The Brown Cow Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Setting

Pros:

• "it's a nice quiet pub very relaxed atmosphere."
• "Being dog friendly is a blessing."
• "Lovely pub close to the Bingley 5 rise locks."
• "Great atmosphere. The staff all seem to be enjoying the evening as much as the customers which adds to the whole conviviality."
• "Stunning real Timothy Taylor's pub, a magnificent array of pump heads celebrating this brewery's ales."
• "They have a very nice old English pub vibe, perfect for conversations and for some alone time."
• "Situated beside the river, particularly when sat in the rear beer garden, it’s pretty and peaceful."

Cons:

• "Could do with curtains on the doors to protect from draught. Very cold on a winter's night."
• "No atmosphere decoration from 1940's."
• "We came here for Sunday lunch. When we arrived the place felt really cold."
• "Noisy pub with kids running around eating burgers!"
• "Put in back room, very noisy and uncomfortable sitting while they move tables about."
• "Staff looking very unhappy/stressed which lead to an awkward atmosphere."
• "The only thing they can't do anything about is the tricky access to the pub car park."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The firecracker prawn starter was enough for my wife and was delicious."
• "Food was brilliant and came out quickly and perfect to order."
• "Top quality home cooked food. Some of the best roast potatoes I’ve ever eaten."
• "The Sunday dinner was gorgeous, as much gravy as you want, the homemade steak and ale pie was a sight to behold especially with the marrow bone gravy and was so full of meat."
• "Delicious food (we both had steak, and it was cooked just as we each requested) excellent service and genuinely dog-friendly."
• "The food was gorgeous. I had fish and chips and it was amazing quality."
• "Best moules mariniere ever! Chicken and Bacon Carbonara delicious."

Cons:

• "Menu very limited as no specials on board on a Friday!?"
• "Far too big a Yorkshire pudding which was overcooked and a burger than was hard to eat."
• "The starter chicken terrine was a jellified grey lump which resembled something the cat played a role in."
• "Food looked great on paper, but was sadly lacking in flavour."
• "The beef fat chips were anaemic and bland."
• "Fish and chips nice but a bit too greasy."
• "The chicken and bacon club sandwich it was flat cold and the meat was rubbery and artificial looking."

Service

Pros:

• "We went with my son and his wife had a lovely meal the steak and mushroom pie was loaded with meat it was very nice had drinks the service was excellent."
• "Our extraordinarily polite hippie waiter was great!!"
• "The staff could not have been more friendly and helpful."
• "The service was also great. Friendly, attentive, and polite."
• "Prompt service friendly staff."
• "Excellent friendly service."
• "The staff dealt with it really well and were very sorry for issues caused."

Cons:

• "3 members of staff with sadly little 'get up and go'."
• "We were seated right away and drinks order taken, then completely ignored for 25 minutes till I asked someone to take our order."
• "We were waiting for up to an hour for our meals."
• "Service ridiculously slow and the fries tasted like they were fried in very old fat."
• "Mainly let down by the incredibly slow service."
• "The staff were surly bordering on aggressive from the outset with a ‘can’t do’ attitude."
• "Service was very slow to say there were only a handful of other visitors in at the time."

Value

Pros:

• "Lovely meal with family this lunchtime Lots of choice and very good value."
• "The food was incredible, so freakin tasty!"
• "Food was delicious."
• "The food was delicious and reasonably priced."
• "Great pub, with a reasonably priced lunchtime sandwich menu."
• "Food perfect and large portion size."
• "Really tasty food, fabulous service from the young team of staff."

Cons:

• "Drinks on the expensive side £9.30 for 2 pints."
• "Very disappointed and overpriced."
• "I've had better pies in my local cafe and they attract a price tag of £5 not £15."
• "Food was average, not bad but not great."
• "Food was nice, but priced way too high for a pub and for the portion size."
• "Spoilt by this last time £14 for an aubergine bake with scant aubergine watery tomato sauce and a whole heap of undercooked carrots."
• "Meal with drinks cost little under The Ivy prices but came nothing near."