Hot Smoked Salmon
Le Monde

Le Monde

16 George Street, City Of Edinburgh EH2 2PF, United Kingdom, Edinburgh, City of

Food • Steak • 4-star • Lodging


"My husband and I were given a Le Monde Luxury Afternoon Tea voucher as a gift so I booked a table for the afternoon of the day that suited us. The sandwiches, cakes, scones etc were nice enough but the service that we received was terrible. On arriving the waiter asked if he could get us a glass of Prosecco and when I said that it stated on the voucher that it was to be Champagne he said that he would go and check taking the voucher with him. He came back and we were given our two glasses of Champagne. Later we were served our cups of tea, coffee etc. At no point were we asked if everything was ok. The restaurant was not busy as there were only another two tables occupied. We have had afternoon tea many times before in various hotels and restaurants including The Dome next door and have always been asked if we would like more tea or coffee and it does state on Le Monde’s website that Afternoon Tea is served with plentiful tea or coffee. As we had only been served one cup at the start I asked the waiter when he came back to clear the table if we could have another coffee and tea. He came back with the coffee and a glass cup of tea (no saucer) with a teabag hanging over the side of the cup and milk not in a jug but in a small tumbler. Not what you expect to get with afternoon tea and certainly not a luxury afternoon tea!It was very disappointing considering the giver of the present wanted us to have a really nice time. Although we have enjoyed several visits to Le Monde in the past which we have enjoyed we will not be returning. I was there in December with a friend and again the service left a lot to be desired and we were also overcharged but we managed to get that rectified."

The Royal Oak Hotel & Restaurant

The Royal Oak Hotel & Restaurant

The Royal Oak Hotel and Restaurant Chester Road, Dog Lane Kelsall, Cheshire CW6 0RR, CW6 0RG, TARPORLEY, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Hotels • British


"I visited here with my extended family for a meal. It was very quiet with only a few other tables occupied. We decided on dining here due to the offer they had on which was 30% off on a Thursday. We’ve been before to take advantage of this offer as it’s such great value for money. The evening started off great. We were welcomed by the manager and shown to our table. Our order was taken promptly, again by the manager, and then our drinks arrived followed by our food. Unfortunately, it went downhill from here. I guessed the manager had gone home by this point. The two young girls serving us were so miserable, no smiles, nothing. They spent most of their time hovering at the bar, chatting. We asked one of them for more drinks and nothing happened. Eventually, after a good 10 minute wait, a gentleman arrived at our table to take our order. (He looked like the supervisor or assistant manager? We then waited a further 20 minutes with still no sign of them. By this point I was getting annoyed so I went to the bar to ask myself. The bar man said he’d bring them asap. His exact words were “My bad, I’ll bring them straight over”! My bad?! What an unprofessional comment to make! Had the bar had been busy then fair enough but, there was hardly anyone in there! The staff seemed more interested in chatting at the bar instead of looking after us. My daughter then asked one of the young girls for a spoon as she didn’t have one. This never arrived so, again I had to go and get one myself from the bar. We also had to ask for napkins, twice! Those two girls were useless. No customer service skills at all. When we asked for the bill, we noticed that the discount hadn’t been taken off. The gentleman came over and said that the offer wasn’t on?! We explained that it was even on their website! He never even asked to see the proof that it was on the website, just said sorry, no discount. We said that we weren’t happy and wanted to speak to the manager. He then disappeared for a good 10-15 minutes. We assumed he was maybe calling the manager but, no. He came back to our table and said that the offer has definitely finished so we can’t have it! He said, if you like, he could call the manager. Why had he not done this in the first instance? No idea what he had been doing for the 10 minutes we were waiting?! In the end, he spoke to the manager and the discount was taken off. It was such an effort and it ruined the whole evening. We will not be returning. Other choices available in the village with much better staff!"

The Queen

The Queen

The street Brandeston, Suffolk IP13 7AD, Suffolk Coastal, United Kingdom

Bars • Beer • Wine • Casual


"We had our engagement dinner at this restaurant two years ago, and decided to return for our 1st anniversary. The first time we dined here, the ambience was beautiful with many locals enjoying drinks at the pub, and the food was exceptional. The staff were all very friendly, creating a special atmosphere. However, on our recent visit, it seemed like a completely different place. We had a reservation for 6 o'clock and were the only ones dining, except for one other family. Although the menu sounded promising, we were disappointed with our burgers and veggie chili. The burger patty was small and unimpressive, served in a plain bun like you would find at a fast food truck. The fries appeared to be frozen, rather than freshly cut and fried as they were before. The portion sizes were also quite small, and we decided to skip dessert as the only option was Eton Mess. We paid £31 for our meal, including a bottle of water, which seemed quite expensive for the quality of food we received. The woman behind the bar was friendly, but it was evident that there had been many changes. It was mentioned that a new menu would be introduced the next day, and the chef had just started that week. Overall, we were disappointed with our experience, which put a slight damper on our otherwise lovely anniversary celebration. I doubt we will return to this restaurant unless we can be assured of the same high standard of food and atmosphere we experienced before."

