Ember Inns reviews and complaints

Following a visit to the Houndsman and Hound in Upminister on the 12th May 2014, I certainly would not recommend this establishment to anyone. The manager's behaviour was deplorable and he would benefit from attending peoples' skills and management courses - a little man with a big ego!
The food was below average and costly for the standard of food served. The area allocated
was compact to say the least, members of the party had to either stand in the doorway of find seating elsewhere. This completely defeated the object, as people were there to remember someone dear they had just said goodbye too.
This along with the blocked overflowing toilets was a real testament to how poorly managed this establishment really is. The only glimmer of a customer focused environment was a member of the bar staff who was apologetic and sympathetic to the situation.
This establishment in all is clearly not customer friendly!

No excuse for continuing to serve cold food despite numerous complaints to the management. Have decided to save my money in future and head for the local chippy instead.

I have already spent time typing out my complaint above

I received a voucher for £5 off when you spend £20 by e-mail, so we went to Blunsdon Arms Swindon on Thursday the 30 of October for lunch only to be told we should have brought the second page of the e-mail which had a code on it. Nothing was written on the voucher saying this, what was written was and i quote, Print this voucher and bring it with you, or simply show it on your phone, to get your discount. End of quote. Why can i not get in touch with your Head Office to get an explanation of this misunderstanding as it was most embarrassing standing at the bar with the voucher to be told we cannot use it. Also i ordered the chicken and leek pie, i lifted the pastry topping to find only chicken ( lots of chicken) but no leeks, they were hidden under the french beans, not surprised, the leeks were over cooked, so the description on the menu is not what you get on the plate. As there is no way of contacting any one in authority i will not hold my breath for an answer, as you do not know who i am, so have i wasted my time.

Re Ember Inns
I had the misfortune to visit The 3 Stags in Bebington on the 28th Feb 2014. The restaurant was busy but not overly so. It took 25 mins before someone came to take our food order. We both ordered sirloin steaks medium rare. My companion found it physically impossible to chew the meat ( and she does have her own teeth). Determination and shear hunger led me to eat a third of the meat which was so dry it produced shavings akin to sawing a piece if wood. Frozen chips and soggy onion rings likewise languished on the plate. Working to a damage limitation strategy and based on the fact that the servers were far and few between. We paid the bill with the intention of contacting ember inns with our complaint. As your site indicates, a reply has not been forthcoming. I did not visit this restaurant fir Michelin star food but I did expect to receive something reasonably edible.

IS THIS THING FOR REAL PLEASE LET ME KNOW FROM KENNRTH TOM
NIGRR-IA

We have just come from having a meal at the White Lion in Warlingham Surrey, it was awful and didn't look appertizing my prawns were not cooked so I told them and they took it back but whn they returned with the meal the prawns still didn't looked cooked so I pushed them to one side there didn't seem to be a lot of fish although it was surprise to be place, my husband beef was hard and cold, also they asked for out debt card and for some reason they could not take cash, I am also was going to booked for a party of 10 for a Christmas Lunch but I don't think I will do so as I was very disappointed, also this was a big celebration for my husbands 70th Birthday, I have been many times to this pub and has always been very good, so I think they need to look at the chef, the waitress was very helpful and staff, the sauce bottles were very grubby and caps of the bottles were missing no nappkins on the tables. I hope you will take this onboard and please come back to me with the out come .my email is: pamelawallbank7@gmail.com

We visited The Bell Inn Walsall. We had previously visited in august and had what could only be described as a fabulous well cooked meal with excellent service from "liz". We visited today (oct 2011), looking forward to a lovely meal, only to be served with what is probably the most disappointing meal we have ever had when eating out. I ordered the pork, which was wrapped in smoked ham, mashed potato and roasted parsnips, my husband ordered the mixed grill. It took around 25 mins for the food to be served, which you do not mind if you know you are getting fresh cooked food. When the food arrived, my pork was as dry as old boots and the mash had a dried skin over the top. The meat on my husbands mixed grill was way over cooked and dry. The pudding was not much of an improvement either, I I ordered the the sticky toffee, with date and walnut, this again appeared to have been microwaved and was bone dry, I subsequently sent it back and was re-issued with another one which was not much better, I'm relieved to say, my husbands pudding was very nice. The service was very good though and we were again served by "liz", who was a true professional and polite and courteous throughout. This has unfortunately ruined our opinion of the Bell and we will not be visiting there agin for food.

