The Big Lock pub & restaurant Reviews Summary

Location & Ambiance

Pros:

• "Decorated beautifully and located at a great spot on the canal if you fancy watching the barges using the lock."
• "The setting is superb and the pub itself is very nicely presented."
• "Great place for a pub, next to the canal, everyone can be 'Gongoozlers' watching the narrowboats negotiate the lock by the pub."
• "Perfect setting overlooking the lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal."
• "Lovely location by the canal."
• "Great spot for a drink in the sunshine, and to watch the boats going through the lock."
• "It's good to walk your dog along and it's good for kids to sit and watch the narrow boats go through the canal lock."

Cons:

• "Only issue was parking as we had to park quite a way down the road."
• "Car park was busy, you may end up parking on the road which we did without any problems."
• "Just wish there was more parking."
• "Nice pub with alright beer, started to drink jd and coke and each time I had the jd and coke the price went up."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Good selection of drinks, and the food is really good, solid pub food."
• "Food was just Incredible. Steak pie was beautiful."
• "Fish and chips were really good with crispy batter."
• "The Sunday dinner was amazing!!!! Huge portions and so fresh!"
• "The cheese pie was very tasty and the portion sizes were great."
• "The roast Turkey is a work of art and very tasty."
• "The food was absolutely amazing and presented lovely."

Cons:

• "The chips and beef gravy for me were a big let down as the chips were not crispy, and the beef gravy tasted like an OXO cube in water."
• "I was so disappointed with my Sunday lunch, the food was bland it looked fab but didn't taste fab."
• "But the food was poor. I wasn't expecting frozen food served."
• "The steaks are overpriced due to this belief that if you ask the customer to cook their own steak on a 'volcanic rock' you can charge the customer more."
• "The Sunday lunch was quite bland and they left the string on a few people's servings of meat too."
• "The food is very basic, nothing to brag about."
• "Food was disappointing. Fish and chips were completely flavourless."

Service

Pros:

• "Every single one of the staff were so friendly we can not wait to visit again."
• "Service Is top notch from moment you walk in the door to moment you leave."
• "Also the bar staff were very friendly."
• "The staff were very pleasant and helpful with a smile on their faces."
• "The staff were welcoming and polite, nothing was too much trouble."
• "Nice friendly staff and very helpful."
• "Staff are brilliant btw. 👍🏼"

Cons:

• "It took a long time for meal to come."
• "Eaten at the big lock tonight awful food. awful service very disappointed, the big lock used to be the best. the staff need re-training and so does the chef."
• "The service however was dire. This included; long waits whilst staff congregated and talked amongst themselves at the end of the bar."
• "The service was subpar."
• "Was told of 30min wait when arrived, an hour later we had to chase our food order."
• "The attitude from some of the staff is horrific."
• "The service has gone down. One of the bar maids was disgustingly rude to me, my partner and my dad at separate times during the afternoon we were there."

Cleanliness & Maintenance

Pros:

• "It's a nice clean pub x."
• "The interior is very nice, comfortable seats and sofas and the staff is hospitable."
• "Very dog friendly and great atmosphere."

Cons:

• "The pub inside and out is dirty. The outside tables and chairs were dirty with cigarette dimps under every table, weeds growing everywhere outside and just a dirty feel and look to the place."
• "The last time we ate there was very disappointing though, I had a vegetarian lasagne, it was tasteless and barely a vegetable in sight."
• "The rather heavy music choice and huge tv's on the walls don't make for relaxed dining."
• "The bar lady was slamming about then greeted us abruptly with what do you want."
• "The stairs up to the bar badly needed a Hoover and all the mess removing. Water provided for dogs was full of dead flies."
• "Worse still, I have been back in tonight, two days later and still no soap in gents toilets. Disgusting standards."
• "Since it’s had a refurbishment, the quality has gone right down."