Strines Inn, Bradfield

Very disappointing. The pub was busy, but not especially so. When we ordered our food, we were not told that there was a long delay. We waited, finished our drinks which we were cleared away without interest or comment; after 40 minutes' wait, having realised that others around us who seemed to have ordered after us had been served, we managed to ask one of the staff (it took several attempts to catch someone's eye) whether the food would come soon and were told it would be served in "about two minutes - we only have two cooks on today". After more than 5 minutes, the food arrived, with the comment "Sorry for the wait...". Two of the dishes were no more than OK. The cheese burger was composed of two slices of plain white bread, with a thin, dry-looking burger and some grated cheese straight from the fridge; the chips were overcooked in what appeared to be old fat. The ravioli were presumably microwaved in a very fatty sauce - the pasta was hard and solid (either undercooked or over-microwaved). The wait would have been acceptable had we been warned (or they had owned up to having forgotten our order and tried to make amends), but the quality of the food (especially the fact that the cheese burger did not come in the advertised bun and bore no resemblance to a normal cheese burger) was not, particularly as the food was relatively expensive.

We had been invited for a meal, so it was not appropriate to complain about our food, but our hosts were very embarrassed and have said that they will avoid the pub in future.

3 Jan 2009 12:17