Rick Stein Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food was well prepared and delicious."
• "Both meals were stunning."
• "Enjoyed a superb 41st anniversary lunch with excellent food."
• "The food is excellent I recommend the crab or the lobster and don’t be shy to get your hands dirty."
• "Food was fabulous, cooked beautifully and so tasty and delicious."
• "The food was delicious, with no faults to mention and each course was served within prompt time frames of one another."
• "The food was great and the champagne and tea.very filling and tasteful."

Cons:

• "Lamb was cooked perfectly but lacked noticeable seasoning."
• "The monkfish + prawns stew was interesting but again flavours a little muted."
• "The gratin a la dieppoise, which was inedible due to excessive butter used."
• "The mussels were perfectly acceptable but I couldn't taste much of the sauce in them."
• "The lemon sole was quite bland."
• "The fish soup... was watery, oily and insipid."
• "The scallops... all covered in a boring flavourless breadcrumb."

Service

Pros:

• "Staff professional, friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Service really warm and friendly."
• "The staff were very welcoming, keeping him entertained with crayons and an activity sheet."
• "Agnes our waitress was the best and so friendly and was a mean fish filiter too 10/10."
• "The service we received was 100%, friendly, attentive and professional staff."
• "The staff were attentive, the atmosphere peaceful and relaxed and the food was delicious, absolutely excellent."
• "The staff were amazing and even sang happy birthday when they brought out the birthday cake we took with us."

Cons:

• "First time at Marlborough food was great but for some reason they would not except my voucher."
• "He disappeared and we did not see him again."
• "Inefficient and slow service."
• "Awful service AVOID. Food was very nice and the meal started off well but quickly or should I say slowly deteriorated to the lunch from hell."
• "Service slow and amateurish."
• "Service wasn't very good."
• "Service for me is just as important as the food."

Atmosphere & Decor

Pros:

• "Cute dining room feel."
• "Decor was understated and elegant."
• "Lovely setting."
• "Great atmosphere, classic decor, so overall a lovely dining experience."
• "The restaurant itself was sleek and stylish, with a relaxed atmosphere."
• "Decor is modern and balanced offering an intimate relaxed atmosphere."
• "The decor was really nice."

Cons:

• "Sat on a long bench with four tiny tables in front of it, where you can hear everyone else's conversation and vice versa!"
• "Thought the place needed a revamp, marks on wall where we sat, stained cushions, light fitting hanging from ceiling no bulb in it."
• "The walls had dirty splatters on them, the ugly portable Aircon next to the table had dirt on top and dust on the vents behind it."
• "A nice thick table with a brass edge to it. But the edge was sticky and had food remnants on it."
• "Hard chairs a bit uncomfortable, curtains shabby."
• "We were sat upstairs which had such a lovely atmosphere, all the decor is stunning."
• "Not a happy experience. Staff appeared to be poorly trained."

Value

Pros:

• "3 courses and and 1 glass of prosecco with two coffees came to under £80 total and we felt that was good value with the food being such high quality."
• "Good Food. Decent value for money."
• "Prices were very reasonable for a high profile venue and certainly value for money."
• "Highly recommended and not stupid pricing."
• "The 4 of us were very happy with the price paid and it was altogether a very good lunch experience."
• "We had a lunchtime set menu at a very reasonable price."
• "Price was fair and worth it."

Cons:

• "Very overpriced, done it but wouldn't go back."
• "Paid £160 for a meal for 2, felt more like it should have been £120."
• "Only caveat, *very* expensive for what it is."
• "At over £100 for 1.5 courses of food each I am not going to return as it was little more than an over-priced Loch Fyne imitation."
• "Very expensive for a terrible experience."
• "Price would have been acceptable if the service has match the quality of the food."
• "So at £70 a head for lunch, we felt robbed."