On arrival I was told that I had arrived too early and that Booking.com had the wrong time on their site. I apologised and said I can come back as was just going to leave a bag and head out, but was told 'it doesn't matter, I am here anyway'. The first words and greeting was one that made me out to be an inconvenience, and that was just the start.
The bar is not a bar. You have to ask for a member of staff to come and take your drink order from your table a few feet from the bar, fine I guess, but the bar was part of the appeal on my last visit. I guess they don't want locals drinking in the village pub? So, I am now at a table that was dirty and sticky and not cleaned from previous spilled drinks waiting for someone to walk 5 feet to take my order. The young staff were doing their best and were mostly cheery and polite - the ones that spoke. However, the service was slow and poor.
Then to the dining room. A piece of bread was delivered to the table, with no butter or any words when placed down. I asked several times if I could please have some butter, but that never arrived. Then when the food arrived, it became a whole lot worse. I would have thought a burger would be an easy meal for any kitchen to produce, but not on this occasion. First site was the sad dry gherkin on a stick on top of the bun. The bun was wet on the bottom and stale on top, the chips soggy, and the burger inedible. I am not one for complaining, but this had to be reported back to the kitchen and management. I asked the young friendly server for the manager, as this was not something she needed to fix, but the manager did not come to the table (on a quiet night of only two other tables) until I had finished my drink (food untouched) and ready to leave, some 40 minutes later. When she did finally appear I was told that there had been a bereavement and the kitchen staff were new and that hopefully I can understand why the meal wasn't to expected standards - no, I cant.
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