Sauteed Chicken Livers
The River Grille

The River Grille

Prince Street Narrow Key Bristol, BS1 4QF, BS1 4PS, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Cafe • British


"It was ok over all. The starters were superb, really good. The main courses were amazingly ordinary and disappointing. My steak was a medium rare fillet. It was accurately medium rare but strangely dry , almost as if it had been sitting under a heat lamp and it had very little flavour. I had a lemon meringue pie where meringue was wet and sloppy and the pastry was as if ready cooked from a supermarket. My companion had a slow cooked lamb shank which is usually an easy winner but again it was dry with a sauce which had been poured over it and then congealed. . A slow cooked lamb shank usually has the wonderful juices in which it has slowly come to fruition. The food came with minimal vegetables . Side dishes were ostentatiously expensive. As is the whole menu. We paid £180 for three people including the tip. Enough for a bargain weekend away somewhere. As a family we have dined in some amazing restaurants and understand the costs involved at times and pay willingly when the experience is special. But the whole way through this meal it was short of great. The waiters were friendly and attentive but far too eager to top up your wine glass. It became a nuisance and a pressure. Half a glass does not need topping up to the brim. To top things off for me I went to the ladies at 10.35 at the end of our meal . There is only one toilet for the whole restaurant. There was a cleaning person in the loo. spraying the most toxic and pungent fumes. Having entered this airless cubicle, two lungs full of Izal or what ever chemical obliterated all memory of the meal and the wine. At 10.35? The inference also being that I was not required on the premises any longer. The Maitr d' was charming and as friendly and helpful as he could be. 5 stars for him! The situation was lovely and we had a table by the window. However the experience did not in any measure add up to the lush advertisement online and was very very expensive at the price."

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."