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What a difference a day makes! Today was the third attempt to get a table at the Farriers and this time we managed it. The previous times we had only got to the doorway, taken one look at the dirty tables, saw that there were far too few staff and that was enough for us, we walked straight out. Today we were greeted at the door and offered a clean table down stairs by a lady who seemed very much to care.

We sat down and were asked if we would like to order drinks and given a couple of menus, although from the condition of these they were showing signs of a chequered history!

Because the experience to this point was so different from our previous efforts I was interested to see if this was a fluke. I am sorry to report that being shown a table and it being clean it was a fluke. The table next to us had a young baby that was still in nappies and mother and father loved sitting the baby on the table and doing what doting parents do when they are oblivious to mature environments. They came to leave and because nobody was managing the tables it was left a mess and a couple of drinkers moved in. The drinkers decided to do their own waiting on their table and just cleared the debris from their table to a clean table next to them.

Our meals arrived, two salads one nicoise and one goat cheese. They were pretty good with the tuna cooked perfectly pink, well done chef.

During the meal the drinkers vacated their table and to be fair in very quick succession another couple sauntered over and sat down. They too did their own waiting on tables and just pushed the empty glasses to one end. This was finally spotted by the waiter and he cleared the glasses but he did not wipe down the table. So now this was the second party to sit at a table that a baby had squelched about on in its nappy.

Went to the gents and please excuse the pun but there was a leak and a puddle on the floor.

I had seen enough so we got the bill and left.

Improvement Opportunities:

1. Fix the leak in the gents
2. Teach the staff how to clean tables
3. Teach the staff how to clear plates after a meal. From what we saw staff adopt the ’scoop and cradle’, which means pick up as many plates as you can, hold them close to your body as if you are cuddling them and then carefully slouch off to the kitchen, not clever. If you want to know how its done go into almost any indian restaurant or to most main land Europe restaurants and you can see it done properly.
4. If there is supposed to be a meet and greet at the door then make it consistent not just a one off. We were lucky as only one other couple had this treatment.
5. Make a decision about what the pub is i.e. is it for drinkers downstairs or for patrons who want to eat. We saw two couples walk in wanting a table and left because possible tables had been taken up by those who were only drinking.
6. There seemed to be a manageress but she kept getting sucked in to being a waitress hence things got missed.
7. Lose that horrible gratuity begging request on the credit card payment machine.

Conclusion

Would we go back? Probably not as the waiting on tables was sloppy and nothing else we experienced would warrant a trip back. That said the pub has a lot of character but clearly is not in control of the waiting environment.

We have eaten in the Parrot on a number of occassions over the past year and found the food to be pretty good but the service is very hit and miss. Its such a shame as this pub has the makings of something special but you always get the impression from the grumpy manager, often seen behind the bar, that the customer is very much an annoyance. I have stood at the bar on a number of occassions trying to order drinks and been totally ignored. I thought this was personal or that it might have been something I had trodden in but no it seems others from ‘out of the village’ get the treatment too. There are other blogs sites too that tell you this.

Anyway if you accept that the service is going to be rubbish then the rest is pretty good. If the chef moves on then this place will be in trouble.

Tables in the restaurant are well laid up with glasses that are polished and candles lit in the evening. It is very much an ‘oldey woldey’ pub with low beamed ceilings. Toilets servicing the restaurant are spotless which is hopefully a good sign that the kitchens are probably clean too.

With regard to food I thoroughly recommend the smoked eel to start as it is beautifully presented with a wonderful smoked fish flavour, excellent. Belly pork is pretty good with crackling as it should be, something the Mulberry in Chiddingfold should check out. Sea bream too is very good but only being served with one small fillet leaves you wanting more. With regard to the desserts it was good to see the clafoutis on the menu as I wanted to compare this with the awful concoction I had in the Mulberry. Well Mulberry you need to go and speak with the chef at the Parrot as he/she knows what they are doing, delicious.

