3 /5 Holly Miles: EDIT: Update to say we have heard back from GS and are very impressed by their generous compensation and customer service. Many thanks - we look forward to coming back.
Visited for dinner on Valentine’s Day and, as expected, it was busy with slightly longer wait times. The first half of our meal was perfect – we were seated quickly, our order was taken promptly, and although the starters took a little longer than usual, that was completely understandable given how busy it was.
Our empty starter plates were cleared by someone other than the young man serving us, and I think this may have been where things went wrong, as it seemed the kitchen wasn’t made aware that we were ready for mains. While we were waiting, a very loud table of tipsy ladies was seated directly behind us, which unfortunately disrupted the calm, romantic atmosphere. It felt quite obvious that most tables were couples out for a Valentine’s meal, and it might have been better to seat larger, livelier groups separately. I asked if we could move upstairs, and this was kindly and quickly accommodated in the much quieter upper dining area.
In total, we waited around 50 minutes from our starters being cleared to our mains arriving, including the time spent moving tables. The young lad looking after us was really kind and apologetic throughout, so full credit to him.
When the bill arrived, we noticed that three additional dishes (two mains and a side) had been added by mistake. Given the delays and disruption, I had expected perhaps a small gesture of goodwill or minor discount, so it was disappointing to see extra items added instead.
Overall, the food was great and our waiter was lovely, though clearly under a lot of pressure. It did feel as though the kitchen was overwhelmed, particularly with a constant stream of delivery orders, which perhaps should have been paused to prioritise dine-in guests on such a busy evening.