We just had lunch at "The Crown" an Ember Inn in Shirley, Croydon. The wine was good value, but both wine glasses were filthy and I had to askfor replacements- which were not much better!
Our food was ok, but was served on stupid little wooden boards that were cracked and probablynot very hygenic. The boards are so small that the table ends up covered in food debris.
Next time we go to lunch we'll go camping! It will be easier to eat and we'll stand less chance of getting food poisoning!
The pub was very quiet considering it is Friday, maybe they're all ill!

just had sunday lunch in open arms coventry. Horrible is the word! we had to wait an hour for our main meal. Half of the party asked for money back as we had eaten ours by the time their's was ready. The veg was hard, the dinner cold, two small pieces of beef which was tough. Two other tables complained about cold meal, hard veg!. Every body had to ask for each course as they would take away your plates and not come back. When we got out sweet which was an hour and 40mins after we ordered the meal it was neither an crumble or apple pie. It had a pie base and a crumble top. They had served it cold which i found strange, most crumble/pies are served hot especially when you have custard. It was a horrible dinner and would never eat there again!

We visited the Beehive Reigate last saturday, it was appaling we were a party of 6, 2 meals were delivered one of which was inedable, eventually 3 more meals came the 6th persons meal was forgotten. It finally arrived and later still the one that was sent back. So basically 6 of us went out for a meal together and 3 of us ended up eating on our own. Do you think this is good service!
S Gardner

After visiting the ember inn (tall ships)hartleool on 2.2.2011 i will not be visiting this establishment again for food. After waiting one hour and a half hours for food and then to be told by staff that they did not know what was going on in the kitchen nor did the kitchen staff i would need to be very hungry to ever want to visit this pub again for food.

We visited the Barton Arms Worsley as it was our anniversary.We ordered 2 rump steaks medium/rare .The steaks where well done and as tough as old leather, I could not eat mine .My partner went to the bar after our meal to get a drink, the lad behind the bar just looked straight thru him, so we went else where to finish our evening.Hope when the decor is done and you have up dated the place at the end of the month you remember that primeraly the service is what brings you clientelle back, the surrounds may look good, but is the staff good enough.Shame as we do like the place, but the service is lacking and the food very dissapointing

Not visited this pub, Earl Haig, Bexleyheath, for quite a while but called in this evening, Table 33, as upset re doctors report on Mother in hospital and was close to local pharmacy. Impressed by layout and happy to drink (not eat) which wasn't expensive. However, who the heck does the cleaning at the Earl Haig. Simply doesn't clean. Noticed that those chairs with rungs under the seating were thick with fluff, so hadn't been dusted for quite sometime. Health and Safety for Bexley should be notified? Table 33 is in the eating area. So sad. Put us off. Cleaning should be a priority .Wasn't only table 33. Noticed other chairs/tables with deep dust. Would have photograp Would like to go back as live very locally but standard not good. Also we had to wait for bar service quite a while on first entry and nearly left. Why? time was approx. 5pm/5.15ish on 19th June 2014. Nice pub otherwise but seriously put off by standards of cleaning and service. Shame as could be a good local, otherwise we go to Hall Place or Shoreham, Kent.

25th dec 2013 yes xmas lunch kingsfairway ashford Family booked treat, our table for 3 right infront of toilet doors, luckily were moved starters soggy prawns, melon sorbay sickly sweet not very fresh, turkey roast more like bernard mathews, roast potatoes and parsnip probably from Iceland freezer pack wifes veg inedible .only offered a free drink, and xmas pudding like a piece of rubber £40 / head
Luckily my son didnt mind his meal wife jokingly asked for £10 off and got it Dont go Xmas dinner hear again

What ever you do never go for a meal at the Harvest Moon in New Waltham the food is disgusting no way can it be described as eatable. We used to go for a meal two or three times a month its never being what you would call good but its local. They have made changes resently and now its best avoilded the place has gone down hill so fast sure it will be closing soon as the Landlord and his wife have just lost intrest in the place. The tables are never cleared plates and glasses are just left so you end up clearing a table you self. The staff have no intrest in you but that just comes from the Managment. Be warned just dont go its terable

We have used ember inns for years but lately cannot recommend any went to old hare and hounds last night and the food was horrendous the tables were sticky and unclean Ladies toilets were filthy I could go on this pub needs to be investigated seriously

on the 10th june 2013 my wife and I took our two children for a birthday meal at, The Richmond Tavern Church Road Wavertree Liverpool.We arrived about 6.45pm the pub was not busy although we struggled to find a descent seating area to accomadate us, we found one by the kitchen and disabled toilets.Our tables were different levels and one wobbled all the time.We placed our order at the bar only to find out that two meals where not available .When our meals arrived at our tables after only waiting 15 minutes which was good time wise, we all noticed how bad the chips on our plates looked and tasted they had been kept warm under hot plate lights and had dried up and burnt.My wifes fish was placed on top of her chips and full of oil and sadley it was not cooked in the middle, our childrens burgers where very dry and tasteless, my scampi was all burnt and over cooked none of our meals had any garnish on at all.We have eaten at the premisses before and everythink was fine .What we did notice this time was the lack of care from the staff regarding our complaint the manageress or bar supervisor openly addmitted at the bar that she had been drinking to another member of the staff which was overheard by other customers.The Chefs or Cooks kept coming out of the kitchen in very soiled and dirty whites should I call them whites and we witnessed one of them scratching his crutch without any concern to who may have seen it.We got a refund for the fish meal and the tall Chef or Cook came from the kitchen and gaves us a dirty look and stare . We have a franchise in the catering industry with a big Pub Group and I can assure you we would not serve or allow our staff to behave in the way they did.