As I have mentioned before the service is casual and not very attentive. Indeed I don’t think I have ever eaten in this restaurant where I have not had to get up from the table to order or chase ordered drinks at the bar. If you do manage to get the bill delivered to the table, then all it will say is Food £, Food £, Food £ etc then a total £ at the bottom. Its incomprehensible and the best you can do is count the items on the bill and then track it back to the number of items you ordered. Its not clear at all what you are paying for.

Be prepared if you go on a cold quiet midweek evening then the restaurant is likely to be cold. Not too sure why its so cold but there are pathetic mobile electric radiators that do nothing for the aesthetics and little more to improve the temperature.

Improvement Opportunities:

1. Do something about the grumpy manager who is front of house and sets the scene
2. Try acknowledging the customers as they enter and leave the pub
3. Get the bill so its clear to understand
4. Get the heating sorted out
5. Teach the staff to be more attentive and to prioritise that customers come before they catch up with their colleagues and cuddle in the restaurant. Its the sort of thing you expect see at a college refectory not a restaurant.

Conclusion

Would we go again? Probably, as we know that the manager is going to be miserable and we are prepared to do everything to avoid him. So, be prepared be prepared for casual sloppy service and never go when the place is busy as it really does fall apart big style.

	Venue	The Bluebrick, Restaurant
	Address
	Score	3/10
	Food	Evening dinner
	Group	1 Adult
	Date	24th November 2008

The Bluebrick Restaurant is affiliated with the Premier Inn chain and is your classic mid week sales rep on the road restaurant. Before I describe my experience I want to make clear that those working there are extremely friendly and provide you with some comfort that they have, rightly or wrongly, received some sort of training.

The food is very disappointing as you would not be able to distinguish it from any Harvester eatery except there is no ‘fill your boots’ carvery or salad bar, which is a good thing. My suggestion would be minimise the the culinary disappointment and stick with steak and chips as you don’t want anything that the chef would have to read on the side of a packet. Its the sort of place that Ricky Gervais would use as an ‘Office’ stage set. When it comes to dessert then its classic defrost from frozen and zap in the microwave.

Accepting that the culinary experience is going to disappoint if you are an ale drinker then I can recommend the ‘Pedigree’.

The dining environment fits the culinary experience which would not look out of place in a travellers caravan.

I would like to reiterate that the staff are very nice and if only they were given something to serve that required a chef then this would be a winning and very popular venue.

Conclusion

Would I eat here again? Probably if I was to eat alone but certainly would not take guests there.

Improvements

1. Cook some fresh food
2. Do away with that awful Harvester type menu
3. Do something about that classic 1970’s look and feel to the restaurant
4. Ask the chef what he/she thinks of the food. If they think its good then its time to find another but if they think its bad then you as an employer are remiss.

Understanding your staff are your greatest asset, so well done to them, justhope they don’t get asked to join some swanky establishment and see what good food is really like.

	Address	The Seahorse
	Venue	52-54 The Street, Shalford, Guildford,
	Score	6/10
	Food	Evening dinner
	Group	4 Adults
	Date	25th September 2008

This is an incredibly popular pub as it does do somethings very well but it fails in delivering consistency. The food is OK and the dining environment is comfortable. The format and dining experience is similar to that of the Inn on the Lake in Godalming so it wont come as a surprise that each form part of a small group of pubs which suffers in delivering consistency.

If you get your timing right you can have a good time with service and food. We turned up for a very early evening meal about 17:50 and the restaurant was empty understably. As there was nobody to greet us at the door we made our way through to the restaurant and asked if we could sit down. “No” we were told and told to go and sit in the bar as the restaurant was not open until 18:00 – thats right we had to wait 10 minutes. Like naughty school children we went back into the bar and waited. Interestingly once we sat down the restaurant was taken over by the staff who were then told by the head chef what food was being served that evening. As you don’t see this very often it is worth noting as it indicates that there is some form of communication being maintained between the kitchen and front of house staff.

Once the staff briefing had been completed at 18:15, yes thats 15 minutes after the restaurant should have opened we were then asked if we would like to go through. We were the first in and you would expect the restaurant to be spotless but unfortunately this was not the case. As we were shown the table there was food and used napkin underneath the table. Its just sloppy and unnecessary.

