The Snowdrop, Lindfield

I last ate at the snowdrop inn late June and must admit as a chef myself I was very impressed with the upkeep and overall vibe of this little abode in the outskirts of Lindfield but had not given it a review which I was meaning to do like many places before me the drinks were faultless I believe there lines are cleaned on a regular basis as the ales were crisp and clear service was okay but could be improved on,
The food which I'm usually pay more attention to being a 3 rosette chef myself and many years of experience was by all means such a delight, possibly the best pub/gastronomic experience I had in this type of establishment.
BUT and I feel saddened by this in the past few months I visited mid September and at the beginning of this month I feel let down from such a high and been given such high expectations from my first visit that this former little gem seems to be letting standards drop, the staff are not as welcoming my first visit and seem disorganised in there work place but I could not fault the ales as they still are outstanding quality and very refreshing, but the biggest disappointment being the back of house in the creation and presentation of the food has dropped ten fold, which I cannot understand the reason for this the menu is hardly the reason as my first visit was outstanding but recently the food lacks love in the look and taste being very bland and not tasteful by any means whether it was the chefs day off that I had on my first visit or change of staff I do not know as I asked the waitress but she stated uses the same chef that has ran the business of the kitchen for the past year which I believe cannot be true as in my experience no real chef drops his standards that much in 3-4 months, anyway I can honestly say I shall be avoiding the snowdrop inn until I hear that standards have been raised once again and the food is once again a taste sensation with the return of there most amazing gravy I had ever tasted out of a pub kitchen in which now seems to be 3rd grade in comparison.
I hope to be writing a better review in the future for this ONCE extravagant country retreat.
So please don't lose what you once had otherwise it's a shame we add another restaurant to the list of broken dreams and giants that once were.
Regards
Gordon .

14 Oct 2011 02:07

The Oak Inn, Ardingly

Recently visited the oak in the wonderful settings of ardingly,
It's a very old traditional pub serving local real ales to my delight making it a must visit, staff were very polite and helpful. We popped in for a drink after our nature walk so we decided to have food for six of us.
As a chef myself for many years I enjoy my food which was better than I expected from a rural pub/restaurant real home-made food on the premises rather than a factory home-made, and from my expertise not a single microwave used as the meal was juicy and succulent. I would definitely visit again if one thing was changed and this being the prices on the menu, I understand that home cooked food costs a little more than pre packed microwave food, but still far to expensive with fine dinning prices but for real good pub grub. I myself had there stuffed chicken breast which could not of cost them more than �2 a meal but selling at a price of �12.95 making a profit of around �10.95 which for a meal that was very tasty the price leaves a sour taste once we paid our bill.
This I believe is why they were very quiet on a Friday evening a word of advice lower your prices and therefor more people will visit and you will end up receiving more money/profit then they are bringing in now.
These are the sort of steps taken by a big industry business who end up taking at least 4 times the amount of customers and turning over a larger profit.
Other than that a very lovely pub great ales/beers and very good food a must visit if you have money to spend or special occasions.

25 Jun 2011 13:27