The Blackburne Arms Gastro Pub and Hotel Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Very friendly staff and clean rooms."
• "Staff so lovely."
• "The staff was very friendly and attentive."
• "Didn't get the barmaid's name but she was an absolute star."
• "The lad who served us was brilliant, really friendly and welcoming."
• "Brilliant friendly service on a very busy day."
• "Staff that go the extra mile."

Cons:

• "Also, they sat me right by the toilets which I was unhappy with so it didn’t even get to a good start."
• "When asked if more was available the charmless waitress advised that 'no' that's all you are getting."
• "Found the staff in general to be not very friendly, very false and no patience."
• "Meal was very nice staff really good but very pushy with drinks."
• "Also a staff member, after my cousin asked for salt and pepper replied...'I do season my food you know'."
• "Poor service from one of the waitresses and slightly rude."
• "While we were not enjoying our dinner we were ordering drinks and not getting what we asked for because they would leave them on the bar."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food is really good and staff is always very nice and patient with the kids."
• "The food was delicious and the staff was very friendly and attentive."
• "Best sausage and mash and the homemade apple crumble was amazing."
• "The roast beef dinner is outstanding, proper homemade with lots of lovely gravy."
• "Food was lovely, decent portions and very tasty, enjoyed by all!"
• "The sticky toffee pudding is absolutely amazing."
• "The food was truly great, filled with flavors that delighted the palate."

Cons:

• "Then the mains come out, what a disaster, everything was just piled on the plate, the Turkey was undercooked."
• "The roast potatoes were ROCK HARD as was the cauliflower."
• "The food - while entirely edible - is a little hit and miss."
• "Think the potatoes were cooked previous day & everything else was undercooked."
• "The Yorkshire Pudding was also 'burnt'."
• "The potatoes were greasy, rubbery like they had been warmed up from the day before."
• "The chips accompanying were not very good."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Much cheaper than the places in the centre."
• "Good food well cooked, worth the wait because they were busy."
• "Great food, especially the steak and ale pie, very accommodating staff, quality ales, and not too dear."
• "Also great value for money."
• "Two full breakfasts for £10."
• "Steak chips and a pint (or 1/2 bottle of wine) for £17.50!"
• "The full English breakfast is amazing with the best sausage I've ever eaten."

Cons:

• "Over priced for the fayre on offer."
• "A little bit pricey for a roast."
• "£16.50 (shocking price for what you actually got) for a beef roast dinner."
• "Only slight mark down was because portion size was on the small side especially for the price."
• "Three finger sized slices, 'pathetic for £17."
• "The Christmas dinner was £75 per head plus drinks, the bill came to over £500."
• "I feel for £100+ i should at least be able to get a good night's sleep."

Ambiance and Atmosphere

Pros:

• "What a fabulous place…. A real hidden gem!"
• "Lovely pub for the local area, pub quiz on Wednesday is friendly and fun."
• "The pub itself is so quaint and cosy - must visit!"
• "This place has a feel of the 1800's but with quality decor & furniture."
• "The nostalgic pub atmosphere added a touch of charm to the entire experience."
• "Absolutely GORGEOUS little gastro pub near The Georgian Quarter."
• "Cosy pub with good real ale, tasters available if wanted. Staff friendly."

Cons:

• "The windows would not stay open, only 1 plug worked in the room, no power in the bathroom, table lamp broken, downstairs door was left open and not locked."
• "Room very poor though. Shabby decor, old windows so little noise deadening, very small, unlike the holes in the towels!"
• "However getting to my room the sound of some kind of generator / extractor outside made sleeping difficult."
• "The tiny window with no curtains or blinds meant from around 6am the room was pretty light."
• "Sadly ruined now by intrusive piped musak."
• "Sadly this will be my last visit."
• "Lovely afternoon but felt eased out as nowhere for a party to sit once you've been encouraged to leave your table, very small and full pub so had to go elsewhere."

Location and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Great location for the docks, the shops and amazing bars."
• "The location was perfect: a quick walk to the centre."
• "Convenient for pre concert meals at the Philharmonic Hall."
• "We also stayed at the Blackburne as we basically wanted to go into the City without having to pay extortionate prices for a City centre dwelling."
• "Stayed with my mum in a twin room the night of a concert at the Echo Arena in early December. It was a really good night's sleep with a decent sized room and good facilities."

Cons:

• "Main reason for 1 was the parking. Every 3 hours had to be renewed till 7pm then restarted at 8am saw several cars with tickets to who'd missed the renewal I'm assuming."
• "Got to the Blackburn arms 11-30 on Christmas day and was shocked to see my parents where standing outside in the cold."
• "We had to wait in a bus stop for 30 minutes."
• "The rooms were less than ideal. Absolutely tiny."
• "Power points on the wall were also in serious shortage there was 2 double socket with the bedside lamp taking up one of these."