During the meal we had to look for a waiter twice to get more drinks and when it came to the bill we had to ask for it twice. Once we had the bill we had to go to the bar and then had to wait an unreasonable amount of time to pay when there were staff just milling around. If there was a restaurant manager working he/she was no different from the staff waiting on tables so there was no one person orchestrating proceedings.

I must say the pictures in the gents toilets are first class and would love to know where I could get them.

Improvement Opportunities:

1. Once the waiter puts the food on the table get them to ask if there is anything else required before running off
2. Ensure the table and dining area is clean before the guests arrive
3. Get a manager to manage and not wait on tables
4. When waiting staff move through the dining area make sure they are aware that other tables may want their attention
5. Pay more attention to those areas where they are tucked away
6. Don’t just keep taking in more guests when there is not enough staff
7. If the restaurant opens at 18:00 then don’t have your guests waiting until 18:15

Conclusion

We have eaten at the Seahorse on 5 or 6 occassions and will probably go again but only at the times when its not too busy as the wheels come off when too many people are allowed in.

If you have also been to The Seahorse then please let us know what you think.

Venue: Inn on the Lake, Ockford Road, Godalming, GU7 1RH
Score: 6/10
Food: Casual dining
Group: 4 adults
Date: 8th November 2008 PM

This is an establishment that is so close to being great but fails on consistency. It tries to cram too many tables into the restaurant and the lounge area often has the apperance of a crèche with mothers and babies doing what they always do!

We have eaten there on at least 6 occassions in the last 6 months and each time they get something wrong and then the following time its put right – very annoying. The only thing that we feel is consistent is the food – well done Chef.

The waiting staff are dressed in a casual unifrom which suits the modern lounge style environment. We used to see a quite burly smiling duty manager that managed the staff – I am think he was from the southern hemisphere, but not seen him recently. Anyway he was great, pleasant efficient and very aware of what was happening in the restaurant and lounge areas. Recently we have not seen or recognised anyone taking over, as a result you see huddles of chit chatty staff that seem to wonder about.

My biggest criticism is that if you book to go on a Saturday evening or Sunday lunch then the cramming of tables into the restaurant is all too obvious. We booked a table for four on a Saturday evening and on arrival we found it to be packed with customers. Sounds good but as is so often the case the cracks in the system are all too apparent. Before making anyone aware that we had arrived for dinner we stood by the bar watching what was going on, it was not pretty. There were guests getting up from their tables looking for a waiter whilst others took matters into their own hands by going straight to the bar to order more drinks.  There was clearly not enough staff and no one was managing the restaurant. Having seen enough I went to the reservations table at the entrance of the restaurant and told a waitress that we had arrived but we will not be staying for dinner. “Ok, what’s your name?”. She found me in the book then rubbed me out and was just about to walk off. I asked her if she wanted to know why we were not staying to which she felt obliged to listen to me. I told her in a very pleasant way that I had been watching proceedings and the restaurant was in chaos and we did not want to put our party through this trauma. “OK” she said and that was that. She could not have cared less. I would like to point out that whilst we were watching I did see that the food was still coming out of the kitchen very well prepared and looked great. So again well done Chef.

Improvement Opportunities:

1. Please fix the leak in the gents toilets – 3 visits and leak not fixed
2. Get a duty manager that manages the staff and is not an extra waiter
3. Reduce the number of tables in the restaurant and if thats a problem then increase your prices
4. Fix the annoying rocking tables that dont sit properly on the floor
5. Manage the crèche that is growing and making the lounge area look a mess with dropped food and toys
6. Get someone to manage the loos as when things get busy they betray such events
7. If tables are not to be reduced in the restaurant then more staff are needed
8. The doors to the toilets need a good scrub
9. Check the menus before they are given to the customer as our was dirty and tatty.

Conclusion

Would we go back? Probably, but timing is essential as the system shows signs of failure when things get busy.

If you have been to the Inn on the Lake please let us know what you think