Pan Fried Chicken Breast
The Inn On The Pond

The Inn On The Pond

Nutfield Marsh Road, Tandridge, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • Vegan • British


"Oh Dear! What a difference 2 weeks can make. My daughter (who lives in Farringdon), and I, visited on 21st April and had a lovely meal in a very pleasant environment. Fantastic, we thought, somewhere lovely that we can get to easily from Merstham station, and it accommodates dogs. So, when my daughter and her partner came for a visit on Friday 3rd May, we rushed to get there in plenty of time (kitchen closes at 20.00), and arrived at 19.15 having already read the menu and having decided on our meals. Unfortunately this was a completely different dining experience. No one came to take our drinks order so we had to go looking for a member of staff. We found the staff having a very sociable time with each other but with no one engaging with the customers to ensure all was in order. Our waiter was lovely but clearly inexperienced and getting absolutely no support from the 'team '. Two of our mains were incorrect, and after a 20 minute wait for the missing portions of chips, we decided that we wouldn 't bother because we had eaten the rest of the meal. Our desserts were very obviously micro waved not a problem but were delivered to our table in stages, and the final plate of sticky toffee pudding was returned because it was cold. Desserts that had been specifically ordered with custard were delivered with ice cream. It was now 21.15 and so we decided not to push our luck and didn 't have coffees. When my husband, and then my daughter, approached what appeared to be a more senior member of staff, his response to their concerns was blasé and very unsupportive of his team throwing the chef and the waiter under the proverbial bus, in front of customers, is not the best way to manage a customer service situation. We alluded to Fawlty Towers all evening, and fully expected Manuel from Barcelona to show up, but after a while the farcical humour of the situation wore very thin and spoiled our family get together. Such a shame but we 'll definitely be swerving this 'restaurant ' (unless the owners take control of the situation and engage in a very robust training session with the staff)."

The Bull At Blackmore End

The Bull At Blackmore End

The Bull At Blackmore End, Braintree, United Kingdom

Full • Soup • Fish • Dining


"After waiting 20 minutes to be seated at our table in the restaurant my husband went to the bar to ask if we could be shown to our table. Ten minutes later the restaurant manager seated us and explained that they had some big parties in and one of their chefs had called in sick so service was 'dragging a bit '. We chose our food from the menu and waited for a waitress to come and take our order, which didn 't happen for another half an hour. Just as we were considering leaving, the waitress came and took our order finally, an hour after our booking time. Our first course arrived around 20 mins later (nearly half past nine) and the soup was very nice. When we asked if it came with bread, we were told no as it had croutons in it. I asked if we could have some bread anyway and the waitress reluctantly got us some. However, eating a first course at 9.30pm just seemed too late so by the time our main course came out at 9.50pm we just wanted to quickly eat it and get home as it was late and we had babysitters to get back for. We therefore asked for the bill as soon as the main course was finished and left. I understand some nights are busy and it cannot be helped if the chef is unwell but what I do object to is the attitude of staff, who really didn 't seem too bothered about serving us or making the experience a positive one. If somebody had told us on arrival that there would probably be an hour 's wait to order our food, we would have understood and we would have had the choice to wait or go elsewhere but being told that service was slightly 'dragging ' was nowhere near the truth. It was very delayed indeed. A simple gesture such as a complimentary drink and some snacks to keep customers happy while they were kept waiting would have been all that was needed. Nothing was taken off of our bill as a good will gesture for all the time wasted and there was no apology when we paid. All in all it left a bad taste in our mouths and we will not be returning."

The Bull at Blackmore End

The Bull at Blackmore End

The Bull at Blackmore End Braintree, Essex CM7 4DD, United Kingdom

Beer • Pubs • English • American


"After waiting 20 minutes to be seated at our table in the restaurant my husband went to the bar to ask if we could be shown to our table. Ten minutes later the restaurant manager seated us and explained that they had some big parties in and one of their chefs had called in sick so service was 'dragging a bit '. We chose our food from the menu and waited for a waitress to come and take our order, which didn 't happen for another half an hour. Just as we were considering leaving, the waitress came and took our order finally, an hour after our booking time. Our first course arrived around 20 mins later (nearly half past nine) and the soup was very nice. When we asked if it came with bread, we were told no as it had croutons in it. I asked if we could have some bread anyway and the waitress reluctantly got us some. However, eating a first course at 9.30pm just seemed too late so by the time our main course came out at 9.50pm we just wanted to quickly eat it and get home as it was late and we had babysitters to get back for. We therefore asked for the bill as soon as the main course was finished and left. I understand some nights are busy and it cannot be helped if the chef is unwell but what I do object to is the attitude of staff, who really didn 't seem too bothered about serving us or making the experience a positive one. If somebody had told us on arrival that there would probably be an hour 's wait to order our food, we would have understood and we would have had the choice to wait or go elsewhere but being told that service was slightly 'dragging ' was nowhere near the truth. It was very delayed indeed. A simple gesture such as a complimentary drink and some snacks to keep customers happy while they were kept waiting would have been all that was needed. Nothing was taken off of our bill as a good will gesture for all the time wasted and there was no apology when we paid. All in all it left a bad taste in our mouths and we will not be returning."