The Elder Restaurant Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "The service was very attentive and the décor has an old hunting lodge feel."
• "The service was really friendly throughout and provided good explanations of all the dishes."
• "The staff was exceptional and excited to be there!"
• "Service was professional and had plenty of personality."
• "Everyone was very attentive and made excellent recommendations on food and drink."
• "The service was excellent. Friendly and attentive with good recommendations of dishes."
• "We were served by the manager and loved the experience."
• "Absolutely first class service from Fiona and her team."

Cons:

• "The service was great, accommodating and atmosphere was good but the food was disappointing."
• "Our waiter was not very happy or attentive."
• "They did not have an ingredient for the cocktail my wife ordered."
• "A waitress with a stone-cold face, there was a dirty plate on our table."
• "Unfortunately, the service was good but slow: we waited over 15 minutes on arrival before anyone took our drink order."
• "We mentioned we were sat in a draft, we remained in the draft."
• "The service was acceptable."
• "But the service was first class. Do not waste your time at The Elder."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food is exquisite, a real work of art, and the service is impeccable, from the start."
• "The food was simply world class, I'm still so elated by the meal."
• "Absolutely incredible food. Staff were so friendly and well informed about the menu."
• "Hands down one of the best meals my wife and I have had in the UK."
• "The food was absolutely first class - in presentation, taste and texture."
• "The food is always outstanding and the service is excellent."
• "The flavours were diverse, challenging and complex. Superb value for money."
• "It's quite a gamey menu so if that doesn't bother you dive in an experience beautifully cooked fallow deer."

Cons:

• "The food missed the mark. We love to eat great food, especially when traveling—this meal was good, not great."
• "Unfortunately the food was disappointing for the price point, it was almost trying to be of 1 Michelin star quality."
• "The food quality/combinations did not reflect the price of the meal."
• "The main course for both of us was a huge let down. We booked this restaurant as we are in Bath for our honeymoon and it had good reviews."
• "Starters were very bad. I had venison tartar and it came on an almost American cornbread muffin. No flavor."
• "The monkfish was so salty to the point of barely being able to eat it, the miso glaze was overpowering."
• "But the toastie was cold, damp and congealed - i think it was cooked before the small plates."
• "We had a couple of small plates (which we assumed were starters) plus a burger and a cheese and ham toastie. The burger was bloody."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "The restaurant is pretty interesting as it has lots of smaller rooms (due to the historic building)."
• "The atmosphere is so nice that provides a place for a wild taste."
• "The decor was stunning and the staff were wonderful."
• "The atmosphere was cozy and very relaxing and the cocktails were delightful."
• "The decor is lovely but the best parts are the food and the service."
• "The meal was a symphony of authentic tastes brought back from all my best memories."
• "The restaurant is set as a series of rooms with very cozy decor."
• "The food was truly Michelin star standard, which can lend itself to a stuffy atmosphere but this was far from the case at the elder."

Cons:

• "The decor of the restaurant is quite stuffy, literally has stuffed animals all around."
• "The decor is a bit much for my taste with the stuffed animals but it does fit the restaurant."
• "The decor almost works - I found the fake crackle in the arsenic paint rather naff."
• "Would only hope they’d change their music to something a bit more classy."
• "A very nice evening out. Great food and fantastic service. Everyone was very helpful and very polite."
• "Disappointing lunch at The Elder terrace. Despite a nearly empty restaurant (I wonder why?) we had to chase up our simple food order."
• "The same lukewarm, unapologetic excuse was served up by the same manager on paying the bill."
• "Ok service, very poor disabled access/no disabled toilets."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The price tag was absolutely worth every penny, I'd have paid double without question."
• "Service, atmosphere, first impression from the welcome to the farewell… a Sunday lunch with style and probably one of the very best."
• "Service was professional and had plenty of personality. Food was on the more expensive side, but the quality warranted the price tag."
• "It's not cheap, but it is superb value for money so if that's the only thing holding you back - don't wait."
• "We went for the tasting menu and it came out at perfect intervals and was really delicious."
• "The price may be a little bit on the more expensive side, but my god is it worth it."
• "Set lunch dishes were delicious and good value at 27.50 - mains in particular were excellent."
• "Finally Bath has a truly great restaurant! Fabulous tasty dishes, perfectly cooked venison and sirloin, fantastic service and great drinks menu."

Cons:

• "The overall experience and cost of the tasting menu did not add up to the total on our bill."
• "Bought pizza after the 7 course meal."
• "Firstly I had the black bream, this came absolutely covered in capers and dill. While I appreciate fine dining and trust the chef's combination of flavors I'm not a huge fan of either of these."
• "The impression we got from the evening was that the staff starting from front of the house to kitchen staff were just tired, bored and over with this week's work and had no interest in making the experience pleasant for the diners."
• "But the food was first class. Do not waste your time at The Elder."
• "But good place to go if you like to be called a liar."
• "Go for the cocktails, stay for the food. Recommended. Dinner is a bit of a mixed story but overall nice."
• "Poor food and the rudest service. We went for lunch at the Elder."