities up so had to sort their plates out, every fried egg ordered was over cooked (2 had large bits of shell), meat sausages were over cooked but veggie ones under-cooked, and mushrooms under-cooked. Overall very underwhelming but eaten as we were starving and had to leave. Still no pancakes or pastries. Giving up on the original items we asked for some croissant and pain au chocolat "to go" thinking we could fill ourselves on our drive but these turned up after a 5-10 minutes wait warm and chewy; we suspect they'd been put in a microwave for some weird reason. Before you wonder whether my 1 star is a bit critical and we are being "picky", my score is also based on other minor aspects such as never being offered any drinks other than the initial order (we did ask for more but it wasn't his station and he didn't pass the request on), and every other table around us were similarly complaining about the wait and incorrect orders. To me this highlights not that we were unlucky, but that the entire breakfast system was broken. The staff all looked stressed and busy but that's probably just trying to fix all the issues. Even taking into account 2 of our party were children and therefore free, the food wasn't worth the...

I came by myself to try and visit the place. As I entered, it was quiet, and there's two staff standing behind the bar. They acknowledged me by looking without verbally greeting me. I enjoyed my starters, which is soup of the day and prawn cocktail. I decided to have it in the bar, although it's the same menu in the restaurant. Soup is perfect, and the prawn cocktail is fresh and has a good presentation. I had my main course, which is sirloin medium rare.I created the sides, my way of eating healthy. Although, I noticed that they did not rest the meat that I ordered before plating it because there's blood on the plate.The service is average on the floor. No food checks, minutes after they served the food. They just come to collect the empty plates when you finish. Ordering food is by the bar, and you have to let them know the table number where you sit. I would suggest tasting the red wine you ordered before taking it to the table, as mine tasted like vinegar. Perhaps the bottle has opened for days. I guess they have to label the date they opened the bottle to let them know how long it's been displayed in the bar. The supervisor offered to replace my glass with another, which I enjoyed with my sirloin. I noticed that they were chatting with their guest by the bar and staying there without checking the floor, and as I said, they would come out on the floor when the customer finished their meal. The first thing I noticed when I sat on the table was their menus. It's sticky to the touch. Just imagine how many customers touched it, and their salt and pepper are not filled and dirty. I have to get it from another table. I also noticed that my side of the seat on table 40 is dirty. However, I noticed that they sanitised and wiped their table after use. The place is nice and cosy, and the music is just the right volume for a quiet shift. The place is very promising if only they have attention to details. The staff have the right attitude and will really please you. They have menu knowledge and can recommend something that's suitable for me and the things I requested.However, they just need to do some checks on customer satisfaction. I did not order my dessert because I am quite full. I just went to the bar and ordered cappuccino, but their coffee machine is already cleaned and switched off. I been offered a complimentary instant...