Old Bell, Grazeley Greenback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Place has a bit of a reputation with the local boy racers club in the car park but on my visit on Wednesday was pleasantly surprised to find it very quiet. Good bar service and beers available included Brains - SA and Marston - Single Hop.
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Awful service awful food completely inedible leve well alone
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Originally visited in June 2009 and staying again at a local hotel on Thursday/Friday last week were a bit hesitant at re-visiting after reading the recent reviews.
However, revisit we did on both Thursday lunchtime and Friday evening and weren't disappointed.
In fact, it appeared to be as I remember it and far from stark, cold and uninviting as per the previous comment. There was a log fire roaring away on both days and the staff were efficient and helpful.
The lunch deals were very good value and tasty (Chicken tikka skewers and a curry) and the evening meals were very tasty, served quickly and extremely good value. My bistro salad with chicken skewers was very filling (stilton, croutons, mixed leaves and a very tasty dressing) and my girlfriends chicken & chorizo with sweet potato mash was also very good.
I can't match this pub to the last three reviews unless the staff have completely changed and when we revisit the local De Vere hotel again we will certainly come back to this pub.
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went there yesterday after quite a break since the refurbishment and the previous landlord and landlady left, the place is stark, cold and uninviting. The sole "Duty Manager" was struggling to serve the customers waiting, he was polite when he eventually served us but no apology for the wait etc...we got served eventually and took a seat. There were used pieces of cutlery on the tables, the tables were dirty...then we waited and waited. The food arrived, the hunters chicken and the chicken in the mixed grill was like rubber and the hunters chicken looked as though it had been flash burnt and looked dreadful. The veal off the "specials" was overcooked and tough.
The waitress didnt really know what to do when we were asked if everything was ok. We couldn't take a replacement as we didn't have time but no offer of a reduction etc nor did the very young "Duty Manager" come to see us.
Very disappointing and we will not be going back again...the pub has been destroyed as a local country pub!!!
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I have now eaten here a few times and keep hoping it will get better. I work near by. It doesnt went over for a late lunch as somewhere that serves food allday and found the kitchen to be closed between 3-6pm under new management so thought it may on improved.
I had a starter which came out as the wrong dish took 30 mins to bring out the replacment by then my husband had finished eating his. Great start. I then had the Piri chicken which came out before I finished my starter. The chicken was dry and I mean cant swallow dry. Explained this and got offered something else by this time my husband who had a steak which again was very bland and chewy had finished what he was going to eat of this. Not once did the staff ask if the food was ok or try and rectify this. So being �60 worst off not being offered a refund and had to stop on the way home and buy fish and chips. Avoid!
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Visited this place a few weeks ago with my family, including my mother and father-in-law. Unfortunately, a bitterly disappointing experience. Starters arrived at intervals of 15 mins. The biggest issue however was the lack of a welcome from the staff. The girl behind the bar was too concerned about making sure the children stayed away from the bar - ok, fair enough but there is a way of doing this without annoying the parents. The woman who appeared to be the manageress arrived the main courses, asked who was having the steak, my father-in-law (who is 70) did not hear her first time so she had to repeat herself. When he responded that it was his, her reply was "oh, he does have a voice then". Very rude - and unlikely to go down well after such shoddy performance on the starters! Judging by the constant blackboard outside this place advertising for new staff, I can perhaps understand why this place continues to have problems. It boasts a recent re-fit. Unfortunately, the issues we saw are far more integral.
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Had a very nice meal here. A chain pub but welcoming enough and a good choice of reasonably priced food on the menu. I had a mixed grill which was excellent and my g/f had a curry which was also very tasty.
Good, polite service from the waitress and a good selection of ales - the only negative was my pint of guest mild was served chilled!
You could do much worse than to sytop off here.
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Quite a nice stop-off for an occasional ale, if you don't mind the eaters and transients from the Travelodge.
As it's a Chef & Brewer, the ale range is usually good (4-5) with the odd leftfield choice available most visits. Condition is usually fair; they're served often far too cold unfortunately.
Inside ambience is quite pleasant. I've eaten here before, and was relatively happy with what I got.
Worth the odd stop.
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Stayed at the Travel Inn next door last Friday, so popped in for a drink and meal in the evening. Pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. Very good and reasonably priced. Breakfast on the other hand was not that good. The sausages were pale and very unappetising. However, staff very friendly and helpful.
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Arrived around 6pm to have a Sunday roast. Pleasantly suprised by the nice decor considering it is set next to a Travelodge. Previous comment agreed with about the tab situation, we put the staff into a spin by saying we wanted to pay cash, we had to pay up front and immediately. Staff claimed this was stop people running without paying, this would of been difficult with the staff out numbering the clientelle by at least two to one! Very pleasant waitress brought starters which although slightly pricey (this is no gastro pub), were very nice and had a home prepared if not home made appearance and taste. The roast dinners however did not match the starters and there were a number of problems. My wife beef both fatty, gristly and almost no lean, we were told that this was often the case with this cut of meat! So dont buy this cut was my advice. It was exchanged without fuss but of course my wifes arrived nearly at the time of my finishing my meal. The vegetables were the wrong side of al-dente and were as hard as nails and arranged as if in a flower arrangement, not nice for a meal! The roast potatoes were not crisp but soft and swimming in fat. As for the mash potato!? Who puts mash on a roast? Very strange and very unsatisfactory for a roast dinner at nearly 8 quid.
Puddings were nice if standard "out of the box and microwave till boiling variety". Overall for the price fairly poor but with a little effort could improve immensely.
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I took my family here on saturday night. The owners need to sort out the tab situation. Retain car keys (or credit/debit card or small child...) on arrival? Otherwise, after queuing to pay for order, service was fantastic. Good selection of beer. Food was excellent & pub was full of families with children. Fantastic location with good parking. Starters, main & dessert all served quickly. Very important when you have a hungry 6 year old & he had the adult lasagne!
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I was immediately impressed by the ambience, lighting and "cosy" factor of this pub/restaurant. Some real ales to boot also, make it good for a cosy drink. However the food is not to be recommended by me. When it eventually came (on a Monday night with only a handful of clientele, and even fewer eating, 20 minutes is just too long), it was lacking. The roast vegetable pasta was missing anything resembling roast vegetables, and the promised parmesan wasn't there. I think i saw a pine nut too. I'm generally not fussy if dishes arrive not exactly as described, but at around �7.95 I felt that a dish of just pasta was pushing the boundries too far. I sent it back and had it replaced (another 20 odd minutes later) with a mushroom risotto [in a timbale]. This time the promised parmesan was replaced with a lump of melted cheddar. ...Oh for some honesty from the kitchen ....The desert took it's time too. I wonder how long the wait is on a weekend ?
I noticed the only other eaters had steak which from a distance looked Ok. Hence this pub would probably suite diners who want steak and a pint, with the mantra 'Quantity over quality', so the management probably know their market. A continuous flow of clientele from the premier travel inn next door, means - like the 70's fragrance - they probably don't have to try too hard. Eat before arriving.
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It's a real shame as it's got promise when you arrive, with the exception of the travel inn next door which is a bit of an eye sore.
The food here is awful. My wife had the goats cheese penne with baby spinach.. which camne without any spinach and was totally bland covered in this white flour sauce which had not seen any cheese in it's life.
I had the chicken stuffed with asparagus and wrapped in bacon.. well totally tasteless and smothered in a tastless white flour sauce similar to the mrs'.
very disappointed !
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it's okay, it's a millars kitchen pub I think. nothing amazing tho.
captain_cool - 3 Mar 2004 10:49 |
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