3 /5 Saeed Moghaddasi: The Globe: Great Wine and sides but Lacking Services
A fancy yet cosy pub in Brentford, London, right in my neighbourhood. Tonight I decided to meet one of my besties there, so I booked a table through the website. As soon as I arrived at the premises, I informed the lady behind the till about my reservation. She asked me to wait for a minute while she arranged a seat for me and my friend.
Unfortunately, after standing in the middle of the pub for about three minutes, waiting for someone to actually seat us, I realised they didn’t really take these formalities seriously. So I decided to find a table myself.
After sitting for more than five minutes, it became clear that there was no waiter or waitress coming over to take our order. Even the wine and drinks menu wasn’t on the table. So I ended up checking the website and decided on a bottle of Pinot Noir France 2023 and some halloumi cheese as a side dish.
The fruity aroma and the hint of black pepper, along with the full tannin body of the wine, made my meeting with my bestie genuinely enjoyable. The halloumi chunks with the chilli jam were properly umami, and I honestly recommend it as a side dish when having red wine.
In conclusion, the atmosphere of the pub and the quality of the food were admirable, but the service was far from what I expected i.e. When I went to order the bottle of French dry Pinot Noir, I was expecting someone to bring it to the table. Instead, after placing my order at the till, the clerk simply handed me the bottle and two glasses, meaning I had to carry everything myself.
Given the whole experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that the pub culture there is quite basic, and anyone visiting should lower their expectations when it comes to service.