Falafel Burger
The Yewdale Inn

The Yewdale Inn

Yewdale Road, South Lakeland, United Kingdom, LA21 8DU

Cafés • Steak • Pizza • Pasta


"Knowing we’d be in Coniston on New Year’s Day (2 adults and 2 children) I booked online at the Yewdale in early Dec to make sure we secured a table, anticipating it might be busy. On arrival we were met by a pleasant waiter who showed us to our reserved table in the mostly empty pub. We were slightly disappointed, having booked a table, to be in the bar area next to a big group of young men who were swearing quite a bit and acting generally laddish. Some of the talk was not something I wanted my daughter who is 7, to hear. Thankfully she was entertained by the colouring menu sheet that was kindly supplied. To be honest I thought we be put in the restaurant bit given we’d booked in advance (the bar reserved for walk ins) but it appeared closed until we were leaving about 6.30pm. Anyway we got on with it as we do as we’re not fussy and there was another family with children there too. Our second disappointment was the big sign saying ‘sorry no pizza today’. Pizza was an option for us and something we were looking forward to having visited in the summer, so this was disappointing. I’d have thought if they weren’t offering pizza they should have told us in advance through the booking system or indicated online. This reduced the menu by 50%. We ordered from the main menu and children’s menu. The children’s fish and chips was excellent and I can’t complain, it was one of the best fish I’ve seen in a child’s menu. The adults lasagne was clearly homemade and tasted ok. Better than it looked . But at 15 I’d have expected it to come with chips not just a bit of garlic bread. Or chips should have been an add on for a couple of given the size of it but they were 4.50 on top. All a bit pricey for what it was and the portion size. The biggest disappointment was the fish pie. I was looking forward to haddock, smoked haddock, salmon and prawns as indicated on the menu. Instead I basically got a bit of haddock (well white fish), a load of spinach, and some cheese mash. No sign of the prawns, smoked salmon or haddock. The buttered greens it came with were leek and green beans and filled half the plate! We didn’t stop for dessert and opted for a chocolate bar at the petrol station instead given how disappointed we were with the mains. Beer selection was good and no issues there and staff were pleasant and attentive. We will probably visit again for pizza but the pub food overall was a let down."

Smokehouse

Smokehouse

18 Wood Street, WF1 2ED, Wakefield, United Kingdom

Pizza • Steak • Burgers • American


"Came with big family party for my birthday. Extremely disappointed, starters were ok but all came at different times, had to ask a waitress where one was as everyone else had finished theirs and she just looked absolutely clueless as to why we were talking to her. New waiter didn’t even know what dishes he was bringing out and looked at us to answer for him, fair enough he’s new but come on, train your staff the basics. Didn’t get free bottle of wine even though we ordered tapas. One blonde girl walking around just playing with her hair and we didn’t understand the point in her being there, she didn’t do a thing all night, she just looked like she’d got lost. We didn’t get asked if we wanted a drink the whole night, had to keep asking where our mains were, an hour and 45 minutes later they arrived and my ‘jerk’ chicken burger was so bad, the bread sopping wet and falling to bits and the chicken was just plain chicken breast with none of the **** cut off it and slightly seasoned. the ‘manager’ said this was cause the chef had put ‘loads of sauce on it’ but there was no sauce at all, bone dry chicken, didn’t put any spicy sauce in like I asked and when I requested it they brought me a squeezey bottle to do it myself. Cajun chips came plain and when we told them they just sprinkled some Cajun seasoning just on the top, meat was all fatty and sparse on the bbq combo dish, boneless chicken wings were just chicken tenders!!?? The ribs had no meat on at all literally just bone, curry was cold and plain with no flavour to it at all. Everything bang average, staff unbelievably immature, very badly trained with no customer service skills or communication skills. The managers response when we told him all this was ‘I can only apologise’ so we had to request for money to be knocked off our bill, which they did- fair enough but we had to really push for this. Feels like they hire very young staff and don’t bother training them. Honestly a very, very poor experience and would never go back or recommend to anyone. Don’t ignore the bad reviews they’re all very accurate. The only member of staff I appreciated tonight was the girl with the dark hair who first took our order, she was the only one with any customer service skill or any sense."

Boulevard London

Boulevard London

12/14 Lodge Road, London, United Kingdom

Dining • Brunch • Coffee • Mediterranean


"Website is deceiving, and does not show the reality. The website is beautifully designed, and visually opulent giving the impression of a large, plush interior. The menus included brunch, main, dessert and drinks. The actual restaurant is very small cafe, with extended outside seating, with a few staff members lounging around. Arriving for lunch at 12 noon, the whole place was empty, and booking was unnecessary. The staff were disinterested in our arrival. We had to seat ourselves. Seating was comfortable. When asking for a menu, were told to scan a QR code on the table, and when trying to order from the main menu, was told that only the brunch menu was available. The smoked salmon and scrambled egg dish was nicely done and tasty. The ice tea was overly sweet, but the coffee was decent. It was clearly a Muslim eating place, posing as an European restaurant, with the name 'Boulevard '. That Friday, a crowd of Muslim men from the nearby mosque in Regent 's Park came in after prayers. They were treated differently, excitedly welcomed. It was clearly their regular haunt. It felt like an eating place for Muslims, where non-Muslims were not particularly welcomed. However, the other customers were friendly, and more polite than the staff. It was quiet and easy to talk, until the crowd arrived. Overall, the price for the meal was not worth the experience of eating there. Service charge was included, although service was bad. We would not go back."