Devon Doorway Heswall — Restaurant in Wirral

We live in Heswall and haven't eaten here for a long time as we normally go to Silk Road. We thought we would try it again and looked at the menu and was really excited to see the seperate vegan menu. We ate here with our 2 children. We are both Vegan and shared the mezze flat bread as a starter ( which was ok, but maybe a bit of caramelised onion may improve) and had the curry and veg bake as the mains. The Veg bake and curry were amazing. We topped it off with 2 desserts which were also really tasty, millionaire bar with ice-cream and blueberry crumble and custard, both were amazing, so much so, that we asked the manager to confirm they where both Vegan. So we had 3 courses for about £24 each. Our children are veggies and they had the children's menu, and had a margarita pizza, which was a handmade flat bread pizza, which went down well and looked lovely, they also had mini chocolate brownies and crumble, which both went down well. The children's 2 course meal was about £10 each.

Now for the downside. The service was very slow, it took 25mins to take our drinks order and we where there for 2 1/2 hours in total (with no coffees), which was far too long especially with 2 children (8 & 11). Also the wine is very expensive, my wife wanted red wine, but the cheapest red wine, which was vegan was about £26 and this was low alcohol and low calorie. Who wants a low alcohol bottle of wine? Not us. The next vegan red wine was about £36, so we had prosecco instead for £30.

In my mind Prosecco should be £25 and house red about £20, unless you are in London, which this isn't.

When we had the manager over at the end of the night, when we were asking if the desserts were vegan. We complemented him on the quality of the menu and food, then asked if he was short staffed. He says they weren't and would expect to turn a meal round with coffees in 2 hours. He's said there is some inexperienced staff and he had, had other feedbacks about the length of time and so he will be addressing this. We also explained the wine situation, which he will address, so fingers crossed these aspects...

We decided to revisit the Devon Doorway in Heswall after a long time away – not for any particular reason, we just hadn’t been in a while. On arrival, the welcome felt rather cold, almost as if our presence was an inconvenience. However, it quickly became clear that the team were working hard and under pressure. That said, we experienced service from several different staff members, despite the restaurant being quiet with only one other table occupied, which suggested the team could benefit from clearer direction to help them work more efficiently and feel less rushed.

Once seated, we ordered drinks and went straight into our food order – one beef roast, one chicken roast, one beef duo roast, and a pizza. The food arrived in good time, which was appreciated. Unfortunately, not all the dishes lived up to expectations. The pizza and accompanying fries were tasty and well received. However, the roast dinners were a bit of a mixed bag. The chicken and the sliced blade of beef were both enjoyable, but the sirloin served with the duo was disappointing – mostly fat and overcooked to the point it resembled a burnt end. The roast vegetables were also underwhelming, particularly the parsnips, which left us wondering if they’d been near a pan at all. That said, the gravy was good, and we were grateful to be able to request an extra jug.

The venue itself is lovely, with a lot of potential, but the experience fell short of what it could be. With the restaurant only half full on a Sunday afternoon, I hope a bit more focus on food quality and team coordination will help the Devon Doorway shine again – it certainly has the foundations to be a...

Unfortunately I received very severe food poisoning from this venue so I strongly suggest other guests stay away to prevent this happening to them.

I visited in July and ate the prawn and linguini linguini, the service was great but sadly the effects of my meal have tainted the whole experience.

After having experienced severe food poisoning symptoms in the hours following the visit I complained and had to complete a food diary. The company which owns the Devon Doorway then told me there was no chance that it was their fault and therefore must be my own. This was incredibly patronising as I know my body, I eat a pescatarian diet so therefore avoid many high risk food, and finally I work in hospitality so I am aware of hygiene standards in my own cooking. Consequently, I am certain that The Devon Doorway was responsible- sadly this has not been accepted and I have not been offered any compensation or even a refund for my horrific experience.

A reason given by the company was because other guests did not experience such symptoms. Yes, okay but they did not eat the same exact food as I did- it could have been the fault of the chef when preparing my meal rather than ingredients.

This whole experience was deeply distressing, worrying and frankly dangerous so I strongly discourage other potential guests from visiting as if you also suffer food poisoning you will be left in the dark.

If The Devon Doorway wishes to get in contact in order to provide a refund I will accept this and seek to move on, however so far they have neglected...