"I've known this pub/restaurant for your years, and the downfall of this establishment is nothing to do with COVID, its the management!! During and since COVID there's been a strong emphasis on booking, so I telephoned beforehand just to make sure for a midweek lunch... Yes highly recommend to book they said! Me thinking it was going to be busy. Turned up at the door and as intructed waitied to be seated. Hung around for about minutes, no one around, no one at the bar, no waitress on the floor, no manager, no customers to be precise! Finally a young girl appeared from the kitchen and sat us down. Food and drinks arrived OK and fairly quickly, but then other customers tuned up, hung around to be seated and again no staff to be seen. As we were seated by the door, we spoke and suggested to these customers to move on down the raad to the Bold Forester where the service and attention is much better. We must have turned away about people during the course of our lunch and the staff hadn't even noticed and had no idea! There was only the chef, one waiter and a manager on shift, and we were the only customers, so where and what the hell these staff were doing, God only knows? In its heyday, this place hinged upon its managers who'd pack this pub with walkers, cyclists and those wanting a lunch. This place is owned by Forest Inns and my message to the MD, Gary Baldwin, is buck up! and let the Lydhurst Park Hotel be a memorial and reminder, of what happens when you let complaincy take over and let things slip."
