John O'gaunt Inn - Sutton

Location/decor, staff and food (especially the lamb) were all perfect. Thanks everyone, looking forward to returning. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Price per person: £20–30 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Ignore Kimberly Ellis and Amba Swain. A great pub, great staff and great food. We've been going here since Jane and Jago took it over as well as when they run the Hare and Hounds. You won't be disappointed 100% recommended Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Delicious food served quickly in a great atmosphere Price per person: £50–60 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

As you'll see from my review history, I very very rarely post a bad review except in exceptional circumstances. This was one of these. I was expecting a lovely three course meal in a cosy pub out of London, based on the reviews. We were looking for a bit of a treat, as I was catching up with an old colleague (of a charity we both worked for) and her partner (CEO of a Mental Health charity). However I was severely dissappinted and appalled at how they treated us. The barman was gracious on arrival but the waitress who served us (couldn't have been much over 16) was absolutely clueless and seemed to not care about her job or the customers under her service. She was clueless about the menu when queried and kept having to nip off to the kitchen to ask, whilst giving us strange looks for having questions about the food/ breads/ menu. We felt judged, immediatly. When the food finally arrived we had ordered a sharing Camembert. The camembert was delicious but the bread it came with was burnt, unevenly sliced and looked, quite simply, like it was from the bottom of the barrel. Why the chef thought that exceptable to serve I have no idea. Not a good start. Next I had a vegetarian main (curry with cauliflower rice), from a very limited veggie menu. Quite frankly, it was bland. I make much better at home. When chased, the service was rude and the landlady/ manager was abrupt with us for having some issues, despite us being warm and kind to her always giving the pub the benefit of the doubt. I was not even offered a dessert menu. Finally, the ambience was soul sucking. It was quiet and joyless, like eating in an old folks home. In fact some people near us got told to quieten down, despite it being early on a Saturday evening. Just such a shame that the staff and food don't live up to the hype. Genuinely would not recommend this place to anyone. Not worth your time, energy. Vegetarian options: Poor. Food: 2 Service: 1 Atmosphere: 1