The Elderflower Restaurant Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Setting

Pros:

• "A great relaxing atmosphere on the cobbled harbour street of Lymington."
• "Beautiful and simple clean lines of decoration with a calm and relaxed atmosphere."
• "Wonderful cosy atmosphere in a well spaced welcoming establishment."
• "It's a lovely environment."
• "Cosy atmosphere and friendly staff who took a real interest in the various courses."
• "Great restaurant near the harbour in a characterful old building on a cobbled street."
• "Lovely spot in a cute village, much larger inside than you'd expect."

Cons:

• "It is a small and close environment, with no soft furnishings, so the sound echoed a little."
• "We were impressed by the TV coverage and rating so booked for the 4 course tasting lunch menu... but in contrast to the exceptional reviews we found the setting lacking in ambience."
• "The restaurant also serves takeaway fish and chips and so people did occasionally walk in to order which seemed at odds with and interrupted the otherwise good atmosphere."
• "Dated furniture, uncomfortable seats and lacks a special feeling."
• "States it shuts at 4pm on a Sunday but was closing up at 2.30pm."

Service

Pros:

• "The staff are delightful, and are very passionate and knowledgeable about the food and wine combinations they serve up."
• "The service was great and well thought through right down to the smallest detail."
• "Friendly and professional service."
• "Every customer is made welcome and the attention to detail makes the culinary experience most enjoyable."
• "The staff were also very professional."
• "Service was superb and above my expectations."
• "Service was equally amazing, very knowledgeable and attentive."

Cons:

• "Staff were cool and reserved."
• "But instead of offering some kind of compensation, the chef and the manager emerged and told us to 'f*** off' and were nothing but nasty in their approach."
• "The waiter and the chef had no regard for feedback, and were very rude when we addressed the issue."
• "The parade of different waiters who struggled to guide us through the experience coherently."
• "I specifically asked for no nuts, this turned out to fall on deaf ears, having 3 of my courses come with nuts, had i been allergic, this could be a serious thing."
• "Very poor service, our wine bottle was left on the side table and no one came to serve!"
• "Very disappointed with the service been to the restaurant and had a lovely meal, booked again and had family emergency as for deposit to be held until next visit was told it was not possible very un help-full will not be visiting again poor customer service."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Fabulous meal at the Elderflower Cooking Club, with chef Andrew demonstrating three courses with clear instructions and recipe sheets to keep."
• "Magical flavours and surprises along the way."
• "Very good food and reasonably priced considering the standard."
• "A seriously good and expertly cooked meal, perfectly matched with wine."
• "Every dish was tasty and nicely presented."
• "Sensational menu inspired by The 12 Days of Christmas, from Chef Andrew and looked after wonderfully by his front of house team."
• "The food is something else."

Cons:

• "The seven-course taster menu lacked the skill and imagination we were anticipating."
• "The boar was over cooked."
• "Overpriced and meagre portions."
• "Food was mostly ok but had better for a much lower price."
• "The food was not up to standard."
• "The dishes were good, but there was something a bit funky about every one of our courses."
• "Out of 2 courses that were good, croquettes of veal and a bass. The rest were a total waste of money."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The food is incredibly good value, considering the level of cooking."
• "Great value for 2course meal."
• "Food was excellent service was friendly and value was amazing."
• "Fantastic food especially the 7 course taster menu at a reasonable price."
• "At £15.50 per portion, definitely worth the price."
• "Absolutely fantastic and a great value for money."
• "The 4-course tasting menu, accompanied by the paired wine flight was fabulous."

Cons:

• "In all, a nice evening, but expensive for what it was."
• "Maybe a little more expensive that I would expect."
• "This was a lot of money; £150pp. So, for that, you expect a lot."
• "Massively overpriced for the experience."
• "The wine by the glass selection is overpriced and not great."
• "Rip off merchants won't refund deposit of £80 taken to secure table for 2 claiming cancellation was less than 72 hours notice."
• "Very disappointed, Had a cooked breakfast £11, small spoon of baked beans very small piece of hard toast."