"“The Peckham Spring” The heading will become apparent later in this review. On the 22nd September, we had a table booked for 4, it was both couples weeding anniversary’s. We arrived 20mins early to have a drink in the bar. This was the point when we should of left. Ordering 4 drinks from exceptional young an inexperienced staff was a challenge. The drinks took ages to be made (at this point there was only 2 other guests in there). 3 cocktails and a beer, all of the cocktails were spilt by the waitress on serving and were not made correctly. At the table, We ordered wine and still water (bottled). This is where the heading for this review arrives from. This restaurant, (I use that terminology loosely), severs “tap water” in mineral water bottles and chargers £5.00 for it. (Del Boy must be running this joint)! We have been fortunate to have traveled far and wide in this country and abroad and never come across this deceitful act which is inessential fraud and theft. You may ask why do we “assume “ this?, well firstly Ely water has a distinct taste and secondly the bottle was open prior to arriving at the table and they had filled it right to the top! Shame on you Poets House. So on to the food, 4 starters, all below average. 4 mains, that all being sirloin steaks. My “plate of food” was probably the absolute worst dish I have ever had presented in front of me. A side salad straight out of a bag, un washed or dressed, a cold mushroom which wasn’t seasoned or warm, a steak which hadn’t been seared or cooked correctly to medium rare and was completely un edible and wouldn’t cut with a steak knife. This was accompanied with a bucket of chips which was dripping in oil. The only positive part to this review is that the waiter who served us is the only asset this establishment has. I voiced all of this to the said gentleman on the evening, and what was disheartening was that he total agreed with everything we mentioned. The owners, the management and the (cook) (as they don’t have a chef), need to be educated by their waiter if they have any chance of this establishment improving. In conclusion to this review, I strongly advise anyone looking for a decent plate of food to avoid booking the Poets House,Ely."