My friends and I have been have been using the Crabtree in Hemel Hempstead for many years and have always been more than happy with the service and the friendliness of the staff that was until recently, when new management took over and this lovely old pub is now almost deserted as the new management seem to have the attitude that if you complain you are barred, they are not willing to address the complaints about the state of the toilets, the poor quality of the food the rudeness of some of the staff, the fact that over the winter people have had to sit in the pub with their coats on as it has been so cold in there. I really think that some of these issues need to be addressed as soon as possible as I can see this pub closing down which will be a real shame as it has been a part of Hemel Hempstead for so many years. As a result of this my friends and I are now looking for another pub in our area which treats its customers with a bit of respect and takes complaints seriously

Rose and Crown, grimsby, served luke warm fish pie and a burnt burger... Poor portions, this chain is going down hill fast... Give me a hungry horse or a wether spoons any day of the week for value and quality...

My family and I visited the Robin Hood at Millhouses, Sheffield last night for a meal and I can quite honestly say this is the worst meal I've ever eaten in my life. The front of house staff were nice enough, but upon ordering they gave no indication that we'd have to wait 45 minutes for our food to be served and when it did eventually arrive I was shocked at how clearly pre-cooked food that had been warmed up in the microwave could possibly have taken 45 minutes to arrive. I can understand waiting a long time for food cooked from scratch and I can also comprehend quickly served food of a poor standard, but I can't understand having to wait 45 minutes for crap food, it's not even as if they were busy there were only us and one other table eating.

Onto the food itself, my wife ordered the chicken and ham hock pie, which contained plenty of mushrooms, next to no chicken and no ham at all, the suet was so dry it was inedible and the mash potato was actually worse. My 2 year old daughter had the fish goujons, which I simply could not allow her to eat as they didn't look cooked properly, the half dozen chips she got were pale and listless and the peas (which are her favourite food) were so dry she wouldn't eat them. Although this wasn't the finest part of the meal, the lemon wedge served with it was so dry that when I squeezed it no juice came out at all.
My burger tasted like it had been cooked days before and my chips were no better than my daughter's.

I tried to find somone to complain to, but there was no-one around, I did complain to the lad who came to clear our table who offered us some free deserts, I explained that the last thing I wanted to do was eat more of their food and by this time it was 18.45 and I needed to get my daughter home and to bed. He said he would 'sort it out' and after 10 minutes when he hadn't returned we got up and left.

I'll be going back in my lunch break today to ask for my money back.

My husband and I went to the HollyBrook in Littleover Derby last night for a meal. We previously had been in this pub for a drink a few years ago but had not eaten there before. All I can say is both our meals were in edible, my Dover sole was so dry it was like rubber. I asked the waitress to take them back ( I have never sent a meal back in my life ) which she did, and that was that ! She didn't return with a comment or nothing, no one came over to ask what the problem was or apologise, nothing ! We will not be eating there again and will certainly advise our friends and family not to.

During 2011 my family and friends socialized a lot at the Green Man in Kenilworth but over the last 8 months we have stopped going there after a change of management due to the bad service and food.
After a recent refurbishment we decided to see if the service and food had improved to which we were sadly disappointed.
I went to order food and when i got there was told there was no chips available which is surprising as they are served with most meals on the menu, i was also told there was also only 2 jacket potatoes available.
My wife ordered a Sirloin steak and agreed to have a jacked potato and i ordered a trio of pies served with Mashed potatoes and Buttered cabbage, the food took 30 minutes to arrive which was a surprise as it was fairly quite (Monday 07th January) i wouldn't mind the wait if the food was good but when it arrived the steak meal looked OK but the trio of pies looked a mess, 3 small lumps of mash scattered round the plate, the Buttered cabbage was mixed with Brussels sprouts and peas and was not coOKed in butter, the gravy was a glutinous lump in a sauce boat and the whole meal was cold.
I sent it back saying it was cold and after another 15 minutes my wife had finished her meal, i went to the counter and told them i no longer wanted it as i was not willing to eat alone as my wife had to.
We will not be returning