MUD

MUD

141 Mitcham Rd, Tooting, London, SW179PE, SW17 9PE, United Kingdom

Coffee • European • Breakfast • Australian


"I had a shockingly bad experience at Mud today and have serious concerns about the customer service. I have visited several times previously with no issues. The food was good as usual however we were asked what our order was three times, a drink for another customer was spilled on our table and we had to ask for items such as cutlery. The coffee was also poor quality. What turns this into a terrible experience was the response of servers to another customer complaining at the counter about the quality of the coffee. The server escalated the argument and threatened violence towards the customer right in front of us and other tables, even though the customer was perfectly within his rights to complain. This created an unwelcome and frankly unsafe environment, so we felt we had no choice to finish our food, pay and leave as soon as possible. Upon our table requesting feedback for the manager, we were told that no manager was available on site, and the other server doubled down on his comments about the customer, stating he was being unreasonable. This attitude contributed to an unsafe experience, as myself and other customers did not feel valued, welcome or even safe. The servers continue to swear and comment angrily about the incident after the customer had left. I appreciate this was a fairly busy period of service but violent threats towards customers, whatever the reason, is never acceptable and needless to say I will never visit Mud again. I would expect to receive reassurance that training is in place to deal with this kind of incident in the future and will be following up by email."

Angels With Bagpipes

Angels With Bagpipes

343 High Street, City Of Edinburgh EH1 1PW, United Kingdom

Bars • British • Scottish • European


"Situated on the Royal Mile, Angels with Bagpipes manages not to offer the usual tourist fare. The restaurant was low lit with twinkly lights and was full of glossy, polished surfaces adorned with discreet cushions. The room was about half full, which was about expected at this time of the evening. The a la carte menu was relatively short but packed full of variations on classics. I opted for the beef tartare followed by the pollock. My dining companion chose the goats cheese followed by the Ross-shire lamb. The starters arrived relatively quickly. The tartare looked pleasing to the eye. I had spotted that it was beef rather than steak tartare, possibly indicating an inferior cut of meat. If this was the case, I certainly couldn’t tell. If tartare is on the menu I do like to give it a try. The meat had an amazing freshness to it and the egg oozed perfectly. The proportion of the quail egg to the meat was just right. The capers were not chopped up finely but somehow this added extra zing and bite to the dish. My dining companion enjoyed the goats cheese with beetroot but commented that it would be difficult to go wrong with this combination. The mains appeared not long after. My pollock looked really appetising. The extra side of thin cut chips was a good call, with a balanced crunch –to-fluff ratio and just the right amount of salt dusting. The fish itself was cooked well and the skin was perfectly crispy. The veg alongside was adequate but nothing special. However, the star of the dish were the pickled mussels. Only a scattering of them appeared on the plate but seriously, I could have eaten a whole bowlful of those on their own. My dining companion had dithered a little over ordering the lamb as she is still a little worried about meat coming a little rarer than her liking. She was advised by staff upon ordering that it would come medium rare. I would say it was closer to the rare side than medium but my friend soldiered on. She enjoyed the dish but again, the meat was not the star. High praise was offered for the accompanying lentils. We were automatically given the menu for dessert without being asked if we actually wanted any. Perhaps it was just the look on my face that said I was in the mood for a dessert (which is the course I am most likely to forgo). I went for the parfait and my dining partner chose the cheesecake. My parfait was tonka bean with caramel swirls, scattered peanuts and a caramel dipped hazelnut. Along with that was a Granny Smith apple sorbet. Both parts were excellent. The parfait was firm but creamy and the caramel complemented it. The sorbet was sharp and packed a punch. However, they did not go together. So I ate them as if I was eating two separate desserts, one after the other. My dining companion was a little underwhelmed by the cheesecake. The pear seemed lost in the honey and didn’t appear to have anything that made it stand out. She felt that ‘it did what it said’ but it didn’t wow. So, overall we had a lovely time and the food was of a great standard. There were just a few bits here and there that took some of the shine off what could have been a truly astonishing meal."