The Garden House

I went with my  friend went to the garden houes on sunday eveing... we both had the sunday roast, ham roast lamb ect. the food was really nice and hot. it came pretty fast aswell. but we did have to wait a long time to have our drinks order taken.the price of the food we not bad. and the staff was nice.how ever the restaurant could of done with been a lot cleaner. but over all nice food and cheap just think the pub  could do with a lick of paint and a make over....................

 

charmaine's profile     Other reviews by charmaine     charmaine likes    

i got sworn at by a member of staff who walked into my chair!!

jess's profile     Other reviews by jess     jess likes    

The Garden House was 10 out of 10 when managed by Jess & John. The new manager has no idea. He has cut the staff back to under 50%. The customers are walking with their feet and going to the 'Duck'. If you ask to see the manager he is never there. Something needs to be done urgently or the Garden House will lose its excellent reputation.

Susie's profile     Other reviews by Susie     Susie likes    

Awful pub. Or should I say.... 'restaurant'...... since this is what they bizarrely seem to be aiming for.

On a sunny Saturday lunch time, The Garden House was dark and almost empty. Bad start. We were not greeted at the door, so went to order a drink at the bar and consider whether or not to eat there. At the bar, we were told that we could not order a drink from the bar if we might be eating... Right.... OK.....

Once at the table, the waitress disappeared for 20 minutes without taking our drink order. We considered walking out during the first 20 minutes. Oh, how we wished we had...

The food arrived quickly; but this is no surprise. It doesn't take a Head Chef too long to cut a dry, shrivelled lemon in half and serve it as a garnish, or whack peas and rice into the trusty microwave. And since it states *nowhere* on the menu that the food is cooked fresh; who's going to complain, eh?

I do not expect Michelin-quality food from pubs; especially not city pubs. However, if a pub is going to serve Wetherspoon's-quality fare, the prices should reflect that. Fancy, italic menus and fancy, forced table-service.... and microwaved peas and rice. Two mains, a starter and three drinks came to almost £30. You could have two mains and two beers in The Living Room on Broad Street for that price. And even the ketchup would be fresh.

Service was appalling. If they must force table-service, they need a host on the door. During our visit we were served by 5 different people, yet could never find anyone when we wanted them. They only need one person at the bar and one or two waitresses who double up as hosts. The barmaid was doing accounts at the till for an entire 20 minutes while we waited for our plates to be cleared. And the person who seemed to be the manager was bringing our food out! We waited 45 minutes for our bill and honestly should have walked out without paying.

Bottom line? Don't bother going to The Garden House unless you see a huge banner outside saying "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT". Better yet, go futher down and try a great pizza/pasta place called ASK. It will be about £10 cheaper, too.

NB. I wanted to give this place 0 out of 5, but there is no option for this. Therefore, The Garden House gets 0.5 out of 5 for the fact that I don't seem to have food poisoning. Yet.

Sparkle's profile     Other reviews by Sparkle     Sparkle likes    

Excellent lunch with work colleagues. Although quite busy - friendly service, nice atmosphere. Try the red snapper off the specials menu.

lynetteg's profile     Other reviews by lynetteg     lynetteg likes