The Cartford Inn - Fylde

Amazing lunch! The fish pie and fried rice pudding were both fantastic. The fried rice pudding was a unique and delicious treat.

The food at this restaurant is excellent and the ambiance is inviting.

5 stars, the perfect hotel. I have no idea what could be improved.

I’ve eaten in the Cartford arms a number of times, always pulled back by the look and feel of the place but to be honest have never been blown away by the food. After my experience on Monday I honestly can’t think I’ll be going back. I’m a huge fan of belly pork and have had it every which way you can, so as it was on the menu it was for me a go to. It was described as being braised pork belly, my understanding means it should melt in your mouth. It couldn’t have been further from reality as unfortunately it was basically a few slices of belly that looked like and had the consistency of something that had been flash fried to the point, I mentioned this to the waiter, that it was inedible. I had a mouthful and left the rest. When we got the visit to the table to ask if all was okay I explained it was very tough and he said straightaway that a few other people who had it also said the same and said it wasn’t crispy or cooked enough. Also when ordering, I wasn’t sure what to order, surely if they had already had complaints they should have encouraged me to have something else?! In attempt to appease me the waiter said I could have a cup of coffee almost as a way of brushing it away. Appalling on all counts, the food was inedible, the waiter’s response to my comments was to offer me a coffee and then to top it all off the coffee, I exchanged for a pint of beer, was then added to my bill which I had to point out to him…. Sorry I don’t care how good everything looks if you can’t follow it up with at least cooked food and decent waiting staff you won’t be getting my business anymore…. A very, very poor experience !!

Our visit was on Sunday 27th August and the table was booked for 5pm. We were taken to the bistro and when the waiter arrived, he presented us with the menu and advised they had no roast dinners left. This isn’t particularly good planning for a restaurant on a Sunday evening at 5pm! The menu was, in my opinion, pretentious and the prices expensive (cheapest main course £23). We ordered 3 beef suet puddings. It took about an hour for the food to arrive and when it did, my friend, who had specifically asked for no beetroot on his because he doesn’t like it, had beetroot, which was touching the suet pudding. Also, the ‘potato purée’ on all 3 dishes was luke warm so we sent them all back. We had ordered a side of chips costing £5, which came in the smallest bowl, definitely not £5’s worth! The food itself was fairly tasty but dry with only a tiny amount of gravy. I asked for more and again it came in the smallest jug…smaller than a small milk jug you give to someone with with a pot of tea! We also asked for salt and pepper but that never arrived so we ended up asking the couple on the next table if we could use theirs. By way of an apology for the poor service, we got a free portion of chips and they knocked the drinks off the bill. When they brought the bill, they also explained they had knocked off the ‘discretionary’ service, like they were doing us a favour! I pointed out that this is discretionary and we wouldn’t have paid it anyway. The couple on the table next to us were also having the same poor experience with part of their mains order not arriving. Overall not a particularly enjoyable meal with very poor service. The setting and decor is very nice but I honestly feel the food and service does not live up to the high quality image they are trying to portray. And, if they are going to put diners in the bistro, they need to be more attentive and not make you feel you’re out on a limb.