The Church Inn, Uppermill

REVIEW OF THE CHURCH INN AT UPPERMILL

We are a group of about 16 real ale enthusiasts who have been visiting The Church Inn at Uppermill since 1998. Throughout the whole of that time, the pub has been under the same management, thus you would expect standards to have been pretty consistent and it should be an easy place to rate. Unfortunately, the pub has become guilty of resting on its laurels in recent years and we found our task of rating the pub extremely difficult, as our opinions were tainted by the impeccable standards we enjoyed many years ago.

Between 1998 to 2005, this was probably one of the best pubs in the whole of the Greater Manchester area - something that was reflected in the very high ratings it often received on websites like this one. It enjoys a beautiful countryside setting with scenic views across the West Riding of Yorkshire, central Lancashire and Manchester. Outdoor facilities include ample car parking, a children's play area and a large beer garden that overlooks the Tame Valley. The pub sides onto the village church and woodland area and they have a number of outdoor tables where you can enjoy sightings of the local peacocks and feral cats, whilst tucking into your meal and a pint. Other attractions include an on-site micro-brewery and an entertainment's lounge which is situated downstairs, well away from the main drinking and dining areas, so that the music doesn't interfere with the regular pub goers.

As you venture into the main part of the pub, you are immediately thrust into a pleasant, country setting with ample seating, clean decor and nice touches such as the open coal fire place. A large bar plays host to around 30 different beer pumps. All tastes are catered for with lager, cider, light bitter, golden bitter, IPA, mild and stout all featuring as permanent offerings. Approximately 10 of the beers are from the in-house Saddleworth micro-brewery, with the rest coming from the brewing industry's big hitters.

With such a large range of beers, The Church has always been a big hit with real ale fans. The in-house beers from the Saddleworth Brewery are also exceptionally good value for money. Likewise, the pub offers a terrific range of English food which can be enjoyed either in the main dining room or any of the surrounding indoor and outdoor areas.

So far, so good... a pleasant country setting with great facilities, clean decor, ample seating, a large bar and a great range of food and drink at sensible prices. Unfortunately, that just leaves the thorny issue of customer service.

During the mid-2000's, a few important factors appeared to impact on customer service standards at The Church. The first saw the established in-house brewer leave to set up his own highly acclaimed brewery in Greenfield. This resulted in the usual range of impeccably prepared ales becoming a rather hit and miss affair. The landlord also took on an additional pub in Manchester, which seemed to result in him taking his eye off the ball somewhat at The Church. Numerous members of the established team of bar staff also left which resulted in a far less friendly and personal service whereby punters became more of a 'number' than a 'valued customer'.

Customer service levels continued to be hit and miss for the next few years, as did the standard of the in-house beers. This was reflected in the online reviews which slipped from around 9/10 to around 5/10.

We have visited at various times of the day. Friday nights used to be our favourite time for a nice relaxing night out with the chaps approximately once every 6 weeks. Unfortunately, about 5 years ago, the student fraternity latched onto the pub and the landlord seemed to welcome them with open arms. This resulted in a far noisier environment and, on some occasions, unruly behaviour which has over-spilled onto the street.

We also visit at lunch times on bank holidays and, in our view, this remains the best time to visit. Just make sure that you get your food ordered before 12.15pm, otherwise waiting times soar! This is one of those areas where customer service was allowed to slip to unacceptable levels. Between 2007-2011 it became common place for the staff to tell you your food would be ready in 20 minutes, only for you to be left sat twiddling your thumbs on an empty stomach some 90 minutes later. Thankfully, the staff are a bit more honest nowadays, although delays can still be as much as one hour at busier times.

The one time of day we would definitely avoid is between 4pm-7pm on weekdays. The pub is packed with mothers who have just done the school run and take their kids for a spot of tea whilst they wait for their husbands to come home from work to join them. Unfortunately, the kids soon become bored and invariably end up running around the place in a noisy manner. Likewise, this time of day is also more susceptible to crying babies being in the pub.

The Church is also a dog friendly business and whilst most customers keep their animals under control, one or two do let them roam around the room unsupervised. So 4pm-7pm on weekdays is definitely not recommended if you prefer to enjoy your meal and a pint in a quiet, relaxing atmosphere.

And so to our latest visit on August Bank Holiday Monday 2013. We decided to have a pleasant 7 mile walk along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to Uppermill and then pop into The Church for a spot of lunch and to sample the in-house real ales.

FOOD

Half of our group arrived at 12.10pm and were told there was a half hour wait for food and, sure enough, the food was served just 30 minutes after ordering. The rest of our group arrived at 12.30pm only for the quoted waiting times to have gone up to one hour. Thankfully, it was served after just 45 minutes. We were pretty pleased with this as it bettered their quoted estimation and given that we had planned on staying for at least 2.5 hours, all went well with the service.

