A bad experience. - 21st Feb 2016 10:29am
Returning from a visit to Speke Hall, on an impulse, we decided to take our young grandson to the Britannia Inn near the Festival Gardens in Liverpool. It proved a big mistake. It was one of the worst pub meals I have ever experienced.
On entering, there was no indication of how to order food, an I was brusquely told to stand the other side of a tatty rope in front of the bar. On ordering drinks I was told that there was no meat available at the carvery. The choice was fish or sausages. We could wait in the hope of it becoming available or choose fish or sausages immediately. We chose fish and chips and my grandson sausages, and was given a paper chit for each meal.
The place is not exactly dirty, but it isn't notably clean either, and seemed to be very noisy. In time we were told to go and fetch our meals from the carvery, only to find that by this time the meat had arrived and was being dispensed with rather small portions being carved to a longish queue. We were handed out plates with fish on, and told to help ourselves to chips. There were none however, so we had to make do with roast potatoes. There were no mushy peas either. There were sausages however, so my grandson had those. He'd wanted peas but there were none available.
We'd eaten our meal and I had to queue at the bar to order puddings. By this time they'd run out of meat again! My grandson wanted ice cream with strawberry sauce, and was handed a dish and told to help himself at a dispensing machine. I had to help him with this, and noticed that the strawberry topping consisted of two empty plastic squeeze bottles lying in a pool of spilled sticky juice. I asked the server if he could find some more which he did, and dumped it for us in the pool of sauce. he made no move to remove the empties or clean up the spillage however.
Whilst my Grandson finished his ice cream, we waited for out desserts whilst a family row at an adjacent table built up to the extent that the man was effing and blinding at his wife at deafening volume whilst his two children wept. Unable to stand any more we left, sans puddings.
It is a great pity. With different management it could be excellent. The location is great, although the design of the building makes poor use of the view of the river. The food - when available - seems unremarkable but edible 'pub grub' and the staff were clearly overworked rather than hostile. It was just badly run. I shan't go back lightly.
On entering, there was no indication of how to order food, an I was brusquely told to stand the other side of a tatty rope in front of the bar. On ordering drinks I was told that there was no meat available at the carvery. The choice was fish or sausages. We could wait in the hope of it becoming available or choose fish or sausages immediately. We chose fish and chips and my grandson sausages, and was given a paper chit for each meal.
The place is not exactly dirty, but it isn't notably clean either, and seemed to be very noisy. In time we were told to go and fetch our meals from the carvery, only to find that by this time the meat had arrived and was being dispensed with rather small portions being carved to a longish queue. We were handed out plates with fish on, and told to help ourselves to chips. There were none however, so we had to make do with roast potatoes. There were no mushy peas either. There were sausages however, so my grandson had those. He'd wanted peas but there were none available.
We'd eaten our meal and I had to queue at the bar to order puddings. By this time they'd run out of meat again! My grandson wanted ice cream with strawberry sauce, and was handed a dish and told to help himself at a dispensing machine. I had to help him with this, and noticed that the strawberry topping consisted of two empty plastic squeeze bottles lying in a pool of spilled sticky juice. I asked the server if he could find some more which he did, and dumped it for us in the pool of sauce. he made no move to remove the empties or clean up the spillage however.
Whilst my Grandson finished his ice cream, we waited for out desserts whilst a family row at an adjacent table built up to the extent that the man was effing and blinding at his wife at deafening volume whilst his two children wept. Unable to stand any more we left, sans puddings.
It is a great pity. With different management it could be excellent. The location is great, although the design of the building makes poor use of the view of the river. The food - when available - seems unremarkable but edible 'pub grub' and the staff were clearly overworked rather than hostile. It was just badly run. I shan't go back lightly.
