Rushbrooke Arms - St Edmundsbury

When my daughter suggested my husband and I join her and her partner here for lunch today (30th Dec 2023) I was quite happy as despite it being a few years since we ate here previous experiences have been positive. Not today! First off the young women (two) at the greeting lectern just inside the dining entrance were completely unprofessional unfriendly. No greeting, no smile, nothing. I had seen my daughter her partner enter the building just as we arrived in the car park. I was obviously looking around for someone and in the end asked the young women at the desk where my daughters table was giving her name. We duly joined the table and orders were placed shortly thereafter for 3 starters and four mains. My daughter ordered sea bass but said she did not want the butter herb sauce could she have cranberry sauce instead. Yes no problem. Starters arrived, I had mushro8ms in sauce with ciabatta the sauce was slimy the tiny piece of bread was stale. A reasonable time after our starter plates etc were taken away, three mains arrived. The waitress said oh did you only order three mains? Uh no, we ordered four! I told her it was my main missing and I had ordered the Beyond burger. No more cutlery given despite the fact three of us had used the cutlery on the table for our starters and they had been removed from the table. So the waitress goes off to find out where the missing main is. In the meantime my daughter notices that there is no broccoli or vine tomatoes on her plate. Just a fillet of sea bass on top of a mass of new potatoes and 4 tiny shrivelled slices of cooked squash (menu states bass comes with broccoli, squash, vine tomatoes new potatoes. So waitress reappears and says that my main will have to now be cooked! I ask her why my daughters sea bass has no broccoli or vine tomatoes. If you 've read the other reviews you 'll guess the reply they had run out! Then this should have been pointed out when ordering!!!! Don 't just serve a meal without everything stated comes with it on the menu and just hope people won 't notice or say anything! I then ask for cranberry sauce because two of our mains were turkey roasts and my daughter wanted some too. Yep you guessed it, they had run out. So at Christmas when many folk are having turkey they 've run out of cranberry sauce! So at this point I 've had enough. I left the table and went to the greeting area where three young women staff were standing. I asked who was in charge and was told no one. I said there must he a manager or supervisor...someone take ownership please. One of the three asks how she can help. Her name was Beth and I have to give her credit. She was helpful professional to the core! If the manager reads this review take note, Beth was the only member of staff present today who is a credit to your team! She sorted my main out, apologised for the fact that certain items were unavailable and for the lack of communication by other staff members and said she would ensure we were not charged for any of the mains. Management re train your staff ASAP. Sort out your supply chain and stock control! We will not be back for sure!

As part of our celebrations we booked Christmas dinner at The Rushbrooke Arms just outside of Bury St Edmunds. On the day itself we were warmly greeted by Mikey and his team and brilliantly looked after by our server, Martha. The delicious food was very enjoyable... we decided to take our Christmas pudding dessert away with us as the main course, after starter, was really filling. I recommend this nice pub and restaurant with plenty of parking and outside seating too... and we're defo thinking of booking for next Christmas Day lunch too. Thank you Mikey, Martha and team, you did a great job and helped our celebrations so much x.

My family and I booked to have Christmas Day Dinner at The Rushbrooke Arms and we had a lovely experience. The staff were extremely warm and friendly. We arrived at 2:30pm and seated by the manager. The tables were laid out beautifully with crackers and baubles which were presented so nicely. From starters to desserts, the food was delicious and generous presentable portions. It was, of course busy, however, the team really made it special for us and we had a really lovely time and we will definitely be back in the New Year. Thank you to every staff member that gave up their Christmas Day for us.

We went for Christmas Dinner, the food was amazing. The service was very slow. We waited over an hour for welcome drinks and starter when we asked the assistant manager was very rude. Our meal.was booked for 2pm we didn't leave to 5pm we didn't even eat our afters because my disabled daughter become very upset at the wait and every1 becoming very stressed. If the service improved alot I would go back because the food was good

So the evening of the 8th of this month. The pub restaurant is near empty, a few dinners together with 2 not very large Christmas Partys in. Yet the staff they needed to check availability, it was virtually empty! Both I and my daughter noted that most of the staff seemed new and not fully trained in how to use their tablets to place orders. So therefore hessiant in approaching tables understandably. The table to us waited almost 40 minutes for their desserts. I ordered a super blue large rump steak which only should be cooked for 35 seconds each side to seal the meat.what did I get a medium rare steak? Which thd waiter serve by saying hi mate here 's your steak. So the steak was sent back, with specific instructions cook for 35 seconds each side only. A super blue steak should be cold in the centre and deep red in colour. Thankfully my daughters steak pie in Ruddles ale was OK. Version 2 of the steak arrived and again on being addressed as hi mate. That was it I had to tell the young waiter you do not address customers as Mate or say hi to them the second steak was not super blue just blue. But this point as it was by now almost 9.00pm and I had driven up from Devon. We decided to just finish the main course and go and have a drink elsewhere ideally somewhere warmer to, after seeing how long desserts took to arrive. I have eat on a number of occasions at Greene Kings bars in Bury st Edmunds, whike visiting my daughter. The Fox and The Dog and Partridge both being everything this unit is not. Polite staff who address customers correctly, time from ordering to plate in of the customers far quicker too compliant to Greene Kings brand standards, especially as many of the menu core dishes are the same at all three bars. Being Managed houses. Certainly not the birthday dinner with my daughter I had planned for myself. Worst Greene King is one of my former national account customers too. Would I be tempted to eat at this venue again. No way if that is the standard of service when it is near empty.