please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
one to avoid.
we arrived on time to find that our table wasn't ready - then the 3 of us (including a very old lady) had to wait almost 30 minutes in an incredibly cramped waiting area until it was.
young staff were lovely but older staff have a bit of an attitude problem - unless you wear tweed and drive a range rover. My �13 fish and chips came with just 12 normal sized chips - there were crumbs all over my plate so some had clearly been removed by hand. When i asked that i get the right amount a blonde, older lady was incredibly rude.
To make matters worse, my grandmother was charged for the main equivalent when she in fact had the starter - when i pointed this out the blonde lady claimed that the starter was the same price as the main.
It was so dark that we had to read the menu out to her, not a pleasant experience overall - very snooty.
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The drinks were expensive but well served. However we found the barman abrupt to the point of rudeness when we accidentally sat at a table which was apparently reserved, no sign on the table. He came and told us to move and then walked off without answering my question about another table. We left after a while, despite the offer of a meal served in the snug, as the barman's rudeness had taken all the conviviality out of our lunch time stop for a quick snack. Politeness costs nothing and clear marking off tables as reserved would be helpful.
If waiting staff had come to ask us whether we were eating when we first arrived we might not have made such an embarrasing mistake. However they appeared to be busy having conversations about the other customers - not all of them complimentary.
Don't think we will return in a hurry.
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Looks lovely from the outside and in a nice village location. However, that is as good as it gets. Old fellow behind the bar looks like he needs returning to the old folks home, so unbelievably slow and not a word of apology for taking for ever to serve. This place is a total rip-off - four drinks (glass of lemonade, small orange juice, JD & dash of lemonade and a brandy i.e two alcoholic drinks and two soft drinks) total �11.30 What!!!!!!!! Frequented by people with more money than sense, who dress down like they have no money but can afford champagne in buckets. Large patio area but the table we sat was filthy, probably not been wiped down for weeks. Advise - take your custom elsewhere for service and better value.
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Lovely looking pub inside and out, pub is right opposite the church. Plenty of money around this area and the prices of the real ale and cider showed this. I bought a pint of Brakspear Best 3.4 % abv and one and half pints of Stowford Press cider 4.5 % abv and it cost �9!!! That put me off quite a bit, saying that, the food looked good and the surrounding's very nice.
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Dogs ARE allowed in the Lord Nelson, but they must remain in the Bar area and can be with the owners whilst food is eaten (I assume by either dog or owner).
Diogs are not allowed in the formal restaurant which is not unusual.
Sam Pardo
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Lord Nelson. had dinner there 22nd June 2009. The staff were very friendly and we ordered 2 x specials of half lobster and salad. The food was perfect and not too expensive at �13.50 per meal + Wine. I got the impression t is the sort of place where you can as little or as much as you like, wide choice of food and wines... which is worth a mention a good selection and not all 'new world'
Then toilets were really clean (important in my wifes book) and we will certainly be back.
I have read the other reviews and I do have to ask myself, were they in the same place ?
Selwyn Petterson
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A pleasant stop; the beer was in good condition. Staff friendly and they brought free olives. The pub was almost deserted, perhaps the other reviews here put people off!
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After our experience here I would suggest getting a train to London and having lunch at Gordon Ramsey as it will cost you the same price and won't be slapped together by a 5 year old from ingedients bought from Tesco's with the added rude service!! Watch out if you're not a local. Not a good advert for British Pubs.
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We visited this pub late on a Sunday afternoon, food had just finished being served, we were told they could possibly make us a roast beef sandwhich and a soup. We were happy with this and had a glass of shandy. The sandwiches were made on supermarket bread and the soup tastless. We asked for the bill and were shocked that the price for our sandwhichs shandy and soup was �36.65 !! when I said this was crazy, they rudely said we hadnt looked at the menu, it was never offered. We were also asked if we were local!! ok to rip off tourists. As a visitor from Spain this leaves a very bad taste, beware is all we can say.
anonymous - 10 Oct 2007 18:27 |
Boycott this gastro-pub!
If you use the Lord Nelson in Brightwell Balwin regularly or are planning to visit please think twice and select another option. We booked a table and confirmed in advance that it was ok to bring the dog. The waiter even confirmed it upon our arrival. As we started our aperitifs to celebrate my wife�s birthday, the landlady Mrs Shippey rudely butted in and declared that the dog was not allowed at the table. She did not want to acknowledge their mistake and made no apology at all. I�m ready to praise a trader when it�s due but this time it�s a complaint that should be shared for the sake of alerting publicans to fact that service and courtesy are still crucial. Our main gripe is the astonishing lack of courtesy, an absence of professional customer service and a disregard of the social norms of politeness or accountability at the Lord Nelson. Fortunately most publicans are great. Horatio must be turning in his grave.
anonymous - 17 Sep 2007 22:58 |
Boycott this gastro-pub!
If you use the Lord Nelson in Brightwell Balwin regularly or are planning to visit please think twice and select another option. We booked a table and confirmed in advance that it was ok to bring the dog. The waiter even confirmed it upon our arrival. As we started our aperitifs to celebrate my wife�s birthday, the landlady Mrs Shippey rudely butted in and declared that the dog was not allowed at the table. She did not want to acknowledge their mistake and made no apology at all. I�m ready to praise a trader when it�s due but this time it�s a complaint that should be shared for the sake of alerting publicans to fact that service and courtesy are still crucial. Our main gripe is the astonishing lack of courtesy, an absence of professional customer service and a disregard of the social norms of politeness or accountability at the Lord Nelson. Fortunately most publicans are great. Horatio must be turning in his grave.
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lovely place
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This is a lovely pub with a nice atmosphere, a cozy log fire and delicious food. It is a little on the pricey side, so it's maybe not somewhere you'd eat often but I've never had a bad meal there. The staff are always very pleasant. At this time of year they do very good mulled wine.
anonymous - 8 Nov 2006 09:30 |
A pleasant enough setting, the building is of immense character. Food is on the pricey side which is all very well if delivered, which this place just about manages. They don't seem to cope with large bookings very well. The staff are pleasant, the usual use of local teenagers, which is fair enough but does let their standard down. Some of the management were very nice and unfortuatly some weren't. I was as always very disappointed to discover a 10% service charge on the bill which i always feel is a bit like daylight robbery! Are they not confident enough that the customers would leave tips? In conclusion, not a bad place to visit but i wouldn't return again and i'd probably recommend to friends to go elsewhere as there are many other pubs in that area of equal if not better standard and character.
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