2 /5 Mohammed Hoque: Overall, this was a mixed experience: excellent service and nice decor, but disappointing food and some basic facilities missing.
Service: 10/10
Food: 6.3/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Facilities: Toilets available, but no baby-changing facilities.
The service was excellent throughout – staff were friendly, smiling, attentive and very helpful. The decor and atmosphere were pleasant and added positively to the visit.
For starters (shared between two): the lamb chops were overcooked, while the wings were undercooked, with no char, a squishy texture, and very little flavour. The halloumi was cooked well but arrived cold. The chicken tenders were crispy and properly cooked. The prawns were covered in so much sauce that it was hard to taste the actual flavour of the prawns.
The brisket tray was a mixed success: the brisket itself was very good (8/10) – soft, tender and well cooked. However, the rice was rock hard, tasted old, and was essentially inedible.
From the kids’ menu, the “Lil Ones” chicken tenders came with a generous portion of chips and a mini Fruit Shoot, which was good value. The Matilda cake was a good-sized portion and came with a choice of custard or ice cream; the warm custard was a nice touch for November, but the cake itself was a little dry and really needed the custard.
The Smash Shawarma Burger was disappointing: the shawarma looked undercooked and unappetising, so it was sent back, and to their credit, staff handled this politely and professionally.
Overall, while the decor is attractive and the service is outstanding, the food lacked depth of flavour and was often smothered in fairly ordinary sauces that seemed to mask, rather than enhance, the dishes.
