It was back in May when we enjoyed a fantastic outside dining experience with amazing food and friendly service led by manager Tamsin as well as co owner Imogen. This made us really wanting to come back when we would be able to enjoy the full experience inside the restaurant. Unfortunately this what not to be the case.
The day started well as on arrival we were given a friendly welcome before being escorted to our table. We were then told that we know how it works as you scan the menu to your phone. We said ok and off he went. He returned a few minutes later to ask if we wanted to start with a drink to which we said give us a minute while we then had a look at the drinks page. Why restaurants can’t use paper menus is beyond me as it’s so much easier. Anyway we ordered a drink then decided what food to order. We opted to order as before the entire menu.
It was now that things started to go a bit downhill and you could tell straight away the difference between Tamsin & Imogen being here last time and creating a great atmosphere than today when there absence was clearly noticeable. Also when you consider that we ended up being the only two people inside the restaurant why did it feel like a burden that we were even there in the first place.
For the rest of our lunch our food was brought in a speedily fashion to our table with a brief explanation. When we’d finished each course our plates were taken without any engagement. We tried to engage with them but our efforts seemed wasted. One of the waiters was on his laptop throughout our time there and he only had to bring us a few dishes but you could clearly tell that it was a chore to do so. Even when it came to finishing our savoury dishes we had a little break and wasn’t asked if we wanted dessert or just a coffee so we asked for the bill to which the waiter seemed a bit surprised and didn’t ask at all if we’d enjoyed our lunch. He just took our payment of £177 yes that’s correct and walked away and not even a thank you for coming. It really did just feel that they would have preferred us not to have been there.
In the end despite the food being as good as before the atmosphere was terrible and we couldn’t wait to leave and yes I didn’t even want to have dessert anyway. I can’t believe our two visits have been like chalk and cheese leaving it highly unlikely that would we ever return again.
My Hospitality Life 