Gruel Britannia - Fairfield — Restaurant in Fairfield

I would like to start this review by saying the food was great and the staff were lovely, but unfortunately the owner really lets this establishment down. I was enjoying lunch with a friend and both our 3-month old babies when a woman approached our table and asked if she could have a word. She proceeded to tell us that it was very unfair of us to be sat at a table of four with our babies taking up two seats when there were people waiting for a table. She then stormed out of the restaurant leaving us sat there completely taken aback by the encounter, and frankly very embarrassed. I appreciate mothers and young babies can be tricky customers (trust me, we don’t love lugging around car seats either!), but what is the alternative- ban us? It was precisely for this reason we called ahead to check that it would be ok to bring our babies and checked again upon arrival, whereupon your staff confirmed for the second time that it was no problem and happily accommodated us. I’m not entirely sure what you were hoping to achieve with your comments, but you seemingly didn’t feel it was necessary to have the same conversation with a table for four near us which was only being used by two people. I understand babies are not ‘revenue-generating’, but their mothers are, as are repeat customers who return to places they are made to feel welcome at. In future, if you don’t want babies, I would suggest briefing your staff on how to deal with this and communicate it on your website as opposed to confronting your paying customers mid-mouthful. Given the reaction of your mortified staff, this is not the first time they have had to apologise on your behalf. As a Brit who is new to Connecticut I arrived at Gruel Britannia feeling hopeful I’d found a new spot to visit when I was feeling nostalgic for home, but sadly I left vowing...

If you are looking for an authentic English Afternoon tea don’t go here . Such a disappointing experience, and I’m British 🇬🇧 The sandwich fillings were on point until you got to the roasted veggies on Focaccia bread ( Italian last time I looked ) the sandwiches had been made way in advance and the edges were dry and some of the sandwiches were literally opening up because they were dried out . The sweet treats that came with the tea were so disappointing, one scone ( which was ok in flavor) was cut into 5 pieces 🙄. This tea was $32 per person plus tax and tip and it was so not worth the cost , there was not an abundance of food for this kind of cost . But what made this experience SO disappointing and unsatisfactory was the owners attitude when we complained about our dried up sandwiches and quality of the food and expressed our disappointment in the experience. She was arrogant, unapologetic and rude . She took the price of one tea of the bill which was $32 and we had to pay the remainder of the bill for 4 teas that we had not eaten , which came to over $130 . I have never been to a restaurant in my life that if you are not happy with something that they have not offered to make it right . I have frequented this restaurant in the past and have recommended to my friends , I will NEVER go back and would only recommend it going forward if you want to feel like you were robbed by an arrogant rude business owner . What a shame that in these times when restaurants are struggling and people are struggling a local business owner does not want to keep her loyal...

This is an amazing little restaurant in Fairfield. Honestly I would have overlooked it if it wasn't for my friend who's half British. We love the atmosphere the service and the food. It's a very cozy little spot with traditional feel. Honestly it's like stepping into another world when you walk in there. I've had their lamb several times and it's delicious I am actually very impressed on how they cook the vegetables with such flavor. The fish and chips is delicious as well. I'm not a tea drinker but whenever I do go there I have their tea however this may be due to the fact that I prefer it over their coffee.

This leads me to the only complaint I have about the restaurant. I literally gave them four stars out of five because I CAN'T recommend others to try the coffee and their sign outside clearly mentions coffee so it should be an amazing experience when you order their coffee. However I'm sorry their coffee is from a local company and it's taste rather wretched. I wish they served a brand of coffee that would actually be found in England such as Nescafé or Costa Coffee. Honestly it would have been more exciting to experience a British local popular brand.

Well rest assured if you try this restaurant you most certainly will find it amazing the food the atmosphere the service the decor is all worth it. Avoid the coffee! Order the tea, soda, wine or anything else to go with the delicious food and you'll have...