The food prices have shot up during the past 2-3 years. Then again, so has food in the shops. Nevertheless, most of the meals fall into line with your typical English pub and come in at between £7.99 to £9.99. Their 2 flagship meals - Deep Fried Jumbo Cod, Chips & Mushy Peas, and the Mixed Grill - both of which were previously advertised as big enough for 2 people, have rocketed in price to £13.50 and £16.95 respectively but do be warned, the portions really are large enough to feed 2 people. The aforementioned "Jumbo Cod" resembles something on the lines of a blue whale as it overhangs every edge on your plate!

There was a large range of dishes on the menu and portion sizes were generally good. The quality of the food was also pretty good, although not as great as in the past. We weren't sure whether this was because the kitchen was very busy or whether they have started using lower grade catering supplies. Here's how we rated our various meals:

· Roast Beef Sandwich 7/10 - Cuts of beef not as good as previous visits
· Ploughman's Lunch 8.5/10 - Plenty of cheese and a good mix of breads
· Chips 5/10 - They were fresh as opposed to frozen, but under cooked
· Lasagne with Garlic Bread & Salad 8/10 - Needs more salad
· Jumbo Cod, Chips and Mushy Peas 8/10 - Up from £9.95 to £13.50
· Apple Crumble 9/10
· Strawberry Cheesecake 9/10

BEER

True to form, all beer pumps were on tap offering a huge range of lagers, cider, light bitters, golden bitters, IPA, mild and stouts, including around 10 in-house beers from the Saddleworth Brewery, which are still remarkably good value at between £2.00 to £2.50 per pint (depending on ABV). The beers and lagers from the mainstream suppliers are somewhat more expensive. Put simply, this is the best range of ales you will find anywhere in the Saddleworth area.

We managed to sample 6 of the beers as follows:

· I Don't Know (Golden Bitter) 8/10 - Suppable
· Shaft Bender (Chocolate Stout) 8/10 - Very good but has been better
· Hopsmacker (Golden Bitter) 5/10 - Very thin
· Slap & Tickle (Light Bitter) 5/10 - Very thin
· St George's (Golden Bitter) 6/10 - Suppable
· Saddleworth Mild (Dark Mild) 2/10 - End of barrel / Stale / Full of frogs eyes

None of the beers were up to the high standards enjoyed many years ago. Whether this is due to The Church having a different brewer, or whether they are using lower grade ingredients, who knows? But we are the customers and the customer is king. And we know our real ale and appreciate a good pint when we sup one. Sadly, standards have been allowed to slip in the Saddleworth Brewery side of the business.

DECOR & CLEANLINESS - 9/10

AMBIENCE & CHARACTER - 8/10

CLIENTELE - 8/10
Given it was lunchtime on a Bank Holiday, the pub was full of families. Whilst all of the kids were playing outside, we still had to put up with a crying baby and a nosy hound who wanted to help itself to our grub (a slap on the arse with the Oldham Chronicle did the trick). In previous years, we felt that the staff would have intervened to prevent any inconvenience to other customers.

STAFFING & CUSTOMER SERVICE - 6/10
There were generally enough bar staff so queues were minimal. Staff were generally helpful and sociable. However, on the catering side, waiting times were lengthy (30 to 60 minutes) which would indicate logistical problems in the kitchen. One mishap that was totally unforgivable was to serve the glass of Saddleworth Mild and then expect the customer to pay for it. It clearly came from the end of the barrel, tasted stale and was full of "frogs eyes" on the head. This should have been tipped straight down the drain and an alternative offered. Such levels of customer service would never have occurred at The Church many years ago and the sooner they return to the high standards of the past, the better.

Overall, this remains a cracking country pub and whilst the food and drink aren't up to the exceptionally high standards of years gone by, they are still pretty decent value for money. But the landlord definitely needs to brush up on the customer service side of things and ensure that his work force are fully trained to such standards where appropriate.

Acme Tours

3 Sep 2013 11:59

The Church Inn, Uppermill

This use to be the best pub in the area. Great beer, excellent food and good service.
However recently things have changed, the beer can still be excellent and is still very well priced, but certain beers can be off, and the young girls on the bar don't really know about real ale. The food has gone down hill and is now average, with waiting times above average. The service time for beer was still quite quick though.

26 Jul 2008 09:04

Society Rooms, Stalybridge

Big, busy and boisterous.
Have some good ales at reasonable prices and the food is ok.
Staff are surly and slow, the manager doesn't back his staff when they have a problems with threatening customers,and this could be the reason.
I am not usually in favour of door staff, as generally anywhere that needs them i tend to avoid, but this place could benefit from a couple of door staff, and become a better place to drink.

26 Jul 2008 